EACH time Cale Rout represents Australia Country, it’s an all-new experience.
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The 23-year-old has earned his third senior men’s hockey team selection in as many years, with the representative duties taking in a tour of Hong Kong and Vietnam during March and April next year.
It follows on from tours of Singapore and Malaysia in his first year on the team – when the Warrnambool player still qualified for the under 21 squad but was chosen to line up for the seniors – and New Zealand last year.
“Every country has a different style; it’s a different part of the world,” Rout said.
“Last year it was a tournament in New Zealand, this year it’s more of a tour scenario: we’ll go to the major cities and the major clubs.
“Hong Kong teams are normally pretty strong … I’m not sure what to expect from Vietnam, but when you go to that part of the world, they’re normally quite quick sides.”
Rout, who has played for Melbourne-based club Altona while studying in Ballarat, said he is not yet sure what position his coaches will play him in.
At club level, he has “been thrown everywhere”, but says he is most at home when he takes on striker or attacking midfielder duties.
He hopes to again play striker for Australia Country, as he has the past two tours.
“I think I’m most comfortable as an attacking midfielder, but I like to play striker – scoring the goals, rather than setting them up,” Rout said.
“But who knows where the coach will play me?”
Fellow Warrnambool hockey player Max Ferrier has been selected in the under 21 Australian Country team, which will head to Fiji during December.
It is the second year running he will make the trip, but the 19-year-old said he was looking forward to a sterner challenge as Australia contests the Oceania Cup.
Last year, the Australian Country side took out the Fiji competition. Ferrier is hoping to see a similarly strong result, but was wary of tougher opponents this time around.
“It (the standard) is a bit higher, it’s more for sheep stations,” Ferrier said.
“This year, it’s more of a tournament.
“We’ll give it a red hot crack and hope we get the result again.”
He has been selected in the midfield for this year’s competition, but could spend time forward as he did in 2015.
Ferrier said he is “everywhere at the moment”, based in Warrnambool over summer, while studying in Melbourne during the school year. He is set to head to Ballarat next year for hockey.
The young men were selected after strong performances at the Australian Country Championships held in Darwin during July and August.