Fresh from leading his side in their successful retention of the World Championship crown in The Hague earlier this month, captain Mark Knowles will look to do the same in Glasgow as Australia seek a fifth consecutive men's title at the Commonwealth Games.

Knowles, making his third Games appearance, is one of 12 players from the successful squad that competed in The Netherlands that includes Chris Ciriello, who scored a hat-trick in their win over the hosts at the Kyocera Stadium.

Fergus Kavanagh, Trent Mitton, Eddie Ockenden, Simon Orchard and Matthew Swann have gold medal winning experience from Delhi 2010 while Andrew Charter, Matthew Gohdes, Kieran Govers, Jake Whetton and Aran Zalewski will be making their Commonwealth Games debuts.

They will be joined by Australian junior captain Daniel Beale along with Trent Mitton, Andrew Philpott and Tristan White who are set to make their senior international bows in Glasgow.

The team will be led by joint coaches Graham Reid and Paul Gaudoin, who served under Ric Charlesworth after he decided to stand down from the position following the World Cup. 

Mark Knowles will be looking to complete a successful year by leading his side to glory at Glasgow 2014 ©Getty Images




"Both Graham and Paul have worked under Ric over the last five years and, alongside assistant coach Ben Bishop, have been an integral part of the team's achievements, whilst also coaching in their own right in the last 12 months at the Oceania Cup and Junior World Cup respectively," said Hockey Australia chief executive Cam Vale.

"With a short turnaround between the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games this approach is the one that will give us the best chance of maximising our chances of success in Glasgow.

Australia has won every Commonwealth Games gold in men's hockey since it was first introduced to the programme in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Australia has won every gold medal in men's hockey since the sport was introduced to the Commonwealth Games programme in 1998 ©Getty Images



Australia's women have a similarly formidable record at the Games winning three out of four golds with their bronze at Manchester 2002 - where India won gold - the only time they failed to top the podium.

The team will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of losing out to The Netherlands in the World Championship final and will be led once again by Madonna Blyth who captained the side to success at Delhi 2010.

Brooke Peris, 21, is the only change from the squad that took silver in The Hague and she will join Edwina Bone, Jane Claxton, Jodie Kenny, Karri McMahon, Georgia Nanscawen, Georgie Parker, Emily Smith and Kellie White in making their first appearance at the Games.

Casey Eastham, Anna Flanagan, Kate Jenner, Rachael Lynch, Ashleigh Nelson and Jayde Taylor return alongside Blyth to defend the title they won after beating New Zealand on penalties in the final four years ago.

Head coach Adam Commens will be joined by assistants Jason Duff and Mark Hickman.

"The Commonwealth Games is a benchmark event and we have set high targets around achieving gold medals with our men's and women's teams," said Hockey Australia high performance director Trish Heberle.

"As always, nominating our squads has involved difficult decisions.

"The men's group is a mix of experienced leadership and fresh young legs with several athletes coming in who were unfortunate to miss out on World Cup selection earlier in the year.

"For our women's squad the Commonwealth Games represents a great opportunity to consolidate the excellent progress made in the past 18 months and continue the journey, building on the confidence that the World Cup silver medal has delivered."

Australia's women will be looking to bounce back from disappointment in The Hague when they take to the pitch in Glasgow next month ©Getty Images



Australia's men have been drawn in Pool A for this year's Commonwealth Games competition which takes place at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

They are joined by Delhi 2010 runners-up India, hosts Scotland, Wales and South Africa while Pool B is made up of Manchester 2002 silver medallists New Zealand, 1998 silver and bronze medal winners Malaysia and England along with Trinidad and Tobago and Canada.

The women will take on two-time silver medallists England, along with Malaysia, Wales and hosts Scotland in Pool B.

Pool A contains former champions India as well as Delhi 2010 silver medal winners New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and South Africa.

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