Warrnambool's Callum Bridge wins gold for Australia at Oceania Cup

The emerging 19-year-old goalie was part of Australia's men's squad at the inaugural Hockey 5s Oceania Cup on the Gold Coast, with the Aussies going through undefeated to qualify for next year's Hockey5s World Cup in the process.

Bridge was a late call-up to the squad, earning his spot in late June after impressing at the national trials which were held in Warrnambool back in April.

"It's all completely surreal to be honest," Bridge, who featured four times throughout the tournament, told The Standard.

"Being there, being part of the playing group after being a late call-up was amazing and I'll genuinely never forget the experience.

"In the first few games we quickly realised as a group we were a chance and to go through the entire tournament, it's a great feeling and I'm proud to be part of it."

Australia ultimately knocked off New Zealand in the gold medal match 6-4 despite trailing at half-time in the thrilling contest.

The Hockey South West product said the success across the entire tournament and the thrilling gold medal match came down to a positive mindset.

"We got together at the start of the week and we had a really good chat about what we wanted to achieve as a group," he said. "The one thing we wanted is to enjoy the week and play the best we could, which we did. We had this thing that if you're not enjoying what you're doing we're not going to be playing the best hockey we can as a team and as an individual.

"That was a main team goal and we worked through everything. We knew we were going to be in with a shot. Australia is a strong hockey team but we put that aside knowing it's a different format, different team and got it done."

Bridge said the learning experience in his four matches as part of the squad had fuelled motivation for him to improve in all facets, both on and off the pitch.

"The first game, I was in awe of what was happening, we had quite a big crowd and I just had to play my game," he said. "Once I was out there I was fine, but in the lead-up I was nervous and once I'm out there I found how fast it was. It was a different level.

"It's made me push myself a bit further from now to go to the gym that one extra time, go for a run that I thought about doing, it makes you do those little things that you can do more of because now I know I'm up there and compete at that level.

"I know I can do another gym session, jump in the pool, go for that run and just push myself further."

As a result of both teams winning gold, Australia's men's and women's teams have qualified for the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup, which is set to be played in Muscat, Oman from 24-31 January, 2024.

Sixteen nations will be competing in both the women's and men's competitions at the world cup.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.