Chris Ciriello, playing for the Victoria Vikings at the Australian Hockey League finals. 69144 Picture: Jarrod Potter
By Jarrod Potter
FROM humble roots, Chris Ciriello has become one of Australia’s best hockey players.
Ciriello, 25, from Endeavour Hills but who lives now lives in Perth, is on the Australian mens’ hockey team, the Kookaburras, and played for the Victoria Vikings in the recent Australian Hockey League finals.
Victoria beat the Canberra Lakers 5-3 in a playoff for third.
Ciriello was brought up on the sport. His grandfather, Rudy Pacheco, was a big part of the hockey club at Springvale/Noble Park.
“I started playing for Springvale/Noble Park when I was four and a half and I played my juniors there,” Ciriello said.
“My grandfather lived four doors up from the oval where the team played, so I played for them.
“My grandfather was the coach and we only lost one or two years of the eight I was playing there. One season we scored 201 goals for and only conceded four against.
“We used to play in the street a lot. I really liked the club and the atmosphere of the togetherness was brilliant.
“I played seniors at Springvale-Noble Park when I was 11 years old.”
The Junior World Cup in the Netherlands was a turning point for Ciriello – and provided him with one of his most cherished memories.
“I made the under-21 Australian team at 17 and played there for four years. At 19, I was named in the Australian Junior World Cup group. A year later, I went to the World Cup in Rotterdam.It was amazing because it was the first time I’ve been to a big tournament. All the big countries were there and it was a different level of competition. We ended up getting second and I loved every moment of the event.”
Ciriello’s debut match for the Kookaburras, the Australian national mens’ hockey team, was another memorable experience.
“My first game for the Kookaburras was against Germany and we won,” he said.
“In the second game I scored my first goal for Australia, which was pretty exciting.”
The focus for Ciriello and the Kookaburras now shifts to the Olympics, with Australia in good form over the last year, having won gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October.
“It was a great tournament,” he said. “We played India in New Delhi on the final day. The match was played at 3pm and it was 45 degrees, so it was hot and the humidity was nearly 100 per cent.
“About 35,000-45,000 people were there and it was a brilliant atmosphere. I scored the second goal, which was nice. We ended up winning 8-0.
“There’s a good chance I’ll play in the Olympics, just got to keep my body fit and do what the coaches ask of me.
“As long as we go through the process, we’ve got a good enough team to win. It just depends on how everything goes on the day.”
