By Roy Ward and Brad McGrath
Greater Dandenong residents will have plenty of local links to the London Olympics. ROY WARD and BRAD McGRATH profile three of our Olympians.
ENDEAVOUR Hills hockey star Chris Ciriello has held plenty of titles – from salesman, to labourer and even casual cobbler.
But being a gold medallist would trump all of those in an instant. For the past six years, the 26 year old has been an “on and off” member of the Kookaburras team – two years ago he was dropped from the team’s squad for the World Cup.
So Ciriello, who played in the Kookaburras’ gold medal side at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, has never felt too assured of his place in the side even as he moved into the starting team over the past year and ascended to the centre midfield position and assumed the responsibility as the first drag flicker, the player who hits the all important penalty corners.
Click on the image below for our gallery of Greater Dandenong Olympians.
That position is considered a key to any success; elite hockey teams expect to score from every penalty corner and much relies on the flicker precisely finding his teammate in each set play. If the Kookaburras win gold at the London Olympics, Ciriello will play a major role in their success.
Ciriello, who now lives in Perth so he can be close to the Kookaburras’ training base, said he was excited about the Olympics and taking such a crucial role in the side.
“I have picked up my speed and accuracy, then was lucky enough to take on the role,” he said. “We have a pretty intense build-up and been training and playing since January but I’m told as long as my body holds up I will be in the role.”
The same poise Ciriello shows before taking a penalty corner was in action on the day the players were told if they were in the Olympic team.
After a 6.30am gym session, they were sent home then emailed with the squad. While others may have been frantically clicking the refresh button, Ciriello went home and fell asleep.
He was only woken by a call from his father, Lou, asking if he had made the team. “They give us enough time to get home and get comfortable then send out the emails, ” Ciriello said. “I decided I wasn’t in a rush to see the email so I went back to bed.
“My father called and asked if I had any news. We weren’t allowed to tell anyone until the team was announced publicly so I checked my emails then told him I couldn’t say anything – but that he could smile.”
The Ciriellos are a passionate field hockey family. Chris’s maternal grandfather, Rudolf Pacheco, played for India and coached his father who in turn met his future wife.
Ciriello credits his parents for introducing him to the sport and for nurturing his talents by taking him to play for Springvale-Noble Park as a junior. “Mum and dad will come to London for the Games, they are more excited than me at the moment,” he said.
When the Games finish, Ciriello plans to take up an offer to play professionally in Holland.
But Dingley table tennis sensation Robert Frank is taking the path less travelled in a sport in which Australia has little history at Olympic level.
Australia’s top table tennis players have generally spent considerable time overseas during their formative years – from Paul Langley and Jeff Plumb to more modern times when William Henzel has become arguably the best Australian player of all time, largely plying his trade from a young age in Sweden.
However Frank, who is a member of the Australian team for the London Olympics, has learnt his craft on our shores, mainly at the Dandenong Table Tennis Association.
Australia’s head table tennis coach Jans Lang said Frank had emerged as a standout player over the past 18 months, pointing to his success at the world teams championships where the Aussie men finished 35th.
“Robbie is one of our up and coming players – I wouldn’t really call him a junior talent any more because he is 21 but he has matured and played an important role at the world teams championships earlier this year,” he said.
“I saw him maturing as a player and hopefully at some stage Robbie Frank will be in a position where he can take over from William.
“At the world teams championship, under big pressure, he beat top 300 players in the world and his wins contributed to the overall success of the men’s team finishing 35th.”
Lang spoke about the importance of young Australian table tennis players having role models on which to model their games and believes Frank could be the ideal candidate to inspire a new wave of Australians.
“Hopefully, he can inspire some of the younger players. He is a true product of the Australian system, he hasn’t played overseas,” he said.
While we all love to support those athletes who grew up in our suburbs, Greater Dandenong has long helped top athletes reach the highest levels through our elite training programs.
Dandenong Rangers Women’s National Basketball League team has long been one of those providers, with former Rangers players like Penny Taylor making it to international level after playing with the club.
The London Olympics will be no exception with current Rangers, and WNBL title winners Jenna O’Hea and Kath Macleod making the Opals squad.
Former Rangers junior Liz Cambage is another who made the team, along with former Rangers WNBL forward Abby Bishop. Taylor would have also played but suffered a serious knee injury early this year.
Macleod was one of the final selections in the Opals side despite playing a starring role in the Rangers WNBL title this past season.
The 25 year old said she was on tenterhooks before learning of her place in the team which came in a one-on-one meeting with coach Carrie Graf on the day the Opals flew home from a June European tour.
“When Grafy said ‘congratulations you made it’ I think I went into shock,” Macleod said. “I was so happy and so excited; I was dreading that flight home.”
Macleod credited playing with the Rangers as a key element in winning selection. “Playing under Mark Wright at Dandenong has helped me to improve my game. I’m the fittest I’ve ever been, it helped me a lot.”
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