Dylan Downey, Makayla Jones and Georgie Smithers make u21s national squad

They were selected in the Burras and Jillaroos (u21) squads in early April with an eye towards the International Hockey Federation Junior Hockey World Cups at the end of the year as well as the future success of Australian hockey at the elite level.

READ ALSO:

Jillaroos head coach Stacia Strain said the squad was strong and explained the reasoning behind the selections.

"The u21 Championships were a fantastic indicator of how far this age group has come technically and tactically," Strain said.

"There was some really good hockey played and the quality across the board was what impressed us as a selection panel.

"We picked the 27 players with an eye on the Junior World Cup, but I didn't want to limit it solely to that.

"I wanted to keep one eye on development and the future of the Jillaroos and the Hockeyroos."

Burras head coach Jay Stacy had similar sentiments with his squad.

"As a selection panel, there were in depth conversations about athletes based on what we need and what to develop moving forward to the Junior World Cup," Stacy said.

"The depth is certainly evident at the u21 level and there are some guys who remain in the squad from last year.

"We have some real strength in our penalty corner attack and penalty corner defence areas and high quality athletes, both technically and tactically across all lines.

"A pleasing aspect to observe at the u21 Nationals was the flexibility of athletes to play and execute roles in various structures which will provide a great base for the squad to grow."

"We have selected some really strong talent which provides great competition within the squad.

"This will produce exciting times ahead and some difficult decisions at the final team selection. This is a nice problem to have."

Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.