Troy Elder

Troy Elder OAM (born 15 October 1977 in Bunbury, Western Australia) is a field hockey striker and midfielder from Australia, who was a member of the Men's National Team that won the golden medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Four years earlier, when Sydney hosted the Olympic Games, Elder finished in third spot with The Kookaburras, as the national team is called.

Elder originated from Bundaberg, Queensland, where he played for the All Blacks Hockey Club. Nicknamed Woody, Elder shot into limelight as a player with the National Junior Squad, that won the Hockey Junior World Cup at Milton Keynes in 1997 against India. After the 1998 Australian Hockey League season with the Queensland Blades, Elder got into the senior National Squad at the 1998 Champions Trophy in Lahore, where Australia won the bronze. He was part of the winning team in the 1999 Champions Trophy at Brisbane.

Just like his countrymen Jay Stacy and Michael Brennan, Elder moved to the Netherlands, where he played club hockey for Eindhoven's Oranje Zwart, with whom he won the Dutch title in the spring of 2005. The price was high, because during the Dutch play-offs he neglected the call from Australia's Head Coach Barry Dancer to come over for a training session with the men's National Team. He therefore had to miss the 2005 Champions Trophy in Chennai and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Having retired from international hockey, Elder played club hockey for United Hockey in Brisbane for some time whilst still representing the Queensland Blades. A plumber by profession, he is fond of surfing and fishing.

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 2 November 1998 Lahore, Pakistan 1–1 1–1 1998 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2. 3 November 1998 4–3 4–4 3. 13 June 1999 Brisbane, Australia 2–0 2–0 1999 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 4. 14 June 1999 1–0 2–1 5. 18 June 1999 1–0 1–2 6. 20 June 1999 2–0 3–1 7. 28 May 2000 Amstelveen, Netherlands 1–1 1–1 2000 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 8. 30 May 2000 1–0 3–3 9. 2–0 10. 30 September 2000 Sydney, Australia 1–0 6–3 2000 Summer Olympics 11. 2–1 12. 5–2 13. 2 August 2001 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3–1 5–3 2001 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 14. 4–1 15. 4 August 2001 1–1 2–6 16. 2–4 17. 7 August 2001 3–2 3–2 18. 10 August 2001 3–1 7–1 19. 4–1 20. 7–1 21. 12 August 2001 1–0 4–3 22. 4 November 2001 Rotterdam, Netherlands 2–1 3–2 2001 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 23. 7 November 2001 2–1 3–2 24. 10 November 2001 3–1 5–3 25. 4–1 26. 24 February 2002 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2–0 3–0 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup 27. 3–0 28. 27 February 2002 4–1 5–1 29. 4 March 2002 2–0 4–2 30. 9 March 2002 1–0 1–2 31. 27 July 2002 Manchester, England 3–1 6–1 2002 Commonwealth Games 32. 4–1 33. 30 July 2002 6–0 20–1 34. 8–0 35. 19–1 36. 4 August 2002 1–0 5–2 37. 16 August 2003 Amstelveen, Netherlands 2–3 4–3 2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 38. 19 August 2003 3–0 4–1 39. 23 August 2003 5–1 8–3 40. 24 August 2003 2–2 4–2 41. 20 September 2003 Wellington, New Zealand 1–1 4–3 2003 Men's Oceania Cup 42. 2–2 43. 3–3 44. 21 September 2003 3–1 4–1 45. 10 January 2004 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 1–1 2004 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 46. 12 January 2004 2–1 3–2 47. 3–1 48. 13 January 2004 2–2 4–2 49. 18 January 2004 4–2 4–3 50. 15 August 2004 Athens, Greece 1–0 4–1 2004 Summer Olympics 51. 19 August 2004 1–1 4–3 52. 25 August 2004 1–0 6–3 53. 18 June 2006 Ipoh, Malaysia 1–0 4–1 2006 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 54. 22 July 2006 Terrassa, Spain 2–1 3–2 2006 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 55. 3–2 56. 23 July 2006 1–0 1–1