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Hockey One: Melbourne Cobras In, Territory Stingers Overlooked · WCBH

• 0:00
  It's a WCBH on Darwin 97.7,
• 0:12
  Hey, it's Cam with a WCBH mini-episode. So get your strapping strap,
• 0:17
  the magic sponge doused and the oranges cut children quartered as the Melbourne
• 0:21
  Cobras are named as the new franchise to enter the Hockey One competition with
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  the Territory Stingers missing out.
• 0:27
  The Hockey One League has confirmed that the Melbourne Cobras will enter the
• 0:31
  national competition from the 2026 season, becoming the league's eighth team
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  and giving Victoria a second franchise.
• 0:38
  However, the announcement is a disappointing outcome for the Northern Territory,
• 0:43
  with Hockey NT confirming the expansion process is now concluded without the
• 0:48
  Territory Stingers gaining entry.
• 0:51
  Hockey NT CEO Jason Butcher says the Territory deserves a clear pathway to the
• 0:56
  elite level of the game, but acknowledges the realities facing smaller jurisdictions.
• 1:02
  Despite missing out on the National League, Hockey NT says it will continue
• 1:06
  pushing for inclusion while strengthening its own pathway system.
• 1:10
  The Territory Stingers program has already taken a different approach,
• 1:14
  competing in the Malaysian Hockey League in building international partnerships
• 1:18
  across Southeast Asia and Oceana to give the Northern Territory athletes higher level opportunities.
• 1:24
  Now, a quick thought on this one from me. It feels like Hockey Australia have
• 1:29
  missed a real opportunity here.
• 1:31
  The Hockey One lead talks about being a national competition,
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  but if the Northern Territory isn't represented, it's hard to truly call it national.
• 1:40
  Victoria already has a franchise, and while the Melbourne Cobras might bring
• 1:43
  some new commercial opportunities, the territory stingers bring something equally if not more important.
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  A proven pathway and a region that consistently produces outstanding hockey athletes.
• 1:55
  What this decision effectively does, it forces talented Territory players to
• 2:00
  move interstate if they want to compete at the highest domestic level.
• 2:04
  Australia is a big country. Some states and cities will always be bigger and
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  richer than others, but surely there are economies of scale and real benefits
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  in supporting smaller and regional programs so they remain part of the national pathway.
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  Instead, the decision forces the Northern Territory to look overseas through
• 2:23
  competitions like the Malaysian Hockey League to give our athletes elite opportunities.
• 2:28
  That's innovative and impressive from Hockey NT, but it also raises the question
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  of why those opportunities aren't being provided within our own national competition.
• 2:38
  From where I sit, the Stingers deserve entry into Hockey 1, and I certainly
• 2:43
  feel for Hockey NT, the Territory Stingers Organisation, and all the athletes
• 2:48
  who just want their chance to compete in Australia's top league.
• 2:52
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