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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Perth, WA, AUS |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | WA Thundersticks: Australia |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Commerce, Engineering - University of Western Australia: Perth, WA, AUS |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Cricket, tennis, soccer, spending time with friends, dancing, listening to music, playing the guitar, piano, repairing old bikes. (olympics.com.au, 12 Aug 2012; hockey.org.au, 06 Dec 2015) |
| Injuries | He was sidelined for five months in 2013 with a bulging disc in his back. (yahoo.com, 30 Apr 2014) He broke his left hand at the 2005 Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands, then broke the same hand again at the 2006 Australian U21 Championships. (NOC, 31 Jul 2008) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold at the 2010 World Cup in Delhi, India, winning bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and winning the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands. (ausport.gov.au, 28 Nov 2011; au.news.yahoo.com, 29 Jul 2014) |
| Famous relatives | His brother Tom has also played for the WA Thundersticks in the Australian Hockey League. (hockeywa.org.au, 27 Apr 2016) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His brother and some of his friends were already playing the sport, and he was also attracted by the technical element of the game. "It's a real game of finesse, so your technical skill is what matters rather than the fact that you are six foot." |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His brother Tom, Australia hockey player Bevan George, and coach Ric Charlesworth. (gryphon-life.com, 19 Aug 2009; hockeywa.org.au, 27 Oct 2012; au.news.yahoo.com, 29 Jul 2014) |
| Hero / Idol | Australia hockey player Bevan George. (olympics.com.au, 12 Aug 2012) |
| Ambitions | To win the gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, then after hockey continue to work on the concept of using the ocean for renewable energy, which was the subject of his university thesis. (au.news.yahoo.com, 29 Jul 2014; hockeywa.org.au, 15 Jan 2016) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Jason Butcher [club]; Graham Reid [national], AUS |
| Preferred position / style / stance / technique | Defender |
| Handedness | Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began playing hockey at age eight while at primary school in Geraldton, WA, Australia |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2007 |
| Competing for | Australia |
| Location | Malaysia |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Fergy (hockeywa.org.au, 27 Oct 2012) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Have fun." (Athlete, 04 Dec 2009) |
| Other information | RANCHI He played for the Ranchi Rhinos in the inaugural 2013 edition of the professional HIL, and became the first Australia player to win the tournament. He then played for the city's new HIL team, the Ranchi Rays, in the 2015 and 2016 editions, and won a second HIL title in 2015. (hockey.org.au, 13 Mar 2013; hockeywa.org.au, 18 Jan 2016) FIVE STRAIGHT In 2012, he became the first player to win the first five consecutive Champions Trophy tournaments he played in. He was part of the Australia team that claimed gold at every tournament between 2008 and 2012. (edgehockey.com.au, 20 Jul 2013) FROM IRELAND TO AUSTRALIA Born in Dublin, he moved to Australia with his family at age four. (hookhockey.com, 01 Aug 2012) |
| Awards and honours | He was named as the Ranchi Rhinos' Player of the Tournament in the 2013 edition of the Hockey India League [HIL]. (hockey.org.au, 13 Mar 2013) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
International Debut | |
| Tournament | Sultan Azlan Shah Cup |