THE first step towards Mollymook's Kalindi Commerford and her Hockeyroos booking their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics begins on Thursday, as they open their Oceania Cup campaigns in Rockhampton.
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The Oceania Cup will see Australia's national women's team take on their New Zealand counterparts in a best-of-three match series, with the winners to automatically qualify for next year's Games in Tokyo.
For the Hockeyroos, ensuring straight passage through to the Olympics has been the biggest priority on the 2019 calendar year.
Now the wait is over and they cannot wait to get down to business.
The team has been in Rockhampton since Sunday finalising their preparations, and considering the prize on the line, there is an excitement among the group of what lies ahead over the next four days.
"Everyone is excited - we know it's an important event for us to qualify for Tokyo and we know the Kiwis are a very strong team ,so it's going to be a really tough competition," Hockeyroos coach Paul Gaudoin said.
"But we're well prepared and looking forward to it."
With the Hockeyroos currently holding down the number two spot on the world rankings, Gaudoin knows it comes with an added level of pressure and expectation, particularly playing on home soil.
But it is pressure he says his players are embracing, while at the same time knowing that a high ranking does not guarantee a positive result.
"I think there is that (pressure)," he said.
"The higher you go up the ranks the more you are expected to win, but we certainly know, by looking at the recent Tokyo test event and European championships, that the teams are very close together.
"It's very close between the top 10 or 12 teams in the world, so we're acutely aware of that and we respect the New Zealand group very highly.
"There are nerves that we need to qualify.
"We're aware of that and you don't take going to the Olympics lightly. It's an achievement to get to the Olympics and this is our first step.
"We know we can't get ahead of ourselves and need to apply ourselves to the job at hand which will be focusing on getting a win tomorrow night (Thursday)."
The Hockeyroos will open their three-Test series on Thursday, before matches on Saturday and Sunday, at Rockhamption's Kalka Shades Hockey Fields.
