The Australian men's hockey team have put on a scoring exhibition, winning a 7-3 goal-fest against New Zealand in their FIH Pro League match at Perth Hockey Stadium.
A double from Jeremy Hayward and goals to Flynn Ogilvie, Trent Mitton, Blake Govers, Tim Brand and Jake Whetton saw the Kookaburras run away with victory in front of a home crowd.
With both sides largely fielding their teams that will line up for the Tokyo Olympics in under a month, the Kookaburras were made to work in their first international on Australian soil since 7 March last year.
The Black Sticks had their opportunities, showing marked improvement from the recent trans-Tasman series, but the Kookaburras had all the answers when it counted.
"It's great being back playing international hockey again. Great weather, an amazing crowd and the game was really good," said player of the match and West Australian local Aran Zalewski, who was playing his first international in almost 16 months.
"Ten goals in the game is exciting for the fans. We would have liked a little less go into our net, but it was a good game overall."
The teams will meet again on Sunday in their final match before Tokyo.
