Wimbledon’s Liam Ansell says while the rivalry is fierce, the success of near neighbours Surbiton and Old Georgians in recent years is building an increased level of EHL aspiration in the English game.
He returns to the club after a season with AH&BC Amsterdam, linking up with a Wombles side who have directly profited from the heightened performance of English clubs, earning the country a third EHL spot.
“We play each other week in, week out and we are rivals,” he told the EHL website. “But anything that can better out league and get more exposure is important.
“We’ve got some good imports from other countries coming to England and it is kind-of a knock-on effect of people seeing English clubs doing well and willing to come and strengthen our league.”
Sam McCulloch is indicative of that, coming over from Hale in Western Australia where he won a Premier League title while Welsh star Fred Newbold moves from Club an der Alster.
Scottish international Joe McConnell also links up with Wimbledon from Teddington but, on the debit side, Ian Sloan and David Condon have switched to Old Georgians and Jack Waller has gone to Pinoké.
It means the panel has a more youthful look this term and they endured a couple of teething problems on opening day in the English league as they let a 2-0 lead slip in a 5-3 defeat to Holcombe. Nonetheless, the side are “shaping up quite nicely”.
“We probably would have liked a couple more weeks to be together as a team and get used to playing with each other but we’re in a relatively good place.
“We have a couple of things to get in place and we will be ready for the EHL!”
A big part of getting those items in place was a high octane trip to Germany where the side took on Uhlenhorst Mülheim, Rot-Weiss Köln and Der Club an der Alster.
“It was an eye opener and exactly what we need, real high energy, top quality games that just kind of flip you back into that mindset.”
For Ansell – a Tokyo Olympian and two-time Commonwealth Games medalist – he is looking to get back into full flow after nearly a year out with a back injury before coming back into the frame for Amsterdam in the second half of last season.
It was his second spell in the Hoofdklasse having also played for Den Bosch before and it does provide the outline for what is needed back home.
“Every game is difficult. Every game, you know, you have to be on your toes; it’s just such a competitive league and, in the future, I hope we can get to in the English league.
“Over the last 10 or 15 years, people have started putting more money into club systems and I feel like we’re getting the benefits from that.
“You can see how well Old Georgians did last year um and it’s pushing in the right direction. There are some clubs who are pretty secure, then a few in the middle.
“Then you’ve got a couple of teams who are really impressive in getting themselves into the Premier League with limited resources and having to go about it in other ways. It is a bit of mix but you can see lots of teams trying to develop.”
Those efforts can be seen in various clubs working hard to animate fanbases and last weekend saw fireworks and pyrotechnics set off at a number of grounds.
“Surbiton keep pushing to host events and I think East Grinstead kind of started the movement – they have a great fanbase down there – with flares and that kind of thing and other clubs have followed suit.
“It is all trying to get a little bit more exposure because when you do get new people in to watch hockey, they really enjoy it.”
And he is hopeful that party atmosphere will be in full flow when they take on Scotland’s Western Wildcats on Saturday, October 5th.
“We have a couple of Scottish guys in the club [like Joe McConnell] who know them well to get a little bit of an understanding. We absolutely know they will be up for it, physical, and tough to play against.
“While the venue is close by, we are treating the EHL weekend like previous EHL campaigns, treating it as its own entity. We’re staying in a hotel as a team, having good prep and making sure it would be the same as if we playing in Hamburg [two years ago].
“We will put a little more emphasis on a bit of professionalism and make sure we’re fully prepared for that weekend.”
