Nathan's Story
Growing up in Far North Queensland, Nathan Burgers started playing hockey in Townsville as a six-year-old and fell into the role of goalkeeper because there were two teams and only one goalie. He made his Australian debut in 2007 against The Netherlands and moved to the AIS in Perth on scholarship. In 2008 he competed in his first Champions Trophy tournament winning gold. It was his first of three consecutive Champions Trophy wins. Also in 2008, Burgers was the non-travelling reserve for the Beijing Olympic Team but was never required to play. In 2010, Burgers had the best year of his career to date, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games, World Cup and Champions Trophy.
Making his Olympic debut at the age of 33 in London, Burgers was the first choice keeper for coach Ric Charlesworth. Burgers kept a clean sheet in the opening 6-0 victory over South Africa before Australia- ranked world number one- beat Spain and Pakistan but drew with Argentina and Great Britain in the pool stage. In the semi-final the Australians held a 2-1 lead over defending Olympic Champions Germany midway through the second half, but the Germans stormed home to win 4-2. The Aussie Kookaburras bounced back to knock off the British 3-1 in the bronze medal match.
