The Australian Kookaburras men’s hockey team has won a record tenth Champions Trophy title, defeating Germany 5 to 3 after a stunning comeback at the State Netball Hockey Centre in Melbourne on 7 December.

Australian striker Des Abbott scored the first goal of the game in the second minute, but Germany responded convincingly with three goals by Florian Fuchs, Martin Haner and Matthias Witthaus.

Down by two goals at the half-time mark, Australia hit back after the break with three goals in 15 minutes — one by Liam de Young in the 37th minute, and two by Luke Doerner from penalty corners in the 42nd and 50th minutes.

Fergus Kavanagh capped off the win, scoring the final goal with a lob over the German goalkeeper.

Mark Knowles paid tribute to the Australian Kookaburras’ strong team morale and determination to win after half time.

‘There was a belief within the team that if we could get a goal early on then we would be in with a good chance,’ Knowles said.

Striker Grant Schubert was named player of the tournament and, with six goals each, he and Luke Doerner shared the leading scorer title.

Prior to the match, Kookaburras captain Jamie Dwyer was named world player of the year for the third time, making him only the second international player to have won the title three times.