Crowley fit to play; eyes up international return

Will Johnston

Taranaki Black Stick Anna Crowley has been declared fit to play after a nasty injury saw her sidelined for four months.

In April, the 23-year-old broke her eye socket and suffered a concussion after a hockey ball struck her during preparations for a Pro League match against Great Britain in Christchurch. She needed surgery, which included a titanium plate inserted to hold it all together, which will be there for life.

“When I first started running, I could feel something in there, but it’s nothing bad,” she said about her plate.

She couldn’t see for a month because of the swelling and also suffered from double vision and blurriness post-surgery.

Crowley said this was her first major injury and always felt bad for others when they were injured. But she was never told about the mental toll, something she learnt quickly.  

“It was quite hard for a few months especially with the girls competing overseas and at the Olympic qualifiers.

“Knowing you were ruled out of those big selections was quite hard. The main thing for me the first month when I couldn’t actually see, I was like ‘holy heck am I ever going to play hockey again’.”

While her eye had recovered, it took even more time for Crowley to overcome the concussion. She slowly introduced physical activity into her routine when she could and built up a fitness base.  

“It’s been a tough journey, but it’s made me more resilient, [I’m] just grateful to be out on the other side.”

The weekend was a milestone for Crowley after playing for Taranaki in a match against New Plymouth Girls’ High School, for the first time since she was an under-18 player. The match came only a few days after she was declared fit to play.

“I felt really good to be back out on the pitch wearing the amber and black. It was a good first hit out with the team.”

Taranaki won 2-1.

Her next focus is to play as much as she can to earn selection back into the national side. It starts next month when she will play for Taranaki in the national hockey championships followed by two months in Australia’s Hockey One League.  

“I’m putting my best foot forward to try to get as much game time I can before test matches in December and play well to get the nod from the selectors.”

January sees the Black Sticks play in the second round of the Olympic qualifiers with the hope of getting a top-three finish for Paris 2024.