An Australian Take on Hockey

It’s high-paced, balletic skill but while it won’t be written on the billboards, the subtext of the tour’s marketing may as well be: There Will Be Blood.

Fighting is now extinct in all our major footy codes but in ice hockey, it’s still as commonplace as a scrum or a mark. And tactical, too.

Penalties apply but referees first stand back and watch when two men go at it. “Hockeyfights.com” is one of several popular websites dedicated to the art, and the Kassassinator doesn’t mind admitting he trains accordingly.

“I do boxing. Some guys do other things,” he says. “But you can’t just focus on that, you have to work on your skills. Maybe 10-15 years ago that was all you did, but you have to be able to play now.”