NURIOOTPA hockey goalkeeper Marty Gallasch returned from Queensland with a medal after his Australian over 40s Masters side swept New Zealand in a threegame series on the Gold Coast  over the weekend.

The 41-year-old was selected for the squad earlier this year and said the whole experience was something he “won’t forget”.

“The experience was pretty fantastic,” Gallasch said.

“Just prior to the first game was probably almost the highlight – the shirt presentation, the national anthem.

“That is something I’ll remember for a long time.

“The preparation for that first game was really intense, you knew you were playing at a different level.

“It was an exciting experience.

“I got to be on the receiving end of a Haka in the third game, which was pretty awesome.

“They really came at us hard.

“We had them for fitness, they didn’t give up, and they kept smashing up against us.”

Gallasch said while the build up to game one was a massive highlight, he said the second match was even better.

“I was pretty nervous, I didn’t see a lot of the ball the first game,” he said.

“However, the second game, making those saves and playing my role in the side was good.

“That was pretty special.”

Gallasch entered the competition under somewhat of an injury cloud, after racing against time to have his recently surgically repaired shoulder in good enough shape to play.

He said the only time it gave him trouble was after the last match.

“It held up until after the game; one of the South Australians, he scored two goals in the last match, I gave him a big high five and that’s when I hurt my shoulder,” he said.

One of the reasons Gallasch played the tournament was to find out whether or not he belonged at Australian level, and he said he got his answer.

“I felt like I belonged, so that was good,” he said.

“I’ve not played with a group of guys as professional as that.

“All these guys are guns, they did their job for the whole tournament.”