Special moment for captain bringing home cup after Australian Country Championships triumph in Victoria

There was some very special luggage on a flight from Melbourne to Perth on Monday as WA brought home the spoils of their triumph at the Australian Country Championships. After a week-long competition in Shepparton, Victoria against teams from around Australia, it was a beaming WA men’s hockey side that boarded the plane to head back home as champions. With gold medals around their neck, WA was still celebrating their memorable 1-0 win over Victoria on Saturday. A photo was posted on social media by Hockey WA with successful men’s captain and Lower Great Southern player Darren Parkes posing in the cockpit proudly with the championship silverware. “One of our younger players asked a flight attendant if the pilot could have a photo with our cup,” Parkes said. “And then she said back ‘how about we get one in the cockpit’? “Me being captain I was lucky enough to be the guy that got thrown up there and I was pretty grateful for that opportunity Qantas gave me actually. “It was a very unique experience.” The WA players and officials made it safely back home and will have plenty of fond memories of their carnival exploits for years to come. Parkes was joined in the winning team by fellow Lower Great Southern players Hayden Mills and Paul Stobie. It was a breakthrough result for the WA men’s team after going down at home in the 2022 gold medal game to Queensland and having not claimed the title in more than a decade.