Beware of the Aussie bomber called Domke!

Sydney: German striker Oliver Domke is being tipped as the man to watch at the Sydney hockey tournament. He has in the past reminded the hockey world he is a man for big moments.

At the Champions Trophy earlier this year, having dashed to a 2-0 lead in the match to decide who would meet the Dutch in the final, the Germans were under enormous pressure from the resurgent Australians.

So Domke went to work. Nineteen minutes into the match, he took the ball, blazed down the left of the field and, without reference to a single teammate and showing scant respect for the defence, conjured a miraculous goal. 3-0.

The Aussies hit back with two goals. Then, from almost the same part of the field he spirited the ball into his quarter, then into the circle, then bang, 4-2.

With a half left to play it was goodnight Australia. It was this kind of brilliance which made Domke player of the tournament at the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht and which has earned him a place in the ranks of the game's attacking greats.

He couldn't steal the Champions Trophy for the Germans - the Dutch did that with a golden goal in extra time - but he did enough in Amsterdam to show that he will be one of the forces in Sydney.

"I did not feel I played really well here. For the Olympics, I will be better than I am today," he had said in Amsterdam. At 24, Domke is small built for a German striker.

But he has played more than 110 internationals for Germany and would have played more had he not taken a year off after Utrecht to concentrate on his work as an industrial officer.

And had he cultivated his considerable football talent some say the young man, who bears a remarkable resemblance to England footballer Michael Owen, may have played that sport for his country.

The question for Germany, which now lays claim to being the world's second best hockey team, is if its forwards can support Domke in his endeavours. Unlike the Netherlands dazzling attack - Teun de Nooijer, Remco van Wijk and Jaap Derk Buma, with captain StephanVeen and Marten Eikelboom chiming in - the German attack can look like a one-man band.

Former Australian coach Richard Aggiss describes Domke as a "rare talent". "He is probably not as consistent as the Germans would like him to be; some days you don't see him at all. But other days he is electrifying, capable of the most superb goals."

Domke knows he will be marked closely in Sydney but believes the Germans can win gold. "We must all play together well. One player is not enough." We'll have to wait and see.

Professional Management Group