SERVING your country while also representing it goes hand-in-hand for Tweed Heads army administration clerk Phil Dumpleton.

Juggling a full-time position in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and a Bachelor of Secondary Teaching degree with high-level hockey representation is no mean feat, but Dumpleton takes it all in his stride.

He worked his way up to winning a gold medal while donning the green and gold for the Australian Country hockey side in New Zealand in April after playing in the Australian Country Championships last year.

“I was playing for the Australian Defence Force team in the Australian Country Championships and, when we play there, we are eligible to represent the Australian Country side,” Dumpleton said.

It’s the culmination of a 23-year association with the sport he loves, which took him from juniors in his hometown of Nowrah, to club hockey for Brisbane club Norths, before gaining selection in the Australian Country side.

Dumpleton’s Australian team was joined by six other sides from Australia and New Zealand in the Affiliates Tournament in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand in April, which ran in conjunction with an Olympic warm-up competition for the Hockeyroos and Black Sticks.

The Australian Country side was dominant throughout the tournament and went on to trounce Hawkes Bay 7–1 in the gold medal decider.

The aspiring physical education teacher said the level of competition in New Zealand was fierce but he was buoyed by his performances across the tournament.

“There’s a reasonable step up at the country championship level but the competition in New Zealand was the next step up and, while I’ve done some tours overseas, this tournament was the highest level I’ve ever played,” he said.

“I was happy with how I played and got good reports and some positives from the coaching staff which will hopefully put me in good stead at the next Australian Country Championships in July in Darwin.”

Impressing at the upcoming championships in Darwin will potentially see the 27-year-old wearing the green and gold again, confident he can keep raising the bar over at least the next few years.

“I want to keep playing as long as I can,” Dumpleton said.

“Realistically, I’ve probably got another five years at first-grade level.”

Dumpleton is currently playing in the the Defence Force Hockey Championships in Sydney.