Lacrosse Australia is hosting its first ever national sixes competition this weekend with the launch of Major League Sixes in Adelaide, South Australia.
Competition will take place from Thursday, November 21 to Saturday, November 23 with five teams each in men’s and women’s events, with playoffs scheduled for Saturday.
The five teams in each competition determined their squads with a draft to create a national championship atmosphere with players from all around the country battling for results in every game.
All of the games from Marsden Sports Park will also be streamed on YouTube by the Australian Lacrosse Network. The rosters for the weekend can be found here.
“We’ve had a lot of local sixes competition in the past few years, but this will be the first national level sixes competition,” said Robert Lawson, who will coach the men’s Brisbane Salties team. “Australia wants to be a high-performance team in the sixes discipline and have a competitive Olympic team.”
Lawson played for the men’s Australian national team in the 1990s, has been coaching for over 20 years, and is currently the head coach of the men’s U20 team set to compete at the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship in 2025 in South Korea.
“We see this tournament as a turning point for us and for players buying into sixes, recognizing the Olympic pathway, and seeing the scale of national competition,” said Lawson. “Coaching-wise, we also have a variety of game plans in place among the different teams, and we’re going to learn a lot about what sixes strategy is going to suit the Australian style of athlete.”
Ashytn Hiron will suit up the Adelaide Redbellies, and has previous international sixes experience for Australia.
“I think we as athletes all enjoy sixes and are just excited to show fast and dynamic it is for our fans,” said Hiron. “We have such athletic, fast players on all the teams, and I think the draft format is awesome for us to compete with players around the country and have a really competitive, entertaining weekend. We’re excited to show what we can do – I’m excited myself to show what I can do.”
Australia has been longstanding powerhouse at World Lacrosse championships as a frequent top finisher which fits in with Australia’s larger sporting culture, which is one of immense pride and high achievement.
“Obviously, it would be a special honor to represent Australia in the Olympics and aim for a medal,” said Hiron. “We all know the amount of work it takes to try and make those Olympic dreams a reality, and we’re excited about what it all means for lacrosse in Australia as it continues to grow.”
Australia has enjoyed internationally strong field and box programs built up over decades of work, but sixes is catching on fast as well.
“Once people watch sixes, they go, ‘Wow, this is awesome,'” said Lawson. “We need to expose more people to the game, sixes overall is about making the game more accessible to a larger population.”
“We’re excited about this weekend,” concluded Lawson. “It’s going to be really enjoyable, especially the communal aspect of it.
