Holcombe Hockey Club can confirm the departures of first-team players Phil Roper and Tim Guise-Brown following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. 

Roper, who will play for Great Britain at the upcoming Olympics, spent two seasons with the club and proved his quality time and time again, showing the Holcombe terrace and many opposition sides just why is he is so widely-regarded as a world-class player. 

The former Wimbledon man was a key part of Holcombe’s attack under Barry Middleton, playing across the midfield and forward positions and former a super partnership with Nick Bandurak during his time in Rochester.

He, alongside Guise-Brown, was also part of the Holcombe side which finished as Premier Division runners-up in the 2022/23 season after beating hosts Surbiton at their home Sugden Road to secure Euro Hockey League qualification, with Holcs narrowly losing out to hosts Real Club de Polo de Barcelona in the KO8 back in October. 

South African Guise-Brown joined the club from Oxted in the summer of 2021, spending three years with Holcombe in total.

Across his spell, he consistently performed as a strong Premier Division defender whether deployed in a back-three or back-four, while his distribution from the backline was also crucial in terms of building attacks, particularly with the option of the aerial. 

On top of that, Guise-Brown’s ferocious drag-flicks saw him score a number of goals across his time with Holcombe, including two particularly special efforts in 2023/24, one at home against Beeston and the other away to Southgate in Phase Two of the Premier Division season.

Both players will be missed at Holcombe Park. 

We would like to wish both Phil and Tim all the best in their future endeavours and place on record our thanks for their service as a club.

Images Courtesy of: World Sports Pics, Martin Waight