The Kookaburras will head into the Paris Olympics brimming with confidence after claiming the FIH Pro League Season 5 title overnight.

The Netherlands were the only team that could knock Australia from the top of the table, but after a penalty shootout defeat to Germany, the Kookaburras were confirmed as champions.

They won 10 of their 16 matches in the competition on 34 points.

“It’s exciting,” Kookaburras Captain and West Australian Aran Zalewski said at training on Friday.

“We woke up this morning here in Australia, and the competition is still going over in Europe, so it was a little bit unusual to hear the news over social media, but yeah, great news that we’ve won the Pro League this year.”

Zalewski said his side’s ability to find a way to win under pressure would hold them in good stead heading into the Olympics.

“It’s certainly something we’ve been working on, our trademark, you could say, coming home late. We’ve got that confidence, and we know we can, if we’re behind, that’s somewhere that we feel comfortable in a game now, knowing we can create enough opportunities to get back in front,” he said.

“The competition is so strong, and the teams are just getting better and better with more players and more depth. So for us to win the competition is very pleasing and it’s exciting heading into the Olympics and knowing there’s a lot of good teams that we’re going to have to play against.”

The Kookaburras registered an incredible 56 goals in just 16 matches, showing devastating potency from penalty corners, converting 23 into goals.

Kookaburras coach Colin Batch said the triumph is a good stepping stone heading to Paris.

“You wake up and find out that you’ve won! So very pleased with that, but our aim this year is to do very well in Paris and we’ve decided to celebrate with a training session, so the guys certainly enjoyed that and it was upbeat. It’s nice to win these things along the way,” he said.

“We’re doing well with our scoring, but traditionally, the Olympics has been a tight competition, and teams spend a lot of time with their defensive side of the game, so our ability to keep creating opportunities and finishing obviously will be key to us doing well in Paris.”

The Kookaburras fly out to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in 20 days, with the final 16-man team set to be named on Monday.