Interviews for the vacant Kookaburras job will begin this week while suspended striker Tom Craig will cash in as one of 12 Australians picked up in the relaunched Indian Hockey League.
AAP understands as many as 10 applicants will be interviewed for the job vacated by long-time coach Colin Batch.
The field, boasting an even mix of current and aspiring international coaches, will be halved before final interviews and a decision on the new mentor by the end of November.
Batch will coach at Kolkata-based Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers in the lucrative Indian Hockey League (IHL), that will return after a seven-year absence.
Craig is serving a six-month Hockey Australia ban, having been arrested after the team's Paris Olympics exit for attempting to buy drugs during a night out.
It leaves Craig ineligible for the domestic Hockey One League, Australia's Pro League series opener in Sydney and subsequent Pro League tour of Argentina.
The ban doesn't extend to foreign competitions, Craig currently plying his trade with Germany's Hamburger Polo Club.
The 29-year-old will also feature in the IHL's long-awaited return, earning a $35,000 contract with Chennai's Tamil Nadu Dragons alongside Kookaburras teammates Blake Govers and Nathan Ephraums.
The eight-team competition runs from December 28-February 1 - a six-team women's tournament will also debut this year - and is outside of international windows, providing a crucial top-up for the country's top players.
Striker Jeremy Hayward was the most in-demand Australian, going for $74,116 to Punjab-based Soorma Hockey.
Hayward's was the third-highest international price-tag and he'll play alongside Indian captain and star defender Harmanpreet Singh, who was also picked up for a record-shattering $137,575.
“It was a nice little surprise,” Hayward said.
“These auctions can sometimes be down to a bit of luck and to be drawn on the first day (of three) definitely helps.
"I'm over the moon to finally be on the same side as Harmanpreet.
"He has been such an important player for India for many years and now I can learn off him and play alongside the Indian captain."
Tim Brand ($49,432) was the second most expensive Kookaburra while Aran Zalewski, Tim Howard, Matthew Dawson, Lachlan Sharp, Hayden Beltz, Ky Willott and Flynn Ogilvie all won contracts.
Kookaburras veteran and Paris flagbearer Eddie Ockenden, bought for nearly $100,000 in the IHL's 2012 auction, went unsold alongside Germany’s 2023 World Cup-winning captain Mats Grambusch in two of the bigger omissions.
