The Australia women's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Hockeyroos) are, as of January 2019, ranked third in the world. Having played their first game in 1914, and their first Olympic game in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, they are one of Australia's most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic gold medals (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, 1996,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

), two World Cup gold medals (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

) and four Commonwealth Games gold medals (

, 2006, 2010,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

). The Hockeyroos have been crowned Australia's Team of the Year five times and were unanimously awarded Best Australian Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. A notable part of the Hockeyroos colourful history has involved

Ric Charlesworth Richard Ian Charlesworth AO (born 6 February 1952) is an Australian sports coach and former politician. He played first-class cricket for Western Australia and international field hockey for the Kookaburras (the Australian national team), win ...

. Charlesworth was at the helm of the Hockeyroos from 1993 to 2000, where his reign as coach saw the team win the 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 Champions Trophies, 1994 and 1998 World Cups and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Charlesworth took the Hockeyroos to the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games, where the team won back-to-back gold medals. The team was coached from 2011 by

Adam Commens Adam David Commens (born 6 May 1976) is the brother of Scott Commens, is an Australian field hockey coach and former player. He was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Commens was nicknamed ''Billy'' by his teammates, and earned ...

, who was replaced after the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the side failed to medal, by Paul Gaudoin. Amid much turmoil, Gaudoin quit in March 2021 and was replaced by former player Katrina Powell. Given the extent of the Hockeyroos success, the team has consistently remained at the top of the world hockey rankings. From the late 1980s until 2000, the Australian team was ranked at number 1 in the world. Only once during this period, did the Hockeyroos fail to win a tournament, when they finished fifth.

Great Hockeyroos

Rechelle Hawkes

As part of the Olympic team in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000,

Rechelle Hawkes Rechelle Margaret Hawkes, (born 30 May 1967 in Albany, Western Australia) is the former captain of the Australian Women's Hockey Team, best known as the '' Hockeyroos'',she was captain for eight years and became the seco ...

is the most decorated Hockeyroo of all time. Such is her status in international hockey that she is among the most successful female players in the history of the sport. Hawkes is the only female hockey player to win three Olympic gold medals at three separate games. After 279 international matches, Hawkes retired following the Sydney Olympic Games where the Hockeyroos again won gold. In recognition of her contribution to Australian sport, Rechelle was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 2002. In 2018, Hawkes was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

for "significant service to hockey."

Alyson Annan

Alyson Annan Alyson Regina Annan (born 12 June 1973) is an Australian field hockey coach and retired field hockey player, who earned a total number of 228 international caps for the Women's National Team, in which she scored 166 goals. Until January 2022, ...

is also one of more prominent figures in the history of the Hockeyroos. Annan debuted in the Australian side at the age of 18 and became renowned for her prowess in front of goal, scoring 166 goals during her career. She was widely regarded as the sharpest shooter in international women's hockey during the 1990s which was acknowledged when she won the World Hockey Player of the Year in 1999. Annan represented Australia 228 times, and was part of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Gold Medal-winning teams. Annan remains the Hockeyroos highest goal scorer.

Nikki Hudson

As a highly recognised Hockeyroo,

Nikki Hudson Nicole Elaine Hudson (née Mott; born 6 July 1976) is an Australian former women's field hockey player. She was the captain of the Hockeyroos, Australia's national women's team, until her retirement from international hockey in 2009. She made ...

has become one of the most identifiable Australian athletes. Retiring in 2009, the striker was formerly the highest capped player in the history of the Hockeyroos, finishing on 303 games (at the time, being the only Hockeyroo to play over 300 games). Since her debut in 1993 at the age of 17, Hudson scored 99 goals in international competition. In 2008, she played in her third successive Olympic Games.

Madonna Blyth

Following her debut in 2004,

Madonna Blyth Madonna Blyth (born 30 November 1985) is an Australian field hockey player who competed in the 2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed ...

became one of the most prominent Hockeyroos in history. Retiring in 2016, the midfielder became the highest-capped player in the history of the Hockeyroos, finishing on 342 games, surpassing the record previously set by

. During her career, she won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and two World Cup silvers. She was also the captain of the team from 2009 until her retirement in 2016, following the Olympic Games.

The Hockeyroos today

Following the 2016 Summer Olympics, many of the Hockeyroos' core players retired, forcing the team into a development phase. In 2017, long-time player

Emily Chalker Emily Chalker (née Smith) is an Australian field hockey player. She has been selected to represent Australia in field hockey at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics along with other competitions. Personal Chalker was born on 28 July 1992 in ...

was named captain of the team during this rebuilding phase. Following a disappointing

Hockey World League The Men's FIH Hockey World League was an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The league also served as a qualifier for the 2014 and 2018 Men's Hockey World Cups and the 2016 Olympic Games. Th ...

campaign, the team won the

Oceania Cup The Oceania Cup is an international men's field hockey competition organised by Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). It is held every two years to determine which teams will receive an automatic berth to the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and Summer Olymp ...

, sparking what would become a string of successes for the team. The Hockeyroos played three major tournaments in 2018, winning silver medals at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and Champions Trophy. The team only failed to medal at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, where they finished fourth. Following her return to the squad in 2018,

Jodie Kenny Jodie Kenny (née Schulz; born 18 August 1987) is an Australian field hockey player. Kenny was a member of the Australia women's national field hockey team that were defeated by the Netherlands women's national field hockey team in the final of ...

was named as a co-captain of the team, along with

and Georgina Morgan. The team started 2019 with an historic 1–0 victory over world number one, the

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in the FIH Pro League, this marked their first win over the Dutch since the 2009 Champions Trophy. At the conclusion of the group stage of the FIH Pro League, the Hockeyroos finished in third place, qualifying for the Grand Final and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers.

Tournament records

Team

Current squad

The following players were named in the 2023 Hockeyroos squad. The squad was announced on 6 December 2022, with five additional players to be added at a later date. ''Caps and goals are current as of 7 August 2022 after the match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.'' Head coach: Katrina Powell

Recent call-ups

The following players have received call-ups to the national team in the last 12 months.

Records

Results

Past results

*'' Australia women's national field hockey team results (2001–05)'' *'' Australia women's national field hockey team results (2006–10)'' *'' Australia women's national field hockey team results (2011–15)'' *'' Australia women's national field hockey team results (2016–20)''

2022 Fixtures and Results

Trans–Tasman Series

FIH World Cup

XXII Commonwealth Games

Goalscorers

2023 Fixtures and Results

FIH Pro League

Other programs

National development squad

In addition to the core 22 player squad,

Hockey Australia Hockey Australia is an organisation that formed from the merger of the Australian Hockey Association and Women's Hockey Australia in 2000. It is the national body responsible for the promotion, development and administration of field hockey in A ...

also maintains a 23 player development squad. The 2022 squad is as follows: * Alice Arnott * Hannah Astbury *

Laura Barden Laura Barden (born 6 September 1994) is an Australian field hockey player. She plays the position of forward and is single and most definitely ready to mingle. She is a member of the 2017 Australian women's national field hockey team. Early ...

* Morgan Blamey * Hannah Cullum-Sanders * Savannah Fitzpatrick * Rachel Frusher * Morgan Gallagher * Annie Gibbs * Nicola Hammond * Carly James * Phillipa Morgan * Zoe Newman * Maddison Smith * Michaela Spano *

Tatum Stewart Tatum Stewart (born 22 February 2002) is a field hockey player from Australia. Personal life Tatum Stewart was born and raised in Toowoomba, Queensland. Stewart was a student at Fairholme College. Career Domestic league In Hockey Australia's d ...

* Sophie Taylor * Aisling Utri * Zali Ward * Britt Wilkinson * Abigail Wilson * Emily Witheyman-Crump * Grace Young

References

External links

Official websiteFIH profile
{{Authority control Oceanian women's national field hockey teams 1914 establishments in Australia