Powerful mix of experience and youth named for 2024 Hockeyroos squad ahead of Olympic year

Hockeyroos’ Head Coach, Katrina Powell has combined a mix of experience and new talent in the squad for 2024, a year that will be headlined by the Paris Olympic Games.

The 2024 Hockeyroos squad showcases the depth of hockey talent across the country, with seven players from NSW, six from Queensland, three from Western Australia and South Australia, and one each from Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory. 

Uncapped South Australian defender Lucy Sharman has been added, together with skilled Tasmanian, Maddison Brooks and New South Wales striker, Alice Arnott following their debuts for the Hockeyroos earlier this year. 

Sharman represented South Australia at the national Under 21s while also competing for the Adelaide Fire in this year’s JDH Hockey One League before earning her maiden call up. Together with Brooks, she is currently in Chile representing the Australian Under 21s Women’s team, the Jillaroos, at the FIH Junior World Cup.

Brooks scored her maiden international goal in the Hockeyroos’ win over New Zealand in Christchurch in the FIH Pro League series in April earlier this year. She secured her second goal not long after in the three-match series against India in Adelaide. NSW country born star Arnott scored on debut in the same series against India in Adelaide. She went on to add more goals to the tally in the Australia A series against India. 

The likes of South Australian stalwart, Jane Claxton and Northern Territory powerhouse, Brooke Peris, with 228 and 197 caps respectively, highlight the experience in the squad as two of seven athletes with over 100 Hockeyroos games under their belt. 

“There has been some really standout performances throughout the year, from the FIH Pro League Series, Test series against China and India, successful Oceania Cup Olympic qualifiers and the recent JDH Hockey One League,” Hockeyroos Head Coach, Katrina Powell said.

“Essentially this has enabled the National Selection Panel to select a squad with a really good mix of youth and experience, which is favourable leading into an Olympic year.

“The fact that the squad will again be centralised at hockey’s high-performance home in Perth is also very fortunate. The opportunity to have all the athletes together is something that the team and I are very excited about."

Midfielder Courtney Schonell was not listed in the squad as she recovers from a major knee injury. Courtney will remain an important member of hockey’s High-Performance Program and will be a supported through an individually tailored long-term injury management program as a Categorised athlete.

The Hockeyroos have a proud history, having secured three gold medal wins since women’s hockey was first introduced to the summer Games in 1980. They won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and bronze at the FIH Women’s World Cup, both in 2022, and will be looking to add to their collection following a disappointing ending to their campaign at the last Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. 

Their 2024 campaign commences with the FIH Pro League season five to be played from Sunday 4th February – Sunday 18th February, with matches against China, USA, India and the Netherlands. They will then head to Belgium and England for their next season five series against Belgium, Argentina, Great Britain and Germany from Wednesday 29th May – Wednesday 12th June. All Hockeyroos and Kookaburras matches will be streamed live and FREE on 7Plus.
 

Hockeyroos 2024 Squad