Just after winning the Vantage Black Sticks Women Team Values Award for the second year in a row, Hannah Gravenall has announced her retirement from international hockey.
It brings the curtain down on a story that proves it is never too late to chase a dream and with positivity, determination and kindness you can achieve anything.
Her last game in the black shirt was the final of the 2026 FIH Nations Cup against India in June. She had played her final match for New Zealand and did not know it.
Just weeks before the team left for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, a stress fracture in her foot ruled her out. She had been named in the squad and had achieved her dream of going to a World Cup. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be.
But she stayed a central part of the team. She supported the players from afar, helped with scouting and kept bringing the positivity and care that make her so loved in the environment. That is why she received overwhelming support from both players and staff for this year’s award.
The playing group collectively shared that Hannah is the embodiment of this award. She always puts everyone before herself, makes sure everyone is included and is the first to check in on anyone who needs it. The team just isn’t the same without her, said the team.
But there is more to this story.
Gravenall’s journey to the black shirt started a long way from Aotearoa.
She picked up a hockey stick at five years old in Victoria, Australia, on a grass pitch that turned into an AFL football ground on weekends. As she got older, her parents drove an eight-hour round trip twice a week so she could play club hockey in Melbourne and train with Victorian representative teams, from under-12s through to under-21s.
She has played for Hawthorn Hockey Club in the Victorian Women’s Premier League since 2008. With 310 games for Hawthorn and 36 for another club she briefly played for, she is close to 350 Premier League games.
The step up was not easy. Gravenall trialled for the Victorian Vipers in the Australian Hockey League for a few years and missed out each time.
She kept going.
She finally made her Vipers debut in 2014 and went on to play in the league now known as Hockey One for Hockey Club Melbourne. In March 2022 she attended a Hockey Australia camp in Queensland. A place in the Australian national team never came.
Then a different path opened. Gravenall’s mum is a New Zealander, which made her eligible for the Vantage Black Sticks. In 2023 she came to New Zealand for a training camp with the Vantage Black Sticks Women.
She impressed, and in December 2023 she made her international debut against the United States in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was 35.
She went on to earn 34 caps for New Zealand, won a FIH Nations Cup gold and silver medal, and captained the side against the United States in Auckland in January 2025.
The full circle moment for Gravenall occurred when the Vantage Black Sticks defeated Australia in Darwin at the 2025 FIH Oceania Cup, winning gold and qualifying for the 2026 FIH World Cup.
What makes it even more remarkable is that she did it all while working full time job in Melbourne and successfully advancing her career.
Gravenall is not a professional athlete, but she lived like one. She always put her body, wellbeing and recovery first, and did all the one-percenters it takes to perform at the elite level. To do that around a full-time job, and to reach the international stage in her mid-30s, is an achievement that is rare in women’s sport.
For younger girls watching, it is a powerful message. You can be told no, and keep going anyway.
Burrows says Gravenall has always been the type of athlete every coach wants.
“Hannah has been a hugely influential member of the Vantage Black Sticks, not only through her leadership and work ethic, but through the way she consistently puts the team first. She lives and breathes our values and is someone you can always rely on to give 100%, regardless of the situation.”
“What I’ve always admired about Hannah is her honesty, self-awareness and genuine drive to keep improving. She’s never afraid to reflect on her performances, challenge herself and put in the extra work. She’s an incredibly respected and supportive teammate, and quite simply, the type of athlete every coach loves having in their team. She will be sorely missed.”
Gravenall says representing New Zealand has been a highlight of her life.
“I am so proud and grateful to have had the opportunity to represent New Zealand. It has been a highlight of my life, and an experience I’ll reflect on with the biggest smile always.”
“A massive thank you to Phil Burrows for giving me this opportunity and backing my ability. I’ll be forever grateful to him, and I have loved playing under him for both New Zealand and Hockey Club Melbourne.”
“The support and love I’ve experienced from my hockey community, coaches, team staff, family, friends and teammates (with a special shout out to my teammates’ families for all their love and care too) has been incredibly special.”
“Massive thank you to all my Black Sticks teammates. I am so grateful to play alongside such a beautiful, humble and hilarious group of people who are amazing both on and off the pitch. I have made so many special memories and feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to experience being a part of this team.”
She also wants to thank the coaches who shaped her along the way: Phil Burrows, Stacia Joseph Strain, Jay Stacey, Daniel Mitchell, Emily Hurtz, Mitch Hayde and Tim Strapp.
“I have been incredibly lucky with the coaches I have had throughout my journey. Each coach has encouraged and challenged me to keep chasing the dream. They have all shaped my hockey journey, emphasised the importance of being a good team mate and making the environment a caring and supportive one, and have just made my hockey enjoyable.”
From a grass pitch that doubled as an AFL ground, and the long car trips that got her there, to the black shirt at 35, Gravenall’s story is one of love for the game and never giving up.
Thank you, Gravs.