Grace Young

Grace Young walked a well-worn path for young Hockeyroos in just a few short years – from a breakout performance in the Hockey One league, via strong form in the national U21 team, the Jillaroos and into the Australian squad.

The livewire midfielder, who grew up in Grafton, had a terrific season with the NSW Pride team that dominated the Hockey One competition in 2022. She came into the Jillaroos team in 2023 and was part of the team that finished fifth at the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup in Chile.

Grace was also called into the Hockeyroos in 2023 and was part of the team that finished third in the Women’s International Pro League. The Hockeyroos clinched a place at the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania Cup series against New Zealand.

Hockeyroos coach Katrina Powell describes Grace as a “competitive, tenacious and a wonderful attacking player."

“We like the way she approaches the game,” Katrina said. “She’s got an attacking mentality which fits into the way we want the Hockeyroos to play, so she certainly fits that brief.”

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Grace and the Hockeyroos opened their tournament with three-straight wins against South Africa (2-1), Great Britain (4-0) and the United States (3-0).

A draw with Argentina (3-3) and a win against Spain (3-1) closed the group stage, with the Hockeyroos advancing into a quarter-final against China. Coached by Australian Olympic champion Alyson Annan, China prevailed 3-2 to end the Hockeyroos' campaign.