Kaitlin Nobbs

For Kaitlin Nobbs, Hockey is a part of her DNA with the sport playing a major role in her family history. Her mother, Lee Capes, is a Hockeyroo gold medallist from the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. While her father, Michael Nobbs, represented Australia at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and coached the Indian team at the London 2012 Olympics.

A talented player herself, Kaitlin was selected to play at the 2016 Junior World Cup where Australia claimed the bronze medal.

The midfielder rose to the senior ranks that same year, making her Hockeyroos debut in May 2016 at the International Hockey Open in Darwin.

She cited watching her mum and auntie play for Australia to be her biggest inspiration and draws on their experiences of being on the Hockeyroos team.

Kaitlin was a member of the 2018 Commonwealth Games team, claiming a silver medal with the Hockeyroos. She also claimed silver in the 2018 Champions Trophy and 2019 FIH Pro League.

Her rise through the adult ranks was emphasised with her being named a joint winner of Hockey Australia’s Player of the Year in 2019.

Kaitlin made her Olympic debut at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. An undefeated group stage for the Hockeyroos was followed up by a tense quarter-final loss against India, which ended 1-0.

The result inspired Kaitlin and the Hockeyroos to work even harder and in 2022 they collected bronze in the FIH Women’s World Cup and silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. They were undefeated in the pool games in Birmingham, with Kaitlin scoring five goals, including a hat-trick in an 8-0 win over Kenya and a decisive penalty strike in the semi-final shootout win over India. But unfortunately, the Hockeyroos went down to England 2-1 in the gold medal game.

The loss was a disappointment, but the Hockeyroos were quickly able to draw positives from the tournament.

“I’m pretty stoked with how we’ve gone overall,” Kaitlin said at the time.

“We’ve built throughout the tournament. Today wasn’t our day, but going from World Cup to Commonwealth Games, we’ve grown and we’ve shown that we can be really consistent. We’ve had so much fun this tournament. We’ve got Paris in two years, that will come around quickly.”

In 2023, the Hockeyroos finished third in the Women’s International Pro League, before clinching a place at the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania Cup series against New Zealand.

Kaitlin returned to play for NSW Pride in the Hockey One league in 2023 and was a dominant midfield force.

After playing a crucial role in marshalling the Pride’s defence and attack throughout the season, she was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Kaitlin is proud to be part of one of the first families of Australian hockey – as well as her mum and dad, her aunty, grandmother and several other relatives have played at the highest level – and is keen to make her own contribution.

“I feel lucky having parents and family that have been there before. They understand how exciting or how tough or how nerve-wracking it can be,” she said.

“It's just so inspiring, and to think my Nana and her sister, through to my mum and aunty, have all been part of this story, and now I am too.

“I want to be a really positive part of this history, create my own chapter.”

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Kaitlin 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).

She scored a goal a piece in a draw with Argentina (3-3) and a win against Spain (3-1) to close the group stage. The Hockeyroos advanced into a quarter-final against China, a team coached by Australian Olympic champion Alyson Annan, and China prevailed 3-2 to end the Hockeyroos' campaign.