Stephanie Kershaw

Growing up in Townsville in Northern Queensland, Stephanie Kershaw was introduced to Hockey at an early age with her two older siblings playing the game and competing every weekend.

The game was in her DNA, and she quickly moved up the ranks. Once she graduated high school, Stephanie made the tough decision to move to Brisbane to join the Queensland Academy of Sport and pursue her dream.

In 2015, her hard work paid off when she was named to the national squad. Seven months after moving across Australia to Perth to train with the team, Stephanie made her Hockeyroos debut in a Test series against Korea. In the second Test match, she scored her first goal for Australia, proving her place in the team.

Just two months after her debut, Stephanie suffered a season-ending injury when she tore her right ACL. With a 12-month return to play rehab program ahead of her, her hopes of making the Rio 2016 Olympic Team were unfortunately over.

At 26, Stephanie made an impressive return to the sport, winning silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Champions Trophy.

In January 2019, tragedy struck again when Stephanie ruptured her left ACL meaning another surgery, another 12 months of rehab and another missed Olympic opportunity.

However, during her rehab the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, resulting in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games being postponed for a year. This gave Stephanie time to finish off her year of rehab, get back on the field and be in contention for the delayed Games in 2021.

Stephanie made her return, earned selection in the Olympic Team and scored on Olympic debut in a 6-1 dismantling of China.

After an undefeated group stage run, the Hockeyroos faced India in the quarter-finals and lost 1-0.

The result inspired Stephanie and the Hockeyroos to work even harder and in 2022 she scored both goals in a come-from-behind win over Germany to win bronze in the World Cup.

Later that year, the Hockeyroos won silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. They were undefeated in the pool games and after beating India in a penalty shootout in the semi-final, they went down to England 2-1 in the gold medal game.

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.

In the third match of the series Stephanie, playing in her 100th international, was the instigator of a vital goal, when she got the better of three Black Sticks defenders through sheer determination before finding striker Grace Stewart in the circle. Grace fired into an open goal.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Stephanie 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 and advanced the Hockeyroos into a quarter-final against China. Coached by Australian Olympic champion Alyson Annan, China prevailed 3-2 to end the Hockeyroos' campaign. Stephanie scored three goals throughout the tournament, level with teammate Tatum Stewart and one behind Hockeyroo Alice Arnott.

Despite the ups and downs of her career, Stephanie maintains a passion for her sport.

“I love being active and pushing myself to my limits,” she said. “Hockey allows me to be my best in a range of different ways, including physically and mentally.”