For a modest team-first athlete like Canberra's Katrina Powell, being inducted into Hockey Australia's Hall of Fame is humbling.
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But for the dual Olympic Games gold medallist and prolific Hockeyroos goal scorer it is just reward for a life devoted to her sport.
"I'm a bit surprised," Powell said. "I assume they're working their way down a list of good hockey players that played for Australia because there are a group of athletes that I played with that are still yet to be inducted.
"A little surprised but very honoured."
Powell scored 141 goals in her 253 games for Australia, and she deflected the accolade by attributing her success to her durability at the elite level.
"The gold medals definitely are the highlights in terms of achievements, but when I look back I'm also really proud of my longevity," she said.
"I also know that I got to be the best player that I could and that's one of the most satisfying things."
Powell was a pivotal member of the Hockeyroos during their golden generation when they won gold at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and again at the Sydney Games in 2000.
In her younger years, Powell's family was heavily involved in the St Patricks hockey club in Canberra and the community atmosphere within a team followed her through to her career as a Hockeyroo.
She credits her success and passion for hockey with this relationship with her teammates, and she is imparting this philosophy to the next generation of players as coach of the NSW Arrows and the NSW Institute of Sport.
"Between Ric [Charlesworth] and the rest of my teammates, they helped me to get to a place where I thought I played the best hockey that I could," Powell said.
"It's really exciting to help athletes get out of hockey what I got out of it, which is my main motivation," she said. "I just got so much out of playing elite level hockey that I want other young females to achieve the same thing."
Powell's induction comes as three Canberra hockey players, Anna Flanagan, Edwina Bone and Kalindi Commerford have been selected for the Hockeyroos for the end-of-year matches as they move on from the disappointment of Rio.
"The transformation will be really interesting. Having a new national coach coming in is always refreshing to change things up a little bit," Powell said.
"Hopefully there is a really exciting time ahead for the Hockeyroos."
Powell and the other inductees will be celebrated at a Hall of Fame event at the start of November.
