"I guess that's why retiring wasn't really a shock. I was lacking that motivation, I had other opportunities I wanted to explore so I had a long time to prepare for it," Flanagan said. "I was just ready."

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion announced her international hockey retirement on Monday.

It wasn't a complete surprise given she has struggled to get back into the national side in recent years after a fall from grace before the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Canberra junior Flanagan was ready to quit hockey three years ago when she was convicted of drink driving and took an indefinite break from hockey.

But the flame was still flickering and she continued to push herself at training in the hope of winning a Hockeyroos recall to restart her international career.

In the end she finishes her Hockeyroos career after 171 games, 34 goals, one Olympic Games, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, one World Cup silver, a Champions Trophy silver and as a former international young player of the year.

The fact she's still only 27 years old suggests it could have been so much more given she hasn't played for Australia since the end of 2016.

Flanagan, however, is content with her achievements and is ready to push her international hockey ambitions aside to focus on other things in life.

"We won the Australian Hockey League this year and my coach emailed me ... we both knew that was going to be my last year," Flanagan said.

"I haven't picked up my stick since October last year. I've had work opportunities and hockey has been a huge part of my life, and will still be, but just in a different way.

"I won't be training six days a week to try to get selected or stay in a team ... it was just time to step away."

Flanagan thanked dad Fred and former Hockey ACT boss Terry Evans for helping her make the transition from talented Canberra schoolgirl to the international arena.

Flanagan was plucked out of her Radford College classroom in 2010 to be a shock inclusion in the Hockeyroos squad and helped the side win gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in the same year.

"I'd really prepared myself for this. I do feel sad about finishing up, that this chapter of my life is over," Flanagan said.

"When I initially stopped playing it was hard to get used to full-time work and it is a bumpy transition trying to navigate that.

"Now it's more about just thinking about the good times. It's obviously been a rollercoaster. But to achieve what I did and what the team did, I'm really proud of.

"There's been a lot of ups and a lot of downs. But that has prepared me for life after sport to prepare me for the challenges I'm going to face. I feel really lucky."

Flanagan is still weighing up whether she will continue to play in the Australian Hockey League after helping NSW win the title last year. She is also likely to continue playing club hockey on weekends in Sydney.

"I think we've got a practice game this week against the US, I might be rusty," Flanagan laughed. "I still love hockey, just in a different way now. This is just good for closure."

ANNA FLANAGAN

Hockeyroos games: 171

Hockeyroos debut: Australia v Korea Republic in Perth, March 2010.

International goals: 34

Team achievements: Two Commonwealth Games gold (2010, 2014), World Cup silver (2014), Champions Trophy silver (2014), two Oceania Cup gold (2013, 2015).

Individual: International young player of the year (2013)