Olympic stars Emily Chalker and Edwina Bone retire after more than 450 games for Hockeyroos

Three-time Olympian Chalker and two-time Games star Bone will announce the end of their Hockeyroos days on Thursday after almost a decade together at the top.

Crookwell's Chalker scored 88 goals in 255 games, making her Olympic debut as a 20-year-old in London before Bone joined her for more than 200 games of her own and Olympic campaigns in Rio and Tokyo.

"When everyone started to go back to training and I wasn't ready to go back it was a clear indication it was the right time," Chalker said after finishing as the sixth most-capped player in Hockeyroos history.

"I didn't want to say the word retire because I didn't want to leave something that has been such a huge part of my life.

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"... I was never the most talented hockey player but I think I got the best out of myself, I tried hard, I absolutely love the game and I think that showed in the way I played."

Chalker and Bone will join goalkeeper Ashlee Wells in leaving Katrina Powell's squad, leaving huge holes as the Hockeyroos try to reclaim their standing as the world's best.

The Australian women's team hasn't won an Olympic medal since 2000 and hasn't won a world title since 1998. But they have won gold at three of the past four Commonwealth Games, with Chalker and Bone departing for another shot at the top prize.

Chalker made her debut as a teenager and celebrated her 20^th birthday on the first day of competition at the London Olympics before rising to become the team's inspirational leader.

"Sometimes I still don't believe it. As an elite athlete there is that self doubt wondering whether you are good enough for this, but I kept getting selected more to my shock than anything else," Chalker said.

"The gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games was really exciting and is something I will never forget. I'm just really grateful for all of the experiences. You get to travel the world doing what you love, meet some incredible people and go to some amazing places along the way.

"Coming from Crookwell I probably would never have left Australia or experienced the things I did if it wasn't for hockey."

Bone moved to Canberra to go to university and credits her arrival in the capital with catapulting her on to the national stage.

She waited until she was 24 to earn her first Hockeyroos cap, but took her opportunity and amassed 212 games in her nine years at the top.

"I had already started behind being older, so I never wanted that to be an excuse. I had to always keep on making sure I was pushing but I never expected to get picked," Bone said.

"Unfortunately I don't have another three years in me to be in contention for Paris in 2024. Even though I feel like I could keep playing, it's time for other girls to get some more experience, find their feet and win a medal in Paris.

"It's hard because you never want it to finish but it's time. I would love to have still been part of it but it's time for the next chapter."

Defender Bone stepped up as Hockeyroos skipper for the Tokyo Games and broke hearts around Australia when she was overcome with tears during an interview after suffering a heartbreaking quarter-final defeat.

Bone and Chalker will now transition into life after sport - Bone moving into a full-time teaching role and Chalker as an accountant at KPMG.

But coach Powell, an ACT Sport Hall of Fame member and Hockeyroos great, said the duo's impact on the squad would last long into their retirement.

"[Bone] had to work really hard to be selected for the Hockeyroos," Powell said. She is an absolute beast in terms of fitness, speed, performance and relentless commitment to the Hockeyroos every time she steps on the pitch.

""Emily was a great leader for the group. She played some of her best hockey in Tokyo so she is going out on a high and should be really proud of that. She bought such great joy to the group."