WEARING THE FERN– MONIQUE HATFULL
Matakana physiotherapist and lifelong hockey player Monique Hatfull is living proof that it's never too late to chase a childhood dream.
Monique first picked up a hockey stick at age seven and has never put it down. Through Matakana School, Mahurangi College, and a string of North Harbour age-group teams, the sport wove itself into the fabric of her life. By fourteen, she was playing club hockey, and for the past eight years she has called Warkworth Hockey Club home, competing in the North Harbour League and training locally on the Warkworth turf, something she describes as a genuine asset for the community.
"When I was a school kid, I would have loved to have the chance to play locally," she says. "Having a local turf is a huge draw for a lot of mums, giving us the chance to still be involved without the added travel."
After having children, hockey became something she played purely for enjoyment—for the friendships and the convenience of having a local turf. That changed in November last year when Monique received an unexpected call-up to the New Zealand 35s Masters squad to travel to Hong Kong for the Asia Cup, the first time New Zealand had been invited to compete as an invitational team against Hong Kong, Singapore, and India. It was her first taste of NZ Masters hockey, and it changed everything.
"It left me wanting to give my all in selections for the World Cup," she says simply.
The selection process ran across two phases—a trial weekend at North Harbour followed by assessment at Nationals—and Monique came through both. The World Cup squad she has joined is, by her own description, filled with some of the most talented and competitive players she has encountered. To be among them, she says, feels humbling.
The achievement carries particular meaning given the life she has built around it. Monique owns Matakana Physio and is raising a young family, and she is candid about the fact that the preparation has not come easily. But watching her children beam with pride as they tell their teachers and friends about their mum's selection has made every early morning and gym session worthwhile. Hockey, she says, gives her something entirely her own.
"When you go out to play, you're only thinking about that. I really enjoy the mental break."
As a teenager, Monique dreamed of pulling on a Black Sticks jersey. Her career path led her to physiotherapy instead—a choice she has no regrets about—but the opportunity to represent New Zealand at this stage of her life, wearing the fern, has felt like a dream arriving on its own timeline.
The World Cup takes place in Rotterdam from 22 July to 1 August. The trip is fully self-funded, and Monique is running a fundraising lunch at Rothko alongside firewood raffles available through Matakana Physio.
For Monique, this is just the beginning. With a Trans-Tasman series against Australia already on her radar, she is showing no signs of slowing down.
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