An international hockey star, she had always hoped to represent her country on a day that means so much to all Australians.

Now, she has that chance, with the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras facing New Zealand in a Trans-Tasman double-header in Auckland on Thursday.

It's an opportunity she is looking forward to making the most of.

"It's a very special opportunity to play on Anzac Day," Stewart said.

"I've grown up watching rugby league and watching the Dragons play on Anzac Day. They would pay their respects to people who have served for our country and it makes for a good atmosphere.

"I always thought it would be pretty amazing to play in a game on Anzac Day, so it will be very special. We will have the poppy printed on our bodysuit, which we never normally do, so it will be new and exciting."

A mainstay in the Australian hockey squad for the past few years, Stewart has experienced a mixed start to 2019.

After featuring in Australia's early FIH Pro League fixtures, the Gerringong product was dropped for Australia's most recent clashes with New Zealand and Argentina. Injuries saw Stewart return to the side and ultimately feature in those matches, though she concedes it was disappointing to miss out on initial selection.

"It was extremely disappointing to miss selection initially, but I guess I had that mentality of going out there and trying to prove myself.

"They didn't pick me, so I wanted to show them why they should have. And just getting that opportunity to play is always exciting. You want to make the most of every game you play, you never know when might be the last game."

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Now that she's secured that spot in the Hockeyroos lineup, Stewart is looking forward to continuing her development on Thursday against New Zealand and then in matches against Argentina and USA over the next two weeks.

New Zealand have had the better of Australia in recent times, defeating the Hockeyroos in last year's Commonwealth Games final and in last month's Pro League clash.

Stewart is expecting another tough match between two sides who are very familiar with each other, but she's confident Australia can come away with the win.

"We're taking this match as a very big game, we play New Zealand in a couple of months to qualify for the Olympics, so it's super important to put on a good performance. In Sydney we lacked a little bit in the goal circle and weren't converting our chances. We've been training hard and talking through the things New Zealand do that we need to stop.

"We know how they are going to play, but they also know what we do. We both play very similar, super fast, attacking hockey so it's going to be a super tough, physical match."

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