Souths striker Mariah Williams has scored her second international medal in as many months with Commonwealth Games silver now sitting alongside World Cup bronze.
The Hockeyroos were beaten 2-1 by host nation England in the Birmingham final on Monday morning (AEST).
Australia conceded twice in the space of four minutes in the second quarter and only replied via Rosie Malone in the last 30 seconds.
It was their first loss at this tournament. They only went down once at the recent World Cup. Both times were against the champions.
"The game didn't go the way we wanted but the campaign and all that we have been through in this last seven and a half weeks on the road has been phenomenal," Hockeyroos coach Katrina Powell told HA media.
"I am so proud of the players and how far we have progressed while we have been away.
"Hockey players are not used to being away for this long so there is a lot that goes into making sure you are still up for a game like this after almost two months.
"It's important to also acknowledge that you win a silver medal. Competitions are really interesting in that you lose gold.
"We just won a bronze at the World Cup so we saw how much happier we were than the silver medallists...and I think you miss out on that fun, excitement, experience if you are not happy with winning silver.
"We have a lot of work to do...and some of that is being able to play under the pressure of taking on a team who is playing at their home Commonwealth Games and were really up for the fight.
"We have a really good base to go on from. I can see where we need to make improvements. We have learnt and progressed and one of the things we have learnt is that we are not quite there yet. That's a powerful thing to know, that you are ok with where you are at but certainly not satisfied."
Elsewhere for Team Hunter on day 10 of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Merewether diver Sam Fricker finished 10th in the men's 10m platform and Merewether athlete Rose Davies, who recently came out of COVID isolation, ended up 17th in the women's 5000m.
Norths defender Matthew Dawson will contest one of the last events, representing Australia against India in the men's hockey final on Monday (9:30pm, AEST).
