Weekly 800km round trip not stopping Great Southern young gun Tiara Hodgson in dream to play in the AFLW

From a young age Tiara Hodgson has dreamed of one day playing for the West Coast Eagles. Raised in Gnowangerup she played Auskick and junior footy and then reserves with grown men but that only made the youngster more determined to reach her goal. The 16-year-old will get to play in front of a big crowd and potentially impress some Eagles scouts when she pulls on the boots for South Fremantle in the Rogers Cup grand final on Saturday. For the past two years Hodgson and her family have made the long trek from the Great Southern to Perth for her to chase the footy dream. After winning premierships in juniors and reserves with Gnowangerup, Hodgson started training with the Stephen Michael Foundation in Narrogin and from there was picked to play for South Fremantle in the Rogers Cup. Her family have now relocated to Albany and make the 800km round trip weekly to play in Perth. This week’s trip up the highway was extra special as Hodgson prepares to play in her first WAFLW grand final. “I’m pretty nervous but looking forward to it for sure,” the teenager said. “I love kicking goals and it would be great to win a grand final. “It was hard playing against the boys as a kid but I just love footy and nothing will stop me. Hodgson looks up to former Docker and now Port Adelaide player Gemma Houghton and inaugural Eagles club champion Dana Hooker. This season Hodgson has played 15 games and her side won through last week’s preliminary final against Claremont to book their place in the decider. Hodgson played for the club in the Rogers Cup in 2022, kicking 16 goals as a 15-year-old. This year the talented forward has nine majors, including one in their tense eight-point preliminary final triumph. Proud mum Leanne Wheatley said the love her daughter gets from the game is the reason she does it. “Since she was a kid she has kicked the footy every day,” Wheatley said. “She started in Auskick and then juniors but after juniors she was pretty small and the Bulldogs B-grade are big boys so we were a bit worried. “Our niece hooked us up with the Stephen Michael Foundation and she has gone on from that. “It has been a big commitment, especially with seven kids and coming up every week. “She got a Rio Tinto scholarship this year which has helped us financially get to footy but we are so proud of her. “Her dream is to play AFLW.” Hodgson has been named at full-forward in the big game at Mineral Resources Park starting at 12.10pm. The Bulldogs have the tough task of upsetting the unbeaten West Perth in the grand final, the Falcons winning the recent second semifinal by 39 points which came after a perfect 14 victories in the regular season.