Dana Hooker may have won Fremantle’s inaugural AFLW fairest and best award in 2017, but she admitted to fearing that she would be overlooked for the historic season.
Ahead of Wednesday's 2017 NAB AFLW Draft, Hooker reflected on how she felt going into the historic occasion one year ago.
The doubts started to come when Hooker was watching the draft with her Coastal Titans teammates, many of whom were taken much earlier.
“I was sitting on the end of my seat towards the end of it thinking - I don’t know if (senior coach) Michelle (Cowan) is going to pick me anymore,” Hooker said.
“I felt maybe it wasn’t going to happen.”
It took until round 17, the penultimate round of the draft, for Hooker to be selected at pick 130.
After doing everything she could to prove she was physically ready after giving birth to her daughter Alice just months earlier, Hooker’s dreams of playing for an AFL side had come true.
It was also a wake-up call that life wasn’t always going to be easy in an elite national competition – and she vowed to do everything to prove her worth as a Fremantle Docker.
“I was so excited,” Hooker said.
“When I got picked up at pick 130 I was obviously really grateful for the opportunity, but I was also thinking ‘jeez Michelle I thought you rated me a bit higher!’
“I’m definitely happy with my season and that I proved my worth in the team and that I can be a consistent performer.”
While Cowan left Hooker to sweat it out to the very end, teammate Brianna Green had a vastly different experience.
As the inaugural AFLW draft, Cowan wanted the joy of being selected for the Fremantle Dockers to be on record, choosing Green to be the subject.
“The day of the draft I didn't have an idea that I was going to get picked up,” Green said.
“I got a call from Michelle the day before asking if some media could come and watch my reaction if I was to be picked, so I had an idea I was going to get selected.
“I was pretty relaxed but I was probably more nervous making sure my brownies were cooked in time for those coming over to watch with me.”
Even if the suspense wasn’t there, the elation was real when her name was read out with pick no.13.
“It was a really exciting day not only for myself but for my family as well,” Green said.
“They were really happy to be there. Unfortunately, my Mum was over in the US but I still got to share that moment with her over FaceTime so it was a really special moment for everyone.”
