Richmond defender set for Wagga homecoming
The Riverina region has produced some of the greatest players to play in the AFL, SANFL, NEAFL and the VFL, but now it is producing some of the best talent in the AFLW.
The GWS GIANTS will host their first ever AFLW home game in the Riverina this weekend, with local products Alyce Parker (Holbrook) and Jodie Hicks (Hay) set to take on Richmond in front of a massive home crowd at Robertson Oval.
Parker and Hicks won’t be the only AFLW stars to enjoy a homecoming, with Richmond defender Rebecca Miller also set for a return to her homeland.
Originating from Wagga Wagga, Miller didn’t play her first game of football until she relocated to Sydney in early 2018, joining the Inner West Magpies (Western Wolves) in the AFL Sydney competition.
Following a breakout debut campaign in Sydney, Miller joined Richmond’s VFLW list in 2019, quickly asserting herself as a vital cog in the VFLW Tigers’ backline, impressing with her aerial ability and attack on the ball.
Miller went on to feature three times in the VFLW’s ‘Team of the Week’ and has was listed among Richmond’s best players in six of the nine games she played.
Ahead of Richmond’s inaugural AFLW season in 2020, Miller was drafted as an open age selection, making her AFLW debut in Round 1 against Carlton at Ikon Park.
Growing up in Wagga, Miller never played on the famous Robertson Oval ground that is the home of the Wagga Tigers and she cannot wait to run out in the Tigers’ famous yellow and black.
“It would be a pretty surreal moment to play in my home town of Wagga, it’s great that the region is able to host an AFL and AFLW game,” Miller said.
“I have no doubt the town will get right around it so there will be lots of good vibes.”
Women’s football in the region is booming with the continued success of the recently formed Southern NSW Women’s League and North Wagga FC fielding a female team for the first time in 2020. In a region teeming with sporting talent, the road from the Riverina to the AFLW is going to get a lot busier.
