Experienced West Coast Eagles midfielder Dana Hooker is set to take the field for the 50^th time in her AFLW career on Saturday against Gold Coast.

The dual All-Australian is one of the most decorated campaigners in the league, drafted to the inaugural Fremantle side in 2017 and winning the Best and Fairest award in the same year, before joining the West Coast Eagles ahead of the team’s first season in 2020.

Hooker was named vice-captain of the Eagles in her first season in the blue and gold, and after another impressive AFLW season, including kicking West Coast’s first-ever goal, took out the club’s inaugural Club Champion award.

A key leader on and off the field, Hooker was awarded the 2022 Eagles in the Community award for her ongoing work as an ambassador for the Saba Rose Button Foundation, raising awareness and funds for children with disabilities and their families.

Hooker said reaching her 50-game milestone has been a long time coming.

“It is exciting, I haven’t had too many emotions around it,” Hooker said.

“It’s been a long time coming, it’s taken a while to get there, but looking forward to the game.”

After playing eight seasons of football at the highest level, Hooker reflects fondly on her journey so far.

“It feels like a lifetime ago, eight seasons ago, I remember when I got drafted, Alice (daughter) was only four months old,” Hooker said.

“I’d been told I was going to get drafted but obviously after coming back from having Alice, there was still a glimmer of doubt, I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

“I got picked up really late in the draft, pick 130 in the inaugural draft, so I was sitting there until about the 17^th round, and then my name got called.

“Alice was just so little, so it seems like such a long time ago, but it was pretty exciting and a lot has happened in my life since then.”

Having been in the league since its inception, Hooker said she’s proud to have been involved from the beginning, and to see how far the AFLW has come.

“I have really great pride in being around at the start, and I also have great pride from the build up to AFLW too, what I was able to be a part of, that will never be done again,” Hooker said.

“With the first broadcasted games, pre-AFLW, with Western Bulldogs and Melbourne in those exhibition matches, that was pretty exciting back at the time as well.

“The journey has been great and seeing the growth of AFLW over eight seasons now, a lot has changed for the better.

“I feel so grateful to have been a part of it all and I just relish every opportunity that I get within these programs, it makes me very happy, and I feel grateful that it’s happened in my time.”