Hannah Southwell cemented her spot as the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Origin lock last year but Rugby League isn’t the only sport she has a talent for.
The all-rounder got her start with the Kotara Bears and when she wasn’t allowed to play past the age of 13 she made the switch to soccer where she was the W-League’s youngest ever goalkeeper at the age of 15 in 2014.
Southwell then made another switch to Rugby Sevens where she made her first appearances for the victorious Australian national team at the 2016 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship.
In January 2018, Southwell found her way back to Rugby League with the help of Bec Young and played in the CRL Newcastle team in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership side alongside superstars like Isabelle Kelly and Kylie Hilder.
The now 21-year-old’s talent certainly didn’t go unnoticed as she was picked for the NSW Origin team in the very same year, coming off the bench in number 17 and playing 54 minutes.
In the same year, she represented the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRLW and was part of the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII that defeated Papua New Guinea 40-4.
The young gun started 2019 much the same way she ended 2018, after being picked in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Origin side as the starting lock, making 30 tackles and running 91 metres in NSW’s epic 14-4 win at North Sydney Oval.
She then went on to win the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership with CRL Newcastle and this year is playing for the Central Coast Roosters team alongside Blues team mates Kelly and Hilder as well as Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Origin Under-18s representatives like Caitlan Johnston and Olivia Kernick.
The sky is limit for this young star and she certainly has a long future in the Women’s game.
