No comp, no worries for Narrogin’s Rosie Anderson

Fifteen-year-old Rosie Anderson is a rising star of female football from a region without a regular competition. A member of the South Fremantle side, which won the 2020 Rogers Cup in September, Rosie lit up the league in her first year with the Bulldogs. The Rogers Cup is the WA Women’s Football League equivalent of the male colts competition for ages 15-18. Rosie was named this year’s Fairest and Best for the entire competition, sharing the honours with Claremont’s Eva O'Donnell. “I never ever imagined I would ever even play footy, let alone win that award,” Rosie said. “When they called my name I just couldn’t believe it. When I was up there I just couldn’t stop smiling and looking at my dad in the crowd.” One of the things that sets the Narrogin girl apart is that there is no women’s league in her hometown. Her talent turned heads at a football carnival in Narrogin last year hosted by the Stephen Michael Foundation. She started training at South Fremantle’s rural clinics in Narrogin, earning selection to play for South Fremantle in the Rogers Cup. Travelling to Perth on weekends to compete, her Bulldogs ended up making the grand final. On that particular weekend, she won a grand final with her local netball team in Narrogin — she is also a gun netballer — then travelled to Joondalup the next morning to play in another grand final. And she won that grand final too. “I was nervous but as soon as I got on the field and touched the ball I was right,” she said. “We ended up winning and I was just so happy — all us girls really had each other’s backs. “I loved it.” Rosie said she felt an immense amount of pride after winning a premiership and individual honours. “I just thought to myself, good work on your goals Rosie...what a big achievement,” she said. “It goes to show how you should always go really hard for goals.” The Year 10 student is a big advocate for girls getting involved in Australian Rules football. “It’s so great that the girls get an opportunity to play footy too, and so exciting to see it getting bigger,” she said. “It’s not just all about the boys.”