South Fremantle star Molly O’Hehir reflects on her AFLW draft journey

Zippy Fish was touted as a potential No. 1 pick, but after meeting with multiple clubs there’s now there’s a new candidate to be the first Western Australian taken in this year’s AFLW draft.

Molly O’Hehir in action for South Fremantle. Picture: Supplied

Two years ago, Molly O’Hehir thought she was no chance of getting drafted.

Now, there’s a possibility that she’s the first Western Australian taken in this year’s AFLW draft.

East Fremantle midfielder Zippy Fish dominated headlines earlier this year as a potential No.1 pick candidate but it’s believed that some clubs now rate O’Hehir as the marginally better prospect.

It’s understood that Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney have interviewed O’Hehir this week with the Giants currently holding pick three and the Demons acquiring pick two from Gold Coast in the trade period.

O’Hehir could now be drafted as high as pick two. Picture: Supplied

It’s a far cry from O’Hehir’s introduction to state league football at South Fremantle back in 2020.

“My first few years of Rogers Cup, I was nothing special,” she said. “I was so small.

“I had long limbs and hadn’t grown into my body. I had no confidence whatsoever in myself. I couldn’t put it all together. I was on the brink of being dropped every week.”

O’Hehir originally played netball and was convinced to try her hand at Australian rules when a friend joined the Fremantle City Dockers junior football club. After two years, she moved to South Coogee, the club where her three brothers played.

“We’re all really sporty and love our footy,” she said. “It’s a really competitive household.

“That’s where I’ve got my rough side from. We used to play basketball every day 2v2 and we’d come home and none of us would speak to each other that night.”

O’Hehir was just 12 years old when she arrived for her first pre-season with South Fremantle after the club identified her WAFLW potential and asked her to come down.

O’Hehir’s confidence has grown over time. Picture: Getty Images

She had natural talent and skill. But she struggled to piece it all together.

“That third year I decided I was sick of it,” O’Hehir said. “I was so over being dropped.

“I wanted to show what I could actually do.”

O’Hehir put in the work during pre-season and starred against West Perth in round one. In round five, at the tender age of 15, she was selected to make her WAFLW league debut.

“It was a quick turnaround but it came down to my mindset,” she said. “It was a massive achievement for me to be out there playing alongside all of these girls I’d grown up idolising.

“Each week I was developing more confidence to take it on. I found myself on the footy field.”

It helped that O’Hehir also grew more than six centimetres in the space of 18 months until one day she woke up and was nudging 180cm.

O’Hehir started her career at half-back and on the wing. It’s a role that saw her named on the bench of the U18 girls All-Australian team as a bottom-ager last year. But a spate of injuries at South Fremantle meant that O’Hehir was injected into the midfield this season.

“My coach Craig (McNaughton) just wanted to have me around the ball more and show that I can be more versatile,” she said. “You obviously win more of the ball but it’s also a good opportunity to showcase your fitness level.

Zippy Fish might not be the top WA prospect in this year’s draft. Picture: Getty Images

“It took a while to get used to but I really enjoyed playing in the midfield.”

O’Hehir was excited to test herself against the best of the best at the National Championships but a week before WA’s opening game against Queensland, she was struck down by three illnesses at once.

“I got the flu,” she said. ‘Then the day I started feeling better, I went out for dinner and came down with food poisoning so I was vomiting and had the flu at the same time.

“Then two days later I developed a chest infection as a result of the flu. I was really sick. I went back to training and I was so ill and frail.

“I lost a bit of weight across that time as well so I felt so light and had no strength whatsoever. But I wanted to get out there and play with the girls knowing it would be our last time playing together.”

While O’Hehir was far below her best, she was able to bounce back at the national draft combine. In one of the most well-rounded performances of the weekend, the 18-year-old finished second in the 2km time trial, 10th in agility, 5th in the standing vertical jump and 4th in the running vertical.

It’s predicted that O’Hehir will start her AFLW career on the wing or on a half-back/half-forward flank with a view of moving into the midfield. But first, she just wants to hear her name read out on draft night.

“It would mean the world,” she said. “It’s been my dream for so long.

“Little Molly would be amazed. Looking back two years ago, I never thought I’d be in the position I am now.”

Originally published as South Fremantle star Molly O’Hehir reflects on her AFLW draft journey