AFLW: West Coast Eagles midfielder Dana Hooker announces she is pregnant with second child

West Coast star Dana Hooker has announced she is pregnant and will miss this year’s AFLW season. Hooker told teammates she is expecting her second child and first with husband and former basketballer Mark Worthington. She announced the news on the club’s first day of pre-season on Monday night. “I get to announce we are getting another train-on on the track with us this season,” Hooker said. “The girl is pretty fresh to the sport and everything — pretty fresh in general — so you’ll have to go easy on her out there.” Hooker then pointed to her belly and said: “she actually lives in here”. The veteran midfielder was then swamped by teammates in celebration. The former Fremantle player will sit out this season, becoming the second big name in West Australian football — alongside Dockers star Kiara Bowers — to miss this campaign while pregnant. The 33-year-old has played 58 games for the club, 36 of those at the Eagles and is a club champion and dual-All Australian. Hooker intends to stay involved with training at the club as the Eagles ramp up their first pre-season under new coach Daisy Pearce. “I’m not sure what my role will look like yet for the next 12 months, but I’ll sit down with Daisy and nut that out in the coming weeks,” she said. “I would love to be involved in training where possible, keeping fit on the track and in the gym, and assisting the girls with their development, and possibly get involved in some coaching aspects as well.”