The Brisbane Lions will unleash new faces Courtney Hodder and Taylor Smith on the Tigers in their AFLW season opener in Melbourne tomorrow.

The multi-sport stars forced their way into the side for their Lions debut after standout pre-seasons and starring performances in a scratch match against the Gold Coast Suns.

It will be Hodder’s return to competitive Australian football after a successful stint in rugby.

Her tackling skills were on display when she terrorised the Suns’ defence with her pressure in her first hit-out against an opposition in three years.

As a State representative for Western Australia in her junior years the highly decorated Hodder, was a three-time All Australian in the Under 18s national carnival, before making the switch to rugby and becoming an overnight sensation.

As a 17-year-old, Hodder scored six tries in a game for Western Australia in the inaugural Super W season in 2018.

She then made a major impact after crossing the country to join the Queensland Reds in Super W rugby. 

Australian representative honours have come in both rugby and rugby sevens with selection in the Australian Youth Sevens in 2017 and the Wallaroos’ Australia A squad for the 2019 tour to Fiji for the Oceania Rugby Championships. 

Smith, a former national level heptathlete, joined the Lions in the off-season after crossing from the Suns where she played one AFLW match last year.

She proved a handful against her former club in the pre-season hit-out on the Gold Coast won comfortably by the Lions.

Coach Craig Starcevich said the pair had demanded selection with their pre-season form and both had plenty to offer the side.

Hodder is a constant danger around the goals but it was her pressure that made her impossible to ignore when the side was picked.

“She’s been really good in the pre-season,’’ he said.

“She’s lightning fast and very agile and if she’s not picking up crumbs from the from the tall forwards and having pings at goals, then she’s getting after the opposition and tackling and being defensive.’’

He said while the Club had been prepared to be patient with Smith when she was recruited, she deserved to be in the round one side because of the way she constantly presented a target.

“She’s tall and athletic and still raw in terms of her footy development,’’ he said.

“But she’s improving at a rate of knots and becoming more and more reliable overhead as a forward target.

“One thing she always does is give a contest.’’

ROUND 1 TEAM v RICHMOND