Fresh from her selection in the under 20 Australian mixed touch football side alongside fellow Wagga star Vienna Randal, Podmore powered her way into the Newcastle Knights women’s squad off the back of a gruelling training regime.

Her reward was a starting position in the Knights’ opening NRL Touch Premiership game against Parramatta last Saturday and Podmore didn’t disappoint, scoring two tries to spearhead a hard-fought 4-3 victory at McDonald Jones Stadium.

It’s not every day a Wagga girl gets knighted and Podmore is relishing her latest challenge.

“I’ve been travelling up to Sydney every weekend for training with the Knights squad and it’s an amazing experience,” Podmore said.

“There’s so many people there who I’ve looked up to and now I’m training alongside them.”

A brace on debut isn’t a bad way to start your career but personal glory was the last thing on Podmore’s mind in front of a healthy Newcastle crowd.

“Just going up to Newcastle last weekend and getting the chance to play against the Eels was unbelievable. I’d never done like it,” she said.

“The crowd was so huge and you didn’t really notice while playing until you stop and look around. That’s when it sinks in.”

Podmore’s immediate family, including dad Kerry, stepmum Cynthia and siblings Harper and Kye, were front and centre to watch their girl star on debut but there’s precious little time to stop and reflect.

Knights commitments and upcoming training camps for the under 20 Australian team in Brisbane are keeping Podmore occupied and there’s another challenge left to tackle before she heads off to Malaysia in August for the World Youth Touch Championships.

“I’m heading back over to Sydney this Friday night for State of Origin touch football trials,” Podmore said.

“I’ve honestly been so busy … but I’m really enjoying myself.”

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