Hodgkin’s fiancee, Shannen Feenan, delivered little girl, Neeve, at Wodonga hospital at 1.10am.

Both mum and daughter, who weighed eight pounds and two ounces, are doing well.

“Yeah, really good mate, it was a long night, but the baby’s doing really well, so we’re really happy,” Hodgkin said.

The 25-year-old admits his darling daughter’s arrival was the deciding factor in whether he played the club’s biggest game of the season.

“I’m playing footy, but it was going to be touch and go if labour went a bit longer,” he said.

“But, thank goodness, she came last night (early Friday morning), so I get to have a kick.”

Hodgkin is now hoping to cap the biggest moment of his life with a win.

“There’s nothing you can be told that can prepare you for that,” he said.