Haylee Penny gearing up for TDNA grand final with Kiewa-Sandy Creek

Hawks' goal shooter and Wodonga Senior Secondary College teacher Haylee Penny has plenty of supporters, who will be cheering her on in this weekend's Tallangatta League grand final.

"The kids are often out there and they see me playing," she said.

"Particularly in the finals series, it's great for me to go out and watch them as well.

"I've built my life around sport, I work in sport and I play sport and I just love it.

"To be able to enjoy it still at my age is fabulous."

Fittingly enough, it was work that led the 37-year-old out to Kiewa, following time in the Ovens and Murray League with Lavington and Wodonga Raiders.

"I used to teach at Tallangatta, so it was on the way home and I had friends that played there," she said.

"I've stayed there because I just love it."

Penny has now played over 100 games for the Hawks and has a premiership to her name after aiding A-grade to victory against Thurgoona in the 2019 decider.

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The self-proclaimed Hawks' veteran set a league shooting record after landing 87 goals in one game this season. But she admits being a goaler in grand finals adds another element of pressure.

"I have a really great team around me feeding me the ball, so that's as much of an achievement for them as it was for me," she said.

"I certainly wouldn't be able to shoot that many goals if I didn't have them feeding them into me as quickly as they do.

"The pressure is obviously a lot higher in a final, and then on top of that, throw in some bad weather and it's even more so. The comforting thing about my team is that I can trust that if I do miss a couple of goals, they're going to get around me and bust their guts to get the ball back."

This will mark Penny's fourth time in a TDNA grand final.

"It's very exciting to play with the team that we have, and again with Kath (Evans)," she said.

"We'll bring what we can and hopefully we can come away with the win.

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