Towney, 13, is also the only Indigenous athlete in her squad playing in the National Premier League's (NPL) Girls' Youth League Two competition. Football NSW's NPL is known as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League.

Tatum Moore, her mother, said she is proud to watch her daughter grow into a confident footballer.

"It's nice to see her getting some recognition for the talented Koori girl footballer she is," Moore said.

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In 2021, Towney was selected to try out for Football NSW's girls youth league under-12s. Her performance there earned her a spot with Blacktown City Football Club. She currently plays for their under-14 girls' squad in Sydney. A 30-round season, the team will play a game every weekend until September.

Her mother said the family travels five hours every weekend from Dubbo to Sydney for training and matches.

"We stay the weekend so she can train Friday night, play Sunday, train Monday night and then we drive home," Moore said.

"We've been doing that for the last year and a bit."

Towney is passionate about playing and has become used to the routine.

"It's just fun," she said.

"I'm really determined."

Her first game was as a player for the East Dubbo United under-6 team.

"Before we knew it, she was playing under-12's Dubbo Devils representing community and playing in the Country Cup," Moore said.

Towney was also selected to represent her primary school in the NSW Primary Schools Sports Association's girls football championship in Lismore. There she played with girls she had never met or trained with, against teams that "lived and breathed soccer".

The teen footballer has held a community scholarship with John Moriarty Football (JMF) in Dubbo, since she was 9 years old. John Moriarty, the first Aboriginal man to be selected to play for Australia, co-founded the initiative to support Indigenous youth who are talented footballers.

"They offer support with school, tutoring.. they also help out with mentoring and coaching. [Tyra] trains with them every week," Moore said.

Bryce Deaton, head coach at JMF Dubbo, has known Towney for three years. He praises her dedication to training and commitment to the game.

"Her skills and technique have grown exponentially. For her to go to the next step with Blacktown, it should be great for her development," he said.

"If she keeps working as hard as she does... there's no doubt about how far she can go."

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