Anne’s career really took off in her third AFLW season once she decided to change her diet away from fast food selections, while also committing to a huge pre-season conditioning program.
There is a certain ferocity with which Anne Hatchard plays the game. It appears as a strongly physical and fully committed on-field presence.
And it’s something about which opponents must surely be conscious each time Adelaide takes the field.
When the Crows had the opportunity in 2016, in preparation for the inaugural 2017 AFLW season, they drafted Hatchard at pick No. 11.
She was 18 at the time.
The following seasons were littered with awards and career highlights.
That striking trajectory largely hinged on her decision to change her diet away from fast food selections, while also committing to a huge pre-season conditioning program leading into her third season.
It allowed her to transition from the backlines to the midfield where her impact was impressive. That year, in 2019, Anne Hatchard was selected to her first All-Australian team.
She went from averaging 7.5 disposals per game in 2018 to 18.9 in 2019 – and then 25.3 disposals in 2020.
In 2020, she unleashed a massive first-round performance recording the most disposals, 35, and creating an AFLW record to that point.
The 175cm mid-fielder extended her dominance by winning the AFC’s best and fairest award three times and runner-up twice.
Anne Hatchard’s ball skills, unrelenting will to win, and on-field impact and maturity also led her to being appointed to the Crows’ leadership group from 2024.
Unfolding a remarkable high-level consistency, she averaged more than 20 disposals per game since 2020.
