Hawthorn is delighted to announce the establishment of a Women’s Football Advisory Group as the club continues to build towards its entry into the AFLW competition in Season 7.
The group is made up of nine passionate Hawthorn people, boasting a range of experience and areas of expertise, who are ultimately united in their intent on seeing the brown and gold thrive in this new chapter of the club’s history.
Hawthorn General Manager – Operations & Major Projects Josh Vanderloo will chair the group, with other members including:
- Sarah Adams– Group Executive Strategy, Reputation & Corporate Affairs at Australian Super
- Karina Bloomfield – Marketing & Content Manager at Hawthorn FC
- Jack Gunston– Triple Premiership player with the Hawthorn men’s team
- Katie Hudson– Hawthorn Board member & Director at Yarra Capital Management
- Meg Hutchins– former AFLW player and VFLW premiership player at Hawthorn
- Craig Kennedy– Hawks Pride & Senior Retail Manager
- Emma Race– Outer Sanctum & CEO at Making the Call
- Annelie Smith – Football Operations Coordinator
Vanderloo said each member had been recommended as a person with respected knowledge and experience who will be able to assist in the development and integration of women’s football throughout the club.
“Joining the AFLW competition has been and will continue to be a strategic priority for Hawthorn, with a core objective of developing a successful and sustainable program that provides females with an equal opportunity to play the game at the highest level for Hawthorn,” Vanderloo said.
“To ensure Hawthorn meets these objectives and continues to grow and prosper in the future, we believe it is critical that representatives from business and industry, community leaders and female football more broadly all have the opportunity to provide input into the development of this team.
“I am personally honoured to have been given the opportunity to oversee this group and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve in the coming months.”
The advisory group is the next step in Hawthorn delivering upon its women’s football strategy with more exciting announcements to come in what will be an exciting year ahead for the club.
