With 39 days to go until the Hawks face Essendon on Saturday 2 September at Kinetic Stadium, Hawks fans can find out more about their No. 39 below.
Nickname: Batesy
Position: Midfielder
Previous AFLW Clubs: Brisbane (2017-2022)
Draft History: Pick 2, 2016
Senior Clubs: Yeronga South Brisbane (QAFLW)
Community Clubs: Yeronga South Brisbane (QLD)
Bio: Bates joins the Hawks from the Brisbane Lions after playing 66 AFLW games. Across her 66 games, the premier midfielder has won her club’s best and fairest award four times and lifted the premiership cup in 2021. The 27-year-old also won the league best and fairest, the AFL Coaches Association AFLW Champion Player of the Year and AFL Players Association AFLW Most Valuable Player awards in Season 6, becoming the first AFLW player to win all three individual end-of-season awards.
Honours:
- Four-time Brisbane best and fairest winner (2017, 2020, 2022, S7)
- Premiership player (2021)
- League best and fairest (2022)
- AFLPA Player of the Year (2022)
- AFLCA Champion Player of the Year (2022)
- Three-time All Australian (2017, 2018, 2022)
- 50 AFLW games
- Brisbane vice-captain (2022)
- Brisbane leadership group member (2017, 2020, 2021, S7)
Three things you might not know about Batesy:
1. She has a beagle named Lenny, named after one of her all-time favourite players, Lenny Hayes. Batesy was a St Kilda supporter growing up but is now firmly in the brown and gold camp!
2. She was born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria and moved to Queensland when she was about two years old.
3. She played cricket at a representative level when she was younger, representing Queensland. She was a wicketkeeper.
