It is an unusual concept that is asked of the country’s elite women footballers at the moment.

With the AFLW competition spanning across just two months of the year, this cohort is forced to find an alternate state league club to align with across the traditional football period.

They are not without their options though.

For some, playing with their clubs VFLW-aligned side is preferable, while for others, they might find an opportunity to develop under two coaching groups, two game plans and two systems.

Thankfully for Hawthorn, star forward Phoebe McWilliams falls into the latter group.

Playing for Geelong in the AFLW in 2019 and GWS in the two seasons preceding that, McWilliams has built a reputation as one of the competition’s best goal kickers, booting 17 goals across her 20 career games.

“I really enjoy being able to split my time between two clubs, which a few girls do at Hawthorn,” McWilliams said.

“It breaks up the environment for you and keeps things new and exciting.

“You're surrounding yourself with different people every six months, so that’s something that really works.”

McWilliams was a member of the club’s historic 2018 VFLW premiership.

It is a memory that the 34-year-old holds dear and an experience that continues to draw her back into the Hawthorn fold.

“I really see Hawthorn as something quite close to me,” she said.

“Coming back to the Hawks, I straight away realized how many friends and good relationships with people I had at the club.

“I was really happy to come back and see all those people that I had a really good season with last year.”

However, playing for two clubs isn’t all smooth sailing.  

Read: The Brownlow history of the brown and gold

McWilliams says that injuries and time on the sidelines is one of the greatest obstacles in facilitating the ‘two-club approach’.

“It is a bit of a juggling act sometimes especially with injuries, because it’s sort of hard to balance the expectations of both clubs.

“I’ve had two long-term injuries since I've been playing at Hawthorn - last year I had a hamstring injury that I missed two months for and that was really difficult.

“I was mainly dealing with the physios from Geelong, but I was training at Hawthorn, so the communication was really important.” 

But the ultra-competitive McWilliams had an even greater frustration this year, with the reigning premiers falling short of a return to finals action.

“Losing those first two games, when we only lost two games all of last season, the reality sort of hit that it wasn't going to be plain sailing.

“We did lose a couple of key players from last season, and I'm not saying they were the be-all and end-all, because we got some really good recruits as well.

“But the leadership of Emma Mackie and Mel Kuys was something that I missed, because they're really good, experienced players that helped me last year.

“We didn't get as far as we did the previous year but there were definitely plenty of positives.”

Despite losing players of the ilk of Mackie and Kuys as well as other premiership players, McWilliams says the environment of the women’s is naturally different to the AFL.

“It’s hard to be loyal because we’re all on one-year contracts and we want to make the most of the time that we have playing.

“There’s no resentment for those players that went with their AFL clubs because it’s the reality.

“It’s not like they're leaving for big money or anything they're just leaving for opportunities.”

Despite the team’s disappointing results in 2019, McWilliams can hold her head high from an individual standpoint.

Earning VFLW Team of the Year honours for the first time in her career, she averaged 12.3 disposals and kicking 12.6 goals.

“I think I'm ten years older than everyone else in the team, so I’m pretty happy that I'm still able to compete at this level at 34.

“It was a nice way to recognize something that we put a lot of time and effort into, but it would've been better to have team success.”