Anne Hatchard has come a long way in four years.
From struggling with form to transforming her fitness, the 21-year-old took her game to a whole new level in the Crows season opener on Saturday.
The midfielder set the standard for her side, racking up an incredible 35 touches to claim the new AFLW record for most disposals in a game.
At half-time, she had 17 disposals and seven marks, forcing Brisbane to assign her a tagger.
But that did not stop her as she added another 17 disposals in the second half on her way to breaking the previous record of 33 touches - held by teammate Ebony Marinoff.
At the final siren, she also had nine marks, six tackles and 18 kicks to her name.
Post-match, Hatchard reflected on the hours of hard work she had put in to get to that position.
“Coming from season one where I didn’t really touch the ball much, I got a bit fitter,” Hatchard said.
“Now, I’m able to run around and find the footy around the midfield, so it is pretty cool to crack the record.”
Coach Matthew Clarke spoke highly of not only Hatchard’s performance, but the work she had done to make it happen.
“Anne’s performance was outstanding,” Clarke said.
“Clearly, she’s worked incredibly hard last off-season and the off-season before.
“She has put herself in a condition where she is able to play big minutes around the ball and she knows how to find it.”
No surprise our Player of the Match is the new AFLW record holder for most disposals in a game, Anne Hatchard ???? #weflyasone #crowsaflw pic.twitter.com/2EqDnKPXoa
— Adelaide Crows AFLW (@CrowsAFLW) February 8, 2020
Despite the impressive individual effort, Clarke did concede there were a number of areas that Adelaide will hope to improve on after the loss.
“Brisbane played the wet conditions really well and we were often second to the ball, so all credit to them,” he said.
“They got their numbers back and we were probably a little bit slow to press in and even up those numbers – the outnumber for Brisbane was significant in the first quarters.
“We got a bit of ball inside 50 but we weren’t able to capitalise on some of those opportunities.”
Adelaide will be hoping to rectify those areas ahead of their first home game of the season against St Kilda at Richmond Oval on Sunday, February 16.
