Hawthorn heads to first AFLW semi-final as players push for more
Hawthorn is through to its first AFLW semi-final in club history. The Hawks play Carlton at Princes Park on Saturday, and the winner moves on toward the grand final.
Hawthorn's run has been a short one so far. Last week it won its first AFLW final, beating Gold Coast. It is also the only team to have beaten North Melbourne in the past three years, according to ABC Sport.
One of the players at the centre of the run is defender Jenna Richardson. She is an inaugural Hawthorn AFLW player, having joined the club as an expansion signing in 2022. An expansion signing is a player recruited in the early years, when a club is still building its list of players.
Richardson says she is grateful for what AFLW players now get. She also says there is room to grow, and players should not settle. She wants higher salaries for support staff and assistant coaches in women's programs. She backs a defender award in the AFLW awards, which would recognise players who work at the back of the ground.
She also wants the regular season stretched from 12 rounds, so every team can play every other team once. Her view of the league's profile is simple. Her social media feed is now full of people talking about and analysing AFLW games, she told ABC Sport.
The AFL Players Association's chief executive, James Gallagher, has raised a bigger concern. He says the gap between clubs that get workplace culture right and those that do not is widening, and that the difference can be seen on the field.
The crowd numbers show a mixed picture. Standalone AFLW games, those not played alongside a men's match, averaged 2,500 fans per game this season. That is similar to 2025. The league's home-and-away attendance record, though, was broken in round 10.
Big days came with men's games. Two AFLW crowds at Docklands drew 20,455 and 14,573. Both were helped by double-headers, where two games are played on the same day at the same ground.
For Hawthorn's players and supporters, the next step is the semi-final. A win would take the club further than it has been before. A loss would end its finals run this season. Either way, Richardson's message is clear: the league has grown, and she wants the next step to come quickly.
