Hawthorn defender Jenna Richardson will make her AFLW debut on Friday night in her side’s clash against the West Coast Eagles at SkyBus Stadium, Frankston.

Richardson hails from the Hawks VFLW team where she averaged 12.5 disposals, 3.9 marks and 2.7 tackles from 10 games in 2022.

This form earned the 20-year-old a spot in the VFLW Team of the Year, where she was named at centre half-back.

Once she was recruited to Hawthorn’s AFLW team, Richardson showed glimpses of the player she could be during practice games against West Coast and Richmond.

She then suffered an unfortunate injury setback but has worked incredibly hard to officially pull on the brown and gold No. 11 on Friday night.

Hawthorn AFLW Senior Coach Bec Goddard said she was excited to see Richardson debut.

“I can’t wait to see ‘Richo’ run out in the brown and gold in Frankston on Friday night,” Goddard said.

“It’s fantastic to see her complete the full Hawthorn pathway, having played for the Eastern Ranges, our VFLW team and now our AFLW team.

“Jenna’s been working hard to earn her spot since day one of pre-season and she thoroughly deserves this opportunity.”

The Hawks will look to make it back-to-back victories on Friday night when they face off against the Eagles, with the match commencing at 6.10pm AEST.