Hawthorn’s vice-captain Eliza West will run out for her 50th game on Sunday when the Hawks kick off their 2025 NAB AFLW Premiership season against the Brisbane Lions at Brighton Homes Arena.
Since arriving at Hawthorn during the 2023 trade period, the midfielder has immediately impressed, playing every game for the Hawks since, including two finals last year.
Formerly an elite basketballer, West played college basketball in the USA for the Utah State Aggies from 2017 to 2019, before switching codes to AFLW in 2022 (Season 6).
West played her first 36 games for Melbourne, missing only one match since her debut in Round 1 of 2022 (S6), and was part of the Dees' 2022 (S7) AFLW Premiership-winning side.
Since making the switch to the brown and gold, West quickly slipped into career-best form, leading the team in average disposals (21.9), contested possessions (14), handballs (13.8), ground-ball gets (9.8), tackles (7.8) and clearances (5.6).
As a result, she finished her first season at the Hawks by winning the club's best and fairest and being named in the All-Australian squad for 2024.
Leading into her milestone match this Sunday, West spoke to The Run Home on SEN about the excitement of the upcoming season ahead.
“We’re feeling as ready as ever at the moment,” she said.
“We’ve had a big off-season, and then a great 12 weeks of pre-season.
“The talks this week around the team, we’re ready, we know what we’re capable of and we think we’re actually capable of more. We’re looking forward to the challenge this weekend and getting the job done.”
