The Hawks Community Foundation hosted its third annual Inclusion Awards event on Monday night at the MCG, celebrating a record-breaking year of impact, community and premiership success across the club’s flagship inclusion initiatives.Â
Over 160 guests filled the MCC Dining Room for the largest Inclusion Awards to date, which was proudly hosted by Hawks Community Foundation Board Member Nat Edwards.Â
Guests included the Blind sports community, Hawthorn’s Victorian Wheelchair Football League teams, Inclusion Project Officers and their families, partners of the Foundation’s first-class Inclusion Project program and key Hawthorn representatives.Â
Several award winners were recognised on the night, with over a dozen Inclusion Project Officers recognised for working 50, 100 and 150 match-days.Â
Living Without Boundaries Founder and Head Occupational Therapist Carly Treloar was also honoured for her impact in the program over seven years, presented with 50, 100 and 150-game milestone trophies.Â
The Inclusion Project values award winners were Alex Nason (Respect), Georgia Powning (Teamwork) and Jordyn Smith (Humble).Â
The success of Hawthorn’s Victorian Wheelchair Football League teams was also celebrated on the night, with Paul Laidlaw crowned the Gold Standards Award winner, Yassin Hill winning his fourth consecutive Leading Goal Scorer Award (87 goals) and Gerard McCarthy (Community Division) and Hayden Auber (Championship Division) earning their third Best & Fairest titles.Â
The audience was also treated to a special video reminiscing on the Championship Division side’s thrilling 2026 premiership win against Essendon, marking Hawthorn’s second title in four years.Â
The prestigious Variety Ned Brewer Maiga Heart of Community Award went to outstanding Inclusion Project Officer Danny Freak.Â
Inclusion Project Coordinator Andre Leslie, Hawthorn's Head of Community Oscar Anderson, Sam from The Inclusion Project and man the award is named after Ned Brewer Maiga, each spoke to Danny’s impact during a moving presentation.Â
Danny is an Inclusion Project Officer from Tasmania who has been with the program since its first year in 2019. Renowned for their dedication to helping their peers, they have been an advocate and leader in Launceston’s inclusion space for several years.Â
Along with award winners being honoured, a panel including Founder and Head Occupational Therapist from Living without Boundaries, Carly Treloar, Hawthorn General Manager - Community Impact & Inclusion Adam Moedt and Variety The Children’s Charity of Victoria Head of Fundraising & Marketing Mel Williams presented key findings from Social Ventures Australia’s ‘Beyond The Ramp’ Report, which detailed The Inclusion Project’s systemic impact.Â
Key results included delivering 113 events across 26 venues in 2026, generating 2,818+ hours of meaningful employment and supporting 44,837 attendees.
Blind Sports was also discussed on the night, with Ned Brewer Maiga presenting on Hawthorn’s Footy & Friends program, where members of the Blind Community have been coming together weekly across blind football, tennis and cricket, with key focuses on peer connection and long-term wellbeing.Â
2026 INCLUSION AWARD WINNERSÂ
The Inclusion Project
50 Matchdays: Georgia Powning, Jordyn Smith, Matthew Lim, Issy O’Shannessy, Alex Nason, Lucy Hogan, Madi Van Eijk, Sam H, Scott Marson, Lisa Swariss and Carly Treloar.
100 Matchdays: John Cima and Carly Treloar.
150 Matchdays: Nik Pavlou and Carly Treloar.Â
Values Awards: Alex Nason (Respect), Georgia Powning (Teamwork), and Jordyn Smith (Humble)
Victorian Wheelchair Football LeagueÂ
Gold Standards Award: Paul Laidlaw
Leading Goal Scorer: Yassin Hill - 87 goals (Four-time winner)
Community Division Best & Fairest Winner: Gerard McCarthy (Three-time winner)
Championship Division Best & Fairest Winner: Hayden Auber (Three-time winner)
Variety Ned Brewer Maiga Heart of Community Award: Danny FreakÂ
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