AFLW premiership player Abbey Holmes is set to dust off the football boots and continue her career in the brown and gold in 2021.

The former Adelaide Crow will wear the number 31 for Hawthorn’s VFLW side – the same number her partner Keegan Brooksby wears for Hawthorn’s AFL team.

GM-VFL & VFLW Football Dan Napoli says the club is excited to welcome someone with such knowledge and experience into Hawthorn’s program.

“Abbey is an AFLW premiership player. She knows what it takes to succeed and she has so much footy IQ she can impart on her younger teammates,” Napoli said.

“We’re so excited to watch her pull on the brown and gold guernsey in the season ahead.”

Holmes is the latest in an exciting string of names to join the Hawks this off-season – a list that includes the likes of Northern Territory talent Dom Carbone, former W-league soccer player Catherine Brown, and of course AFLW star and Hawthorn’s newly appointed captain, Jess Trend.

Napoli also highlighted the importance of Hawthorn’s continued alignment with the Eastern Ranges and Gippsland Power regions.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming in several players from the Eastern Ranges and Gippsland regions across the course of the season,” he said.

“We’re passionate about assisting in the development of talent in these regions and know that these players can bring so much to our club.”

Hawthorn will have another opportunity to add more top-end talent to its list when the AFLW season concludes in mid April.

The Hawks have also unveiled its 2021 leadership group ahead of this Sunday’s season opener.

Trend will head a five-woman leadership, with star veteran Meg Hutchins and long-time Hawk Kara Henderson voted in by their peers, alongside new faces Amy Malander and Erin Byrnes.

The VFLW side will kick off its 2021 campaign at 10am this Sunday against the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval, as the girls make their long awaited return to the field – finally putting an end to an 18-month VFLW football drought.

Support our girls in 2021 – become a VFLW member today.

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