Speedster Mikayla Williamson has taken out the first pre-season time trial for 2025, as the Hawks hit the track at Bunjil Bagora, Waverley Park on Tuesday afternoon.

The first session was headlined by a distance running trial, with 20-year-old Williamson clocking the furthest distance across six minutes.

Emily Bates, Kaitlyn Ashmore, Najwa Allen and Tilly Lucas-Rodd rounded out the top five.

AFLW High Performance Manager Aaron Kellett spoke to the method of testing and the standouts from the run.

“Today was obviously our first test, the six-minute run for distance. Our top five were Williamson, Bates, Ashmore, Allen and Lucas-Rodd,” he said.

“So a lot of our senior players and some of our harder runners really excelled in that test as a measure of endurance so, really proud.

Kellett highlighted the importance of this phase of pre-season.

“It’s important to gather some information and understand where people are at coming back off a long off-season, that allows us to prioritise individual needs and then set the program up to try and keep footy as the main priority,” he said.

With 12 weeks before Round 1 of the 2025 season in early August, Kellett said the Hawks will approach pre-season in three stages.

“We’ve broken it into three blocks, this one’s really about getting football back online, making sure we build our loads there and start to train the game style that Daniel’s trying to evolve and continue to embed into the group,” said Kellett.

Watch Aaron Kellett’s full interview below.