Anne Hatchard’s transformation from fast-food enthusiast to ripped All-Australian is remarkable.

Before landing at the Adelaide Crows, Hatchard – by her own admission – didn’t have the best diet for a professional athlete.

She’d been part of WNBL club Adelaide Lightning’s set-up, but thoroughly enjoyed the odd fast food meal at the same time.

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Round 18

“I ate KFC often,” the Crows midfielder told AFC Media.

And when Hatchard was recruited to the Crows during the inaugural AFLW draft and began training with the club, she admitted felt the pinch.

“Back in 2017, I was quite big. My diet wasn’t great, I struggled to do a warm up lap without being puffed,” she said.

Anne Hatchard started training with Adelaide in 2016. Picture: Dean Martin Source: News Corp Australia

“I didn’t eat salads, when we’d all go out for a meal, I'd get the schnitty and chips and just leave the salad on the plate.

“When I first got here, I did get diet plans to follow but I really struggled with following them because the foods in there I didn’t really enjoy eating.”

Hatchard played 11 games for the Crows in their first two AFLW seasons – including the 2017 premiership – but admits she “definitely struggled to find form”, kicking one goal and averaging just 6.5 disposals per game. She thought she was on the verge of not getting another Adelaide contract.

So Hatchard did something about it. She “cut out the crap” and improved her diet dramatically by avoiding artificial foods, while she also increased her exercise. In the off-season, she’d complete at least 45 minutes of cross-training exercise per day, as well as three to four weights sessions a week.

Anne Hatchard was an All-Australian in 2019. Picture: Kelly Barnes Source: AAP

“Some of the girls couldn’t really recognise me. They’re like, ‘who are you’, so that was pretty funny,” Hatchard said with a smile.

It was a significant lifestyle change, but one that paid dividends for Hatchard on the field in 2019.

The midfielder averaged 18.9 disposals from nine games to play a significant role in the Crows’ second AFLW premiership. She also earned All-Australian honours and finished third in Adelaide’s best and fairest count.

“Now that I’ve stopped eating like that, I’ve realised how much impact it does have on my performance on the field,” Hatchard said.

“I have so much more energy, I feel so much better put on the field. I can run out a whole game now.

“At the start you don’t really see any results straight away and it’s really tough to stick to it, but it’s a slow journey and once you start seeing the results, it really pushed me to keep going.”

But Hatchard is keen to show this season that she has much more improvement left in her.

The 21-year-old has returned to West Lakes in ominous shape, determined to help her teammates push for a third flag in four seasons.

“My performance did pick up for season three, but I want to come back even better (in season four) and just be the best I can for all my teammates out there,” she said.

“Each season now, I’m just going to have the hunger to be better and better – that’s what motivated me during this off-season to push even harder.”