Hawthorn has announced its plans to apply for a license in the expanded AFLW competition in 2019.

In a letter to members on Tuesday, President Richard Garvey said:

"[The club is] committed to being part of the expanded AFLW competition in 2019.

With the experience of building a VFL team from the ground up and strong talent pathways in place, we are in a fantastic position to build a competitive AFLW franchise that can hit the ground running."

See Garvey's full letter below.

Dear Hawthorn members,

I cannot believe how quickly this season is flying by. While our start has been disappointing in terms of wins and losses, it has been exciting to see a new generation of Hawthorn players getting their opportunities in the brown and gold.

The competition has never been more even and as we have continually highlighted, the need to innovate and improve is paramount to sustained success.

This week marks an exciting time for our club, with new Chief Executive Officer Tracey Gaudry officially starting in her role.

Tracey’s passion, strong vision and intimate understanding of elite sport, participation pathways and community engagement stood out to us throughout the recruitment process and we are confident she is the right person to drive Hawthorn into the future.

We are particularly excited to have a CEO who comes from outside of the football world, someone with a different perspective who can drive innovation and change.

While Tracey’s appointment was based on the fact that she was the best candidate for the role, we are proud of the fact that we are first club in the history of the AFL to appoint a female Chief Executive Officer.

As a strong and successful club, Hawthorn is not one for resting on its laurels and we strive to advance across all aspects of the club. This includes living out our values as the ‘family club’ and being a club that embraces diversity and celebrates equality.

Over the past twelve months our game has taken great strides forward with regards to gender equality.

The inaugural AFLW competition has been a resounding success and opened new doors for women in our game.

Women can now aspire to play our game at the highest level and the flow on effect will undoubtedly be an increase in the number of females employed throughout the AFL industry.

It’s an exciting time to be an AFL fan and I look forward to watching AFLW continue to grow and prosper.

Hawthorn Football Club is committed to being part of this ongoing growth and will apply for a license in the expanded AFLW competition in 2019.

With the experience of building a VFL team from the ground up and strong talent pathways in place, we are in a fantastic position to build a competitive AFLW franchise that can hit the ground running.

At the time of inaugural submissions, we saw our most sustainable contribution to women’s football at a grass roots level through participation, talent pathways and coaching.

We set about creating talent pathways for junior female footballers and leveraging our existing partnerships and relationships to encourage young women to play our game in three key geographical areas; Tasmania, Katherine and the Eastern Football League.

We have already expanded our family to include a VFL women’s team, with the inception of the Box Hill VFLW side. The girls are three rounds into their season, improving week by week and relishing the opportunity to have access to elite facilities and resources.

With our feet now firmly embedded at a grass roots level and a strong talent pathway in place for young women, through our alliance with the Eastern Ranges Youth Girls Academy and Box Hill women’s side, we are committed to being part of the expanded AFLW competition in 2019.

Seeing a Hawthorn AFLW team take to the field is an exciting prospect for everyone involved in the brown and gold.

This week we will be sending out a survey to members about AFLW. Your responses will assist the club with our submission and we greatly appreciate your time in completing the survey.

Rest assured the club will keep you informed throughout the application process and thank you for your support as we look to grow our Hawthorn family.

Go Hawks!

Yours sincerely

Richard Garvey