Mattea Breed will make her AFLW debut for Hawthorn on Saturday night.
The Tiwi woman has been selected as one of four players to make their debuts for the Hawks in the club's opening round AFLW clash against Essendon at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston.
Hawthorn released a statement announcing the first-gamers and highlighted Breed's impressive pre-season.
"The 22-year-old has had a strong pre-season and impressed as a forward in Hawthorn's practice matches against the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne," the statement read.
She becomes the third Indigenous footballer to play for the Hawks' AFLW team after Kaitlyn Ashmore and Janet Baird.
Breed grew up in Darwin and was an outstanding junior footballer.
Playing for her local club the Darwin Buffettes, she won back-to-back NTFL U18 Girls best-and-fairest honours in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
The following year – in her first season of senior football – she won the NTFL Women's Premier League Rising Star award.
In a move to further her football, the powerful midfielder-forward relocated to South Australia where she joined SANFLW club Norwood.
After earning selection in the 2020 SANFLW Team of the Year, Breed featured in just five games for the Redlegs in 2021 and opted to play local footy the following season.
A return to the SANFLW and a move to North Adelaide revitalised her football career and she enjoyed an excellent 2023 season.
Breed averaged more than 14 disposals, kicked six goals and was ranked second in score involvements across four games.
The Territorian was taken with selection four in the AFLW Season Eight supplementary draft in April.
At the time, Breed's father Daniel Breed told SEN's Fridays in the Top End that he was 'immensely' proud of his daughter
"The last 12 months in particular she has come into a really good mindset and she has just decided to work really hard on all aspects of her footy.
"I'm just enormously proud of her efforts."
Breed said that he was shocked to hear his daughter's name called out in the draft.
"On draft night, I just thought I'd tune in and see what happens," said Breed, who admitted just a week prior that he was unaware the draft was even taking place.
"She got called out with selection four, then she rang me – she was actually in the gym and wasn't even watching the draft – it was a big shock to us all."
