It’s a sight SUNS fans will be eager to see and opposition sides fearful to take on.
It hasn’t taken long for a strong connection to build between defending three-time Club Champion Charlie Rowbottom and four-time All Australian Anne Hatchard, with the pair set to line up alongside each other for the first time this Saturday night.
The SUNS take on the Western Bulldogs at People First Stadium in its season opener. With a lengthy pre-season just about finalised, Rowbottom says Hatchard has made an immediate impact ahead of her first campaign in SUNS colours.
“Hatchy has come in with just an incredible work rate. I feel like I always perceived her as a hard worker, so she's come in and really shown that. She's a real team player,” Rowbottom said.
“She's someone that you want next to you out there, so I'm pretty keen.”
The 23-year-old has already cemented herself as one of the competition’s premier midfielders and has gone to work on taking her outside game to another level alongside a SUNS squad brimming with young talent this pre-season.
“This pre-season's been nothing but a lot of energy and a lot of hard work,” Rowbottom added.
“It’s super young group, but I think it's made it really exciting. They bring a lot of flair to the team, so we're really excited to put that on show this weekend.
“Probably my contest-to-contest running has really improved. Going into this season, we're feeling really confident with our fitness abilities and ability to impact the contest when we're there.”
Under Rhyce Shaw for a second season and marshalled by Erin Phillips as the club’s General Manager of Women’s Football for the first time, the SUNS are eyeing a charge up the ladder in 2026.
A host of StreetSmarts SUNS Academy graduates – eight of which were acquired during last year’s draft – are in the mix to make debuts in the competition’s early stages, and that excitement is palpable within the group.
“We don’t shy away from the fact last season wasn’t the season we wanted,” she said.
“As I said, these young kids are bringing a lot of talent and plenty of flair so we're just encouraging that energy from them hoping to see that on game day.
Saturday night’s season opener gets underway at 7:15pm, with entry to People First Stadium including your ticket to a pre-game watch party for the SUNS v Lions AFL match in the Fifth Quarter Bar from 4:15pm.
