From a young age, AFLW sisters Hannah Button and Rachelle Martin were always competitors. Playing soccer, netball, tennis, basketball and more, the pair were rarely on the same team.
It was footy that brought them together. Now, playing together for the Adelaide Crows in the AFLW, their relationship is stronger than ever.
“We got a lot closer, and we are always genuinely happy for each other with whatever we achieve,” Hannah, 26, told Women’s Agenda.
Hannah and her younger sister Rachelle, 24, signed up for the South Australia National Football League (SANFL) in 2017 when they moved to Adelaide from the Yorke Peninsula. With no footy experience at all, the sisters quickly found their feet and were drafted for the Adelaide Crows in the AFLW.
Five years later, Hannah and Rachelle became the first siblings to win an AFLW premiership together – but they’re not planning on stopping there, with the Crows preparing for the 2023 NAB AFLW Finals Series.
From the backyard to SANFL
Hannah and Rachelle spent most of their childhood either playing a team sport, or kicking the footy with their older brother, even though their Filipino mother and Australian father weren’t all that sporty. But the family shared a love for AFL and were Adelaide Crows members for years.
“We grew up on the Yorke Peninsula and played many different sports – soccer, netball, basketball, tennis,” Hannah said.
“But there were no footy opportunities for us back home. We had an older brother and we’d kick the footy with him in the backyard.”
Rachelle had her first run playing the national game in Year 8, playing in an AFL 9’s competition. It was here she fell in love with it, but with no options for girls’ footy on the Yorke Peninsula, she didn’t return to her dream until her and her sister moved to Adelaide in 2017.
“I convinced Hannah and Chelsea Biddell, because I went to school with Chelsea,” Rachelle said.
“I just kinda asked them: ‘You wanna play footy together?’”
Hannah and Chelsea weren’t as keen as Rachelle, but the 24-year-old contacted West Adelaide anyway. Suddenly, the girls were playing in Division 1 for the club in the amateur league, and it wasn’t long before they transitioned to play in the SANFL.
The premiership
After winning the Best and Fairest players award in her first season of footy, Hannah was drafted to the Adelaide Crows in the AFLW in 2018. The following year, she won an AFLW premiership.
Her footy career was looking promising, but an ACL injury during the off-season threw a spanner in the works.
“That was my first major injury… I did a lot of damage to that knee,” Hannah said.
“It was a bit of a lengthy process, but thankfully I had plenty of time to get back for the following season.”
Meanwhile, Rachelle was thriving in the SANFL and, in 2020, she followed in her older sister’s footsteps, winning the Best and Fairest award and getting drafted to the Adelaide Crows in the AFLW.
It made it all the more special when Hannah returned to the league after recovering from her injury in 2021, playing their first season in the league together.
But it was the Season 6 AFLW Premiership in 2022 that remains to be the highlight for the girls. They are the first siblings to win a premiership together in the league’s history.
“That was pretty special,” Hannah said.
“I obviously got to experience it in 2019… it’s just such a great feeling and I really wanted Rachelle to be able to experience that.
“I guess it just made it that more special being able to experience it together. It was a really good memory.”
Rachelle agreed. “It was crazy,” she said.
“In 2021, we played a losing grand final together, which was quite hard for us… this was just so special.”
Another premiership?
Now that Hannah and Rachelle are teammates, their competitive days are behind them.
“We were always quite competitive with sport, but when it came to footy… I don’t know, it sort of changed our relationship in a way,” Hannah said.
“We got a lot closer, and we are always genuinely happy for each other with whatever we achieve.”
Unfortunately, Hannah sustained another ACL injury and has not been able to play this season.
“But I’m happily cheering from the sidelines,” Hannah said.
She plans to cheer Rachelle and the Adelaide Crows all the way to the big dance.
“I think we’re tracking well, and I still think there’s more that we can give,” Rachelle said.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best yet.”
Tickets to the NAB AFLW Finals Series can be purchased at womens.afl. Adults are $10 with kids under 18 are FREE or tune in to watch the Adelaide Crows in action on the Seven Network, 7Plus, Foxtel, Kayo and the Official AFLW App.