OBJECTIVELY the best player in the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier competition the past two seasons, back-to-back Mostyn Medal winner Hannah Woolf still has a deep love for Australian rules football.

The former Sydney Swans Academy representative and Manly Warringah Wolves midfielder has caused more than a few headaches to opposition coaches in the Harbour City state, but her primarily focus is enjoying her footy.

Having played through the Manly pathway program since she was a teenager, the recently turned 21-year-old has become a key figurehead for the Wolves and aligns with their community values.

“I have a real passion for community and the club is very community minded,” Woolf said. “Their aim isn’t to win a bunch of flags, it’s more to help people and to help people in need and have a community that everyone, that young people can be a part of.

“I think just their values and the way that the type of people that they attract, it’s like one big family, really. “It’s just so fun to play at a club where everyone’s sort of there for the footy and the competitive side, but it’s also for a love of each other and helping people.”

Woolf’s journey began playing through the Paul Kelly Cup in primary school, before she joined the Forest Lions with a number of friends.

“We formed an inaugural club there in 2017, I think it would have been,” she said. “Then I’ve just loved it ever since then, I’ve always played with my friends so it’s been really good.”

From there, Woolf filtered into the Swans Academy pathways and then eventually into the Wolves program. That was the beginning of her footballing journey from talented teenager into league best-and-fairest winning superstar.

Woolf has the rare achievement of being able to represent NSW/ACT as a junior, and now a number years on, also as a senior when her state – which combined the AFL Sydney with AFL Canberra competitions – took on Tasmania earlier this year.

“It was lots of fun,” Woolf said. “The Canberra girls were super, super fun to play with. “They have such a good culture around it. I think it was super cool to start to see a pathway for the girls outside of the draft age be able to see what they’re made of and have a goal at a higher level.

“I’ve watched that evolve, it was a really cool experience to be able to run out in that jumper. Then the way Tassie has improved in the last couple years, going from having to be an Allies team to now being their own state and being really strong. “It’s really, really cool to see.”

On the individual accolade front, few have been as successful over the past two seasons as Woolf who has won back-to-back Moyston Medals in the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division competition. While Woolf said the accomplishment was “never really something I thought would happen”, her Manly coach Peter Robertson had far more faith.

“He really instilled confidence in me over the last couple years,” Woolf said. “Especially before I won the best and fairest the first time, he told me at the start of the year that that’s what I was going to do, that I was going to win it.

“I didn’t really believe him, but he’s always had a vision for where I should be going with my footy and he’s really helped me model my game over the last couple years. “So, I think he’s probably he’s really shaped the way I play and inspired me.”

After winning her first, Woolf said she had even more doubts on a second due to the extra “attention” on the field that comes with the league best and fairest accolade. She conceded it “definitely brought some challenges” but it has been “really cool” to accept them and go to another level.

On-field, Woolf rates her ground level work and competitiveness amongst her strengths, with a natural stoppage craft and clean hands in a contest standout qualities for the 156cm talent. On the improvements side, the Wolves midfielder said she would love to be able to be “more consistent” with some of her inside 50 entries, as well as become more an aerial threat inside 50.

With ties to the GWS Giants through friends and colleagues, Woolf said she follows the orange team at the elite level, with former skipper Amanda Farrugia a player she has not only looks up to, but has had the opportunity to go head-to-head with when her Wolves took on Sydney University.

“Obviously, she used to be the captain for the Giants and she played at that level for such a long time, but I really admire the way that she conducts herself,” Woolf said.

“She’s such a, she’s an athlete with so many, accolades and she’s got a lot of pressure on her, but she’s always just got such a cool head and she goes on with her game and she really has a good brand of footy that she’s able to execute every week. “I really respect her and I like playing against her to see the way she plays.”

Looking ahead to the future, and Woolf said she has both short and long-term goals. Having become a midfield strategist at the Wolves the last couple of years, she is always searching for ways to improve not just individually, but as a team too. A flag in the burgundy and white is a dream for the future, while her main aim is to just continue playing for as long as she can.

“I love playing footy competitively,” Woolf said. “I’d love to see whether or not I can perform at a higher level. “But really for me, it’s just about making sure its just about the love for it and if I’m enjoying it and having fun, it doesn’t matter what level I’m at.”