Rugby union coach Alana Thomas has landed an AFLW gig

The Glen Innes native has landed a role with Hawthorn in mentoring AFLW players.

Over the years, various football codes have sought out others to improve specific areas in their own game.

Hawthorn coach Bec Goddard contacted Thomas to bring her expertise in contact and tackling techniques to the AFL landscape.

Poor tackling technique has led to various injuries for AFLW players.

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"That's where the rugby comes into it really well - the ability to purely teach them from a rugby perspective around contact," Thomas said.

"And safely, the girls in particular don't know how to tackle properly.

"It is all arms and flinging which increases the ACL risk and concussion risk because of the way they go about it.

"The girls are willing and keen and they have got intent but they don't know how to position their bodies."

And Thomas is one of the best to learn from.

She's played rugby union for Australia and coached at a high performance level with the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition.

She also spent time in 2022 as the Wallaroos assistant coach for the World Cup where they reached the quarter finals.

Since the World Cup concluded in November, Thomas has had some spare time on her hands and has taken the time to build up her own coaching skillset.

But then when Goddard, who she'd worked with before, called her "out of the blue" to mentor women in another elite sport, she jumped at the chance.

"AFLW is doing really well and I thought it would be good from a coaching perspective - different athletes, different people and different club and unit," Thomas said.

"It is an opportunity for a session a week to get paid and be in the high performance environment so it is pretty cool.

"The thing for Bec is I have a skill I can offer and it is also promoting women.

"She could have gone to the men's club and could have got one of the consultants they use but she wanted someone she knew she could work with but also she thought it would be better from a women's point of view a female coach coaching that contact and understanding the body would be a massive help.

"Having skin in the game in women's sport at a high performance level was probably a factor as well."

There is a bit of adjustment in terms of coaching contact from different angles thanks to the round playing area, versus the "180 degree" vision on a rugby field.

But, so far, Thomas is enjoying it.

"Pre-season started so I had my first session with them and got some really good feedback from the players," she said.

"Every Saturday I will be running around coaching them for the next few months."

Always an advocate for women in sport, Thomas also highlighted the fact it is another feather in the cap for the progression of females in the elite-level environment.

"For me, I think it is just the fact it shows how much women's sport is growing in Australia across multiple codes," she said.

"The big thing is promoting other women's sport.

"We are all in this together.

"We have to lift other coaches and players up."

Although the next few months will see her focus on Aussie Rules, rugby union is still very much part of Thomas' future.

"There's a couple of coaching things for rugby at the back-end of the year - Australian under 18s camp in September for Rugby Australia," she said.

"We take a heap of under 18s in camp, give them an experience and then Talent ID those girls.

"Then hopefully do some coaching in and around the men's space."

The AFLW season will commence on the first weekend in September.

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