RECENTLY retired Hawthorn forward Jess Duffin played nearly the entirety of season seven while pregnant.

Duffin revealed she found out she was pregnant with a boy in round two – her second child with husband Chris after sitting out 2020 to give birth to Georgie – and ended up playing all 10 games, kicking seven goals.

"It was explained to me that I needed to have a car crash (in order to cause complications)," Duffin told SEN.

"Obviously I asked about the risk factors as I further went along and they basically said that up until 12 weeks, it would have to be quite a significant impact because where the baby was sitting at the time was quite protected.

"I had one doctor tell me that it would be fine. Then I got advice from another two to make 100% sure. I was pretty confident after speaking to all three doctors that everything would be okay."

The 33-year-old kept key people at the club informed from the outset, partially to help manage any additional pregnancy issues.

"I never threw up but I felt nauseous," she said.

"That’s why I told Bec (Goddard, coach) early on in case something happened or something was wrong that she knew why. I had a really good connection with Bec from the start.

"I was quite confident in telling her and just being aware of what might happen. Like any other woman going through pregnancy, you’ve just got to push through and that’s what I did."

Duffin has hung up the footy boots after 42 games at Collingwood, North Melbourne and the Hawks, but has not ruled out a return to cricket in the future, having previously represented Australia and most recently Melbourne Renegades.