Anne Hatchard poses for a photo during Adelaide's team photo day on July 26, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

ANNE Hatchard cuts an imposing figure on the field, but off it, she’s a self-proclaimed "softie".

Known for her competitive nature and toughness around the contest, Hatchard's off-field persona couldn't be more different, with her caring nature extending to becoming qualified as a lash technician so she could do her wife's eyelash extensions.

"I've got that tough exterior, but on the inside, I'm such a softie, I'm so emotional," Hatchard told AFL.com.au.

"When my wife first met me, she thought I was just going to be this tough girl, and then she's like, 'oh wow, she's actually such a softie, this is weird'.

"I'm a completely different person on and off the field."

The three-time premiership-winning Crow lights up when asked about her wife, Georgie, and the pair's two sausage dogs, Toby and Otis.

"Georgie is the best thing to ever happen in my life. She's just the most beautiful girl, and she just makes me a better human each and every day, and she just pushes me to get better and better with my footy and all the things I want to achieve," Hatchard said.

"That's just something I'm super grateful for, because it can mean that we have less time together, and but she's always there for me.

"I can come home and I can literally switch off. I think that's something in the past that I really struggled with, switching off outside of footy, and I'd just indulge in it. But now, I've got my dogs, I've got my wife, and it's great."

So why does a midfield bull become a fully qualified lash technician? Out of love - and thriftiness - it turns out.

"So Georgie loves her eyelash extensions, and she was getting them refilled every fortnight," Hatchard explained.

"And I'm like, 'wow, this just costs so much'. So we saw that there was a course going on, and I decided to do the course with Georgie.

"At first it was just going to be her little side hustle, but then I decided I was going to do her lashes.

"And now I'm actually better at doing lashes than she is, and she gets her lashes refilled by 'Hatchy' in my salon every fortnight."

Hatchard's teammates can forget about making an appointment, however, with Hatchard's books filled.

"I've got two clients now, I've got my mum as well," Hatchard said.

"So I could open up my own salon after footy, if I really wanted to.

"I think [my teammates] know that once I'm at home, I want my alone time. So my books are filled, and my teammates know to not bug me."

The Crows have only dropped two games so far this season, and are deep in the thick of their mid-week footy experience with four games in 16 days.

They face off against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday evening, and once she crosses that white line, it'll be the tough version of Hatchard that will be on show, doing everything she can to get the job done for her teammates.