IDENTIFYING the biggest priorities within a new women’s footy program can be a make-or-break moment for a club. Those priorities vary depending on countless moving parts, and present uniquely for the second club to grace New South Wales, the Sydney Swans. 

In order to navigate those decisions, the Swans have looked to experience both within the AFLW sphere and women’s sport more broadly. Executive General Manager of AFLW, Kate Mahony has a long background in high performance and sports physiotherapy, including past roles with the Australian women’s cricket team and Australian Open/Women’s Tennis Association. Senior Coach Scott Gowans brings a wealth of experience from his time coaching talent pathway programs, VFLW and AFLW, boasting an 11-3 record as an AFLW head coach. 

"I've been speaking about it in the media for a while, that assistant coaches need to be paid more, but obviously, by doing that, other bits of the program suffer a little bit," Gowans told womens.afl.  

"If I had to pick it, the medical and the coaching are the two [areas] that you can sort of overspend if you like, and you're going to get the benefits from it, knowing that you might have to save a bit of money elsewhere. And it might mean the coaches have to pack boxes and carry and load trucks and stuff like that, as well as coach, but so be it.  

"I think it's important the athletes get the coaching and resources they need to improve… that goes a long way to making a really successful program." 

This mindset is a key foundation upon which the Swans’ program is being built, and a drawcard for incoming players. 

Alongside this, a chance for a fresh challenge was appealing enough for experienced forward Rebecca Privitelli to make the leap from crosstown rival Greater Western Sydney.  

"If I keep doing the same thing, nothing's going to change, and that's why I felt when the season ended, it was the right time to open those conversations with the Swans," Privitelli said. 

Adding to this, having worked with Gowans in the past made the move a "no brainer". 

"I think is he's going to do a lot of good things here," Privitelli said.

Armed with experience in building an AFLW list from his time at North Melbourne, Gowans was able to learn from it when faced with his current list build. 

"Our strategy was to target the best 20 athletes that we could find in the country and try and almost put together a premiership team from the start," Gowans said of his time at the Kangaroos.  

"But what that meant was the bottom end of the list - and no disrespect to the girls that that made up the 21 to 30 spots - probably suffered a little bit.

"Because you had so much talent on the list, [younger players] really didn't get the opportunity to develop, so then they fall away, go to other clubs, drop off the list, and then you're just replacing them." 

YOUR CLUB'S TRADE BREAKDOWN Ins, outs, draft picks, verdict

Taking that knowledge north, Gowans and Mahony have looked more broadly at the list build, finding a more even spread of talent that can be developed together, rather than a host of players who will hit the ground running, potentially leaving other players behind. 

"I think that this list, it was the other way, I thought I'd do it in reverse. Basically, built from bottom up, get a really good core of athletes that perhaps have missed multiple drafts, players who have been delisted, maybe not had enough opportunity for game time, because they've been at good sides," Gowans explained. 

Experienced players like Brooke Lochland, Maddy Collier, Aliesha Newman, Sarah Dargan and Brenna Tarrant join Privitelli at the club. That being said, the Swans had hoped to add a high-profile marquee player to the solid foundation but couldn’t quite get it across the line. 

"We had a few different throws at the stumps and missed a couple of times, just, but I think by having the core of the team there and ready and hungry. I reckon it's a good way to build success for a premiership." 

Part of that core is local talent – even more important given Sydney is not a footy heartland – and one of those locals joining the first ever Swans AFLW side is Academy product Ella Heads. 

PLAYER MOVEMENT Who's going? Who's staying? All the latest news

"It was pretty exciting knowing there was another team coming in,” Heads said.

“Because it was just the Giants and I was on their train on squad for a year or two, but it wasn't the same as being at the Swans because I was in their Academy. So yeah, it was pretty exciting. And then knowing that I had a spot on the list was just so overwhelming." 

Adding to the excitement for Heads is the famous Swans culture. 

"There's a really rich culture at the Swans, and they've carried that through all the Academy teams and stuff. It's really about teamwork and encouragement and leading on and off the field," she said.

"The environment is just really supportive." 

FROM THE TOP Trailblazing coach sets Hawks up for success

For Privitelli, the culture was another appealing aspect of the club, but so too was the chance to create something from scratch. 

"I know it's really cliche but seeing that Bloods culture, I was blown away by the way the boys are on the field and the way they support each other and hoping that we can bring that to our program as well. And not to mention being part of something new," she said.  

"lt's probably the last time anyone's going to get the opportunity to do that. You get to build your own culture. You get to build what you stand for as a club. And I think that's awesome."