HOLLY Cooper almost didn't pick up her phone when Sydney coach Scott Gowans called to tell her the club wanted to sign her. 

Luckily, she did, and now the lifelong Swans fan is preparing to make her debut for the club against Richmond on Saturday afternoon.

"Everyone knew before me. So, I got set up, filmed," Cooper told AFL.com.au of her signing experience. 

"I was like, 'What the hell, what's going on?' I was very confused because I honestly wasn't even going to pick up the phone because I don't have Scotty's number. This random number was calling me.

"Imagine if I didn't answer the phone."

It was the final day of the 2023 talent pre-signing period in which 2022 expansion clubs were afforded first access to draft-eligible juniors in their catchment zones. Cooper had been part of Sydney's Academy program from the age of 16, so was eligible to join the Swans under the pre-signing rules.

"I was very shocked. I know the pre-signing (period) was happening, but because it was Friday, ended on Friday, I was like, 'Oh, my time is gone'," Cooper said.

"I literally was not expecting it at all… you never know what can happen."

Cooper is a talented midfielder/forward who boasts a neat turn of speed and an ability to hit the scoreboard, all of which was on show during Sydney's invitational VFLW stint earlier this year.

Those games weren't only a chance for Cooper to show what she was made of, but to establish herself within Sydney's structures on the field. Of the club's five games, Cooper played four and kicked five goals.

"It was really good to figure it out, like where I fit, in the forward line, how to play my role there and just how the team plays and structures," Cooper said.

"In the time I've been here, the pre-season and the VFLW series, I've already learned so much from every single one of the girls."

She earns her debut on the heels of co-captain Chloe Molloy being ruled out for the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury, but expectation isn't for her to replace Molloy. Instead, a ferocious small forward presence is all the club needs.

Cooper is a resolute character, whose favourite Sydney players are well known for being particularly hard working.

"I do love watching Lisa Steane, I think she's just incredible. Her workrate's insane," Cooper said.

"I also love watching James Rowbottom play. I just think he has so much hunger for the ball and pushing forward. I need that hunger… I love watching people that work hard."

Off the track, Cooper continues to work hard at her day job as an ATM alarm technician. It's a job that forces everything else out of her brain, providing some respite from a constant focus on her footy.

"It's a bit random, I install alarms in ATMs," Cooper said.

"I go to a fix site, and we get maybe five ATMs in every day, and I just put in the alarm panel that's connected to the door. Pretty simple, but you have to be very logical, good with your hands."

But now it's time to excel on the field for the club she grew up supporting. And she's up for the fight.

"I'm definitely very determined," Cooper said.

"I love a challenge."