FROM falling out of favour at Narrm to becoming an integral cog at Hawthorn, Eliza West has discovered career-best form in 2024.

The ex-Demons midfielder has flourished in her new environment under coach Daniel Webster and is ready to take on her old side for the first time on Thursday night.

The Hawks and Demons head to Cairns in a massive clash with huge finals ramifications.

A win will see the Hawks all but cement a top four berth and double chance, while the Demons must win to keep their finals flame flickering.

"I'm looking forward to it, it'll be a good match-up," West told AFL.com.au.

"It's good that they're back to full strength now, they had a rough season with injuries so now everyone's back it's really exciting. They're in form and we're in form so I'm looking forward to the battle that's ahead.

"I think when I'm out there it will definitely feel different, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll play how I always play, give 100 per cent but it's a funny feeling thinking about the fact I used to be a part of that team and now I'm playing against them."

West was a part of a bumper deal between Hawthorn and Narrm during last year's trade period, arriving at the Hawks alongside Casey Sherriff and pick No.16 in exchange for picks 5 and 26.

The hard-nosed on-baller said a new opportunity at Hawthorn was exactly the change she needed.

"It was sad, that was where my football journey started, and they were the first team to give me the opportunity to play AFLW. I have a lot of good memories there and was sad to leave, but it was also time for me to have a change," she said.

"I had this new, exciting chapter ahead of me which was Hawthorn, and I was really looking forward to that challenge. To be a part of a team that's building their identity, I was excited about that."

West said the culture and increased opportunities at Waverley Park really appealed, as did playing alongside the likes of season six AFLW best and fairest winner, Emily Bates.

"(It was) probably their culture as a whole. When I met with them, how they spoke about the club, the team that they had, all the players, it just seemed like a really good place to be," West said.

"They talked about how they saw me fitting into the program and that sounded exciting. I felt like I could contribute and get the most out of myself as a person and a player.

"There was also Emily Bates and a few others who I really wanted to play with."

The Hawks will feature in their first ever AFLW finals campaign in a fortnight's time after they locked in a finals berth with a victory over Greater Western Sydney last week.

"We've been doing so well. We had a really big pre-season where we didn't know what to expect or how we would sit in the League because we had a new coach, new players and were learning a new system," West said.

"Everyone bought into it and this season has been crazy. We keep proving to ourselves that we can do more, and we can keep building on what we've already done and there's still lots of improvement to come."

While there have been plenty of strong contributors for the brown and gold this season, West's recruitment has been crucial to Hawthorn's rapid rise.

West has averaged 22.1 disposals, 8.9 tackles and 5.7 clearances this campaign and currently sits sixth across the competition in the AFLCA AFLW Champion Player of the Year award.

"I'm really happy with how I'm going. I think I'm able to play to my strengths and that's all the team needs me to do," West said.

"It's clear what I need to do each game and if I'm not doing it I'm letting the team down, so I know I need to go in hard and do what I need to do for us to be the best team."

The premiership Dee credits Webster as a crucial figure to her newfound success.

"'DWeb' (Daniel Webster) has put a lot of work into us as well, it's nice to have a coach that believes in his system and believes in all of us to get it done," she said.

"He's amazing. He covers everything, he's personable and he knows when it's time to coach or time to be funny or switch on.

"He's got such a good understanding of the game and each of his players and understands what all of our strengths are. He puts us in positions to play to that and he also pushes us to do better and expand what we're capable of.

"When you do reviews with him or whenever you have questions, he's always got answers and multiple solutions to help you figure it out. He's really invested in everybody and the team as a whole."

Hawthorn's midfield mix has gone to new levels in 2024, with West forming a fearsome duo with Bates.

Young gun Jasmine Fleming is getting better with each and every game, while Mattea Breed has grown in leaps and bounds this year. Ruck Lucy Wales is putting together a strong campaign, and Sherriff will add another dimension again when she returns from injury.

But it's Bates who West credits as having an enormous influence on her rise this season.

"Emily has definitely been a huge influence. She's so professional and how she goes about things is how world class athletes go about things," she said.

"She's so driven. She doesn't waste an opportunity to get the best out of herself. We could be doing a light session, but you can see the intent behind everything she does.

"She's always got that winners mindset, is always playing to win whether it's the silliest game or the most serious, she never changes."

West, formerly an elite basketballer, is a self-confessed sports fanatic.

Narrm reached out to her early in 2020 after she returned from a college basketball opportunity with the Utah State Aggies, but COVID prevented her making the switch immediately.

She lined up with Casey in the 2021 VFLW season before the Demons signed her up as a rookie at the end of that campaign.

"Melbourne's list manager reached out to see if I wanted to give football a go. I had never kicked before but I had two older brothers, and they used to play," she said.

"I did some little sessions with him and then I got to meet up with Mick Stinear and do a session but then we went into COVID. At that point in time with the amount of development that I would have needed to have done going into that season, they didn’t want to take a chance on me," West said.

"They went for a different option but said if I wanted to keep trying football, I could play VFLW at Casey.

"I was still interested in football and was excited about learning a new sport. I grew up watching football and loved it so decided I would keep trying and play at Casey while still playing basketball."

West never looked back after that and is fully committed to the Sherrin now.

"I would say (footy took over) after that first season. Once we finished that first season, I was going to go back to basketball and had started training but as soon as we started pre-season, I just knew that I wanted to put all of my time into football and I wanted to get better at that," she said.

"I'd played basketball my whole life but didn't really want to play it anymore. It was a weird feeling, not feeling guilty about stopping the sport that you played your whole life and put so many hours into. Football was really exciting, and it was an easy decision in the end."

With an inaugural finals campaign on the horizon, the sky is the limit for West and the all-conquering Hawks.

"We want to keep winning. Every team wants to win the premiership and we're no different. That's the end goal, but we are very conscious of taking it one game at a time," she said.

"We've locked in finals and that's great, but now we want to try and lock in a top four spot or finish as high as we can to give ourselves the best opportunity going into the finals."

The Hawks take on the Demons at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns on Thursday night as they look to take another step towards locking in a top four spot.