THIS year has been one of firsts for Eleanor Hartill.

Her first playing for Brisbane. Her first finals series. Her first season without also managing a job outside footy. And she's thriving as a result.

After two seasons and 16 games with West Coast, Hartill made the shift to Australia's opposing coast to join reigning premier Brisbane.

Now, she has played every game of the season to date as a crucial addition to the ruck and forward line, supporting the likes of Tahlia Hickie, Taylor Smith and Dakota Davidson.

"This is my first year not working as well as footy. Since I moved to Queensland, I was like 'You know what? I'm moving across the country, I want to give it the biggest crack I can possibly give it'," Hartill told AFL.com.au.

"Now that I've got the spare time on my hands, it's really fun to try new things and see what else I'm passionate about outside of footy to fully fill your cup away from the club, and getting that time to relax and debrief."

With an undergraduate degree in health science, and a Masters in human resources and employment relations, the 24-year-old has always balanced a day job in corporate HR with her sporting career.

The form her sporting career has taken has changed significantly, however. Initially a basketballer, she played in the NBL1 league for the Joondalup Wolves and Kalamunda Eastern Suns. In similar fashion to many other cross-coders in the AFLW, it was a friend who convinced Hartill to head down to footy training.

"I actually only started even holding a football, I think it was only three years ago," Hartill said.

"One of my best mates who I actually did my Masters with, she had a local amateurs team that she was playing for, and she was one of the leaders of that team. I used to go and watch, and she goes 'You should come down and play' and I was like 'Look, it does look so much fun'."

Four games for Perth's Collegians Amateur Football Club later, and West Coast put out the call for a talent day.

"My dad told me about this trial that West Coast were having, and it was all different athletes. I'm like, 'There's no point me applying, Dad, I've never played footy, what are you talking about?'," Hartill said.

"He made me apply and I got through, I went to this trial and honestly, had a blast and I got picked up through that trial, which is wild to think about now."

Signed as a replacement player for West Coast young gun Lauren Wakfer in 2022 (season seven), who had injured her ACL prior to the draft, she was thrown into the deep end as a key defender and learned on the job.

"I had to learn how to kick a ball, learn the rules properly, and had to just throw myself into it … and ever since then it's just been my life," Hartill said.

"Even looking at how far I've come, I feel like I've still got so much to give because even though I see myself as a bit older, obviously I'm 24 now, I feel like I'm only a baby in footy."

But what shone through bright and clear was her competitive nature, and largely proved to be the reason Brisbane was so keen to bring her into its already successful program. That, and her 185cm.

"I'm so competitive. I'm not someone who will go and half ass it. I'm going to give everything I've got," Hartill said.

"I just want to get better every time. That's why I moved to Brisbane in the end, I wanted to try and grow my footy as much as possible, and obviously going to the best team in the competition at the time, is definitely a way to do that.

"Obviously it's scary because you're like, are you going to sink or swim in this environment. You're either going to get a lot better and improve your footy a lot, or it's going to be too much with everything going on and you're not going to be able to handle that increased pressure. But I think that's what I loved about it."

The differences in the clubs were clear to Hartill. West Coast was still very much in a development phase when she was at the club, aligning with her own footy journey, whereas the Lions have been a well-oiled machine since the AFLW began.

Each has served her in specific ways, reaching her at the right points of her career.

"At West Coast, I was still learning footy so much and developing myself, and I think everyone around us was doing that, it was quite common. Everyone around me at the time was also developing their footy because they're also young," Hartill said.

"Whereas Brisbane, they've been around, they've done it for a long time, they know what works and what works for them."

The Lions' ability to celebrate the small things has been important for Hartill's development this year.

"You look at them, they're athletes, these girls are so strong, they're so amazing. But they honestly celebrate all the small things, like we're in the gym and you make a PB and you look at other girls, it might not be close to their PBs, but they're like 'You know what? It's still amazing because it's your PB'," Hartill explained.

"They just know what works for them, and they bring people along with them. Their system is set up, they know how they do it … it was probably the hardest pre-season I've done in my entire life, but obviously it's worth it. I've developed so much as a footballer, put on so much more strength, which has been pretty cool."

Adding strength has been important for Hartill, who thrives in the physicality of footy. It was a key drawcard away from basketball, and even more important now that she is playing her first ever finals series.

"I just had to keep thinking about (the qualifying final) as another game, to not get too nervous or excited before the lead up. But when it came to game day, you walk out, you sing the national anthem and honestly, I was just so excited, smiling ear to ear," Hartill said.

"It's just next level, obviously there's more pressure and it's a quicker game, it's more intense. But it's honestly the most exciting footy I've ever played. It's so fun, I love it.

"I love the pressure, the ball's hard, everyone goes harder, everyone wants it more."