SIERRA Grieves is a competitive beast who is ready to make her mark on the big stage after a superb draft year.

The accolades have come thick and fast for the Yarraville Seddon Eagles product this year. Grieves was named the AFLW National Championships MVP, the Vic Metro MVP, All-Australian, Coates Talent League Team of the Year and the Western Jets Best and Fairest winner.

2024 couldn’t have gone much better for the contested beast and ball magnet.

“My year of footy has been pretty good, I didn’t set any expectations or standards for myself but the awards I’ve won has been really good,” she told AFL.com.au.

Grieves averaged 28.3 disposals, 3.3 marks, four tackles, 6.7 clearances and 4.3 inside 50s a game for Metro in the National Championships.

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She was a crucial cog as Vic Metro reclaimed the National Championships throne after a two-year reign for South Australia.  

“The awards give me confidence; it shows that my hard work has paid off. That doesn’t mean I’m finished working hard, I’ve still got to work hard, but it is nice,” she said.

Grieves has been in the talent pathways since she was 13 years old. It was that obvious, that early, that she was that good.

“It was very nerve-wracking rocking up as a 13-year-old when all the other girls were older than me. I remember first rocking up there and having no idea what to expect. I remember keeping to myself, but they were really good about it,” she said.

“I’ve learned so much along the way that has helped me with my footy. The Jets have helped me as a player and helped me to get to where I am today.

“The Jets have been a place I could call home, I’ve always been there.”

Grieves was fortunate enough to work closely with Sydney Swans gun Montana Ham and Hawk-turned-Saint Charlotte Baskaran during her time at the Jets.

The trio won a Coates Talent League premiership together in 2022 and Grieves says the pair have left a lasting impact on her as a footballer and as a person.

“Seeing them go through the draft and seeing how they went about things in their draft year, I sort of looked up to that a bit. They’ve helped me out a lot,” she said.

While the talented midfielder has wanted to be a footballer for as long as she can remember, the chance of hearing her name called out at Monday night’s draft is finally starting to sink in.

“13-year-old me didn’t really expect that I would be here today. It was always a dream to play AFLW, but I didn’t know if it was going to happen… being where I am now is honestly surreal.

“It would mean a lot to me, and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity.”

The 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft will be held on Monday December 16.