A VASTLY improved Collingwood produced its best AFLW results in its five-season history, culminating in a preliminary final appearance.

The Pies won the first six games of the season, before running into powerhouses Brisbane and Adelaide.

womens.afl will look at each of the seasons of the 14 AFLW teams in reverse ladder order.

01:40

Expansion gets green light as AFLW takes 'important step'

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and head of women's football Nicole Livingstone reveal the AFLW expansion plans

Coach: Steve Symonds

Leadership group: Steph Chiocci, Brianna Davey (co-captains), Sharni Layton (vice-captain)

2021 home and away finishing position: Third, seven wins and two losses, 190.5 per cent. Lost preliminary final to Brisbane by four points.

BEST AND FAIREST WRAP Who was your club champion?

Best team performance: Collingwood 7.7 (49) defeated Melbourne 1.8 (14) in round five.

While Melbourne shot itself in the foot with poor kicking, Collingwood was simply magnificent against a team that would also go on to qualify for a preliminary final. The Pies had 14 scoring shots of their own. Chloe Molloy saluted with three goals while Brianna Davey finished with 25 and two majors.

Best individual performance: As mentioned above, Davey was imperious against Melbourne in round five. The smaller Dees midfield struggled to stop the bullocking ball-winner, who received three votes for her 25-touch, four-clearance and two-goal effort.

04:36

AFLW Match Highlights: Collingwood v Melbourne

The Magpies and Demons clash in round five of the NAB AFL Women's competition

NAB AFLW Rising Star nominations: Tarni Brown

Debutants: Tarni Brown, Joanna Lin, Abbi Moloney, Bella Smith, Amelia Velardo (AFLW debuts), Aliesha Newman (club debut)

Retirees: Sharni Norder

Delistings: Kristy Stratton

LIST CHANGES Retirements, delistings, inactive players

Most improved: Ruby Schleicher has strong claims for being the most improved player in the competition, let alone Collingwood. The rebounding defender was dangerous throughout the season, with her run-and-carry a key part of the high-scoring Pies. She was named All Australian in her fifth AFLW season, the first in which she played every possible game.

Star recruit: Collingwood were active in the fairly unglamorous pick-swap portion of the draft, but it paid off in spades, able to land father-daughter signing Tarni Brown at the steal of pick No.19. Starting up forward but progressing to a consistent midfield rotation, Brown showed great evasiveness and footy smarts in her first season, even booting the winner in the semi-final against North Melbourne.

00:19

Brown seals prelim spot for Pies

Tani Brown kicks a much needed goal for Collingwood, putting them in the lead with only a couple of minutes left

Unsung hero: An untimely hamstring injury exposed just how valuable Lauren Butler is to Collingwood's set-up. The young key defender's work allowed Schleicher to be as attacking as she was in the first two thirds of the season. Butler's best performance came against North Melbourne with 15 touches and four marks.

What worked:

- The Pies brought in a simple, strong game-plan into the year, and had their best ever AFLW season. They averaged the highest number of total disposals and handballs, and sat second for short kicks and sixth for total kicks. Most importantly, for the most part the players had the skill to pull the high-disposal game off.

- Steve Symonds made no secret of the plan to play Chloe Molloy as a permanent forward in 2021, having played in defence and the midfield prior despite starring in attack as a junior. She led the goalkicking charts at one point of the season, and was a solid anchor point for a young attack.

- In her second season at the club, high-profiled recruit Davey was elected co-captain, named All-Australian skipper and came equal-first in the AFLW best and fairest. It was a tick for the incredibly expensive trade, which saw the Pies effectively give up access to the first two-thirds of the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft.

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER Your club's picks ahead of the Sign and Trade Period

What needs improvement:

- The only two sides Collingwood lost to were eventual Grand Finalists Brisbane and Adelaide. Both are physical, high-pressure sides, who shut down the space other teams afforded to the Magpies and forced them into over-possessing and turning over the ball.

Early call for 2022: Bringing in cover for retired ruck Norder should be top of list manager Jess Burger's list, as it’s the only obvious hole preventing the Pies from taking the next step into the top two. Will be around at the pointy end next season.

Season rating: 8.5/10