TIME away from her hometown of Geelong set up Claudia Gunjaca for the next phase of her footballing career in the VFLW.

Moving to Sydney to continue her studies at UTS saw Gunjaca join UTS AFC Bats in 2019 to make some friends in a new city. She never thought it would end with her winning the Mostyn Medal, AFL Sydney's highest honour, just one year later.

"I was ecstatic, I never thought that I was in the running, so it was pretty crazy," Gunjaca recalls.

"To see my name up with a few girls who played for the GWS Giants in particular, who are very talented players, it was awesome to see my name up there as well."

Gunjaca started her football career at La Trobe University before joining Geelong West Giants in the AFL Barwon league. Moving to Sydney and playing for UTS was the perfect introduction to state league footy.

"It was really different coming from Geelong where I'd only played the first season of when AFL Barwon started, so it was great to go up there and play in this established competition," she said.

An added layer to her experience was the ability to play football during COVID-affected 2020, an experience she says was a privilege, while family and friends were locked down at home.

"I was super lucky and never took that season for granted, because I was watching my friends' social media posts who were stuck at home and not able to do much.

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"I’ve been able to take that into this year where I have another season under my belt compared to other girls, but it definitely got me through the year."

Although returning home to Geelong felt like "nothing had changed", the extra game time obviously paid dividends. Gunjaca's Mostyn Medal-winning season put her in touch with the Cats' AFLW Operations Manager Ben Waller, who asked if she was interested in being a train-on player with Geelong's AFLW side.

"The opportunity to be a train-on player with the AFLW side meant training through the summer, and it was an awesome experience and I learnt so much in those couple of weeks."

It set up Gunjaca for the perfect introduction to the VFLW, the midfield-forward saying she hasn't felt out of her depth in any game this year.

Also returning back down to the VFLW from the AFLW mean already having seen first-hand the young talent that has now made its way onto the Cats' VFLW list. Gunjaca says it's no surprise Geelong has been so successful this season.

"It's great to see them post the numbers they have this season because it shows that age isn't what always brings experience, these girls have played all the way through their juniors," she said.

"They've got a lot of footy experience compared to some of us of who never really got that chance. They bring so much for us and I hope they continue to bring it."

Gunjaca has helped Geelong up the ladder, currently sitting in second place with a six-game winning streak. With finals a few weeks away it’s only the beginning for this young and exciting Cats side.

"We need to keep winning and bring the energy we bring each game, so we can go in strong to finals.

"I think we have a really good shot, we can compete with the best and we just need to keep doing that."