Sydney Swans player Brenna Tarrant is excited for the club's first finals

The 22-year-old grew up in East Blaxland, but is now taking on the rest of the country in AFLW as a member of the Sydney Swans.

Tarrant took up the sport at 13-years-old, after watching her male cousins - who played for the Blue Mountains Kangaroos - play against a team with a female on it.

"That kind of inspired me a little bit and I really wanted to get into [footy] and I wanted to play it," she said.

"My parents thought it was a bit of a phase. They kind of let me play AFL for a little while, but a skills camp popped up down at Dukes Oval in Emu Plains, and my parents just decided it was time to get the phase over and let me join it."

One thing led to another for Tarrant when she started playing with Emu Plains/Glenmore Lions and Kellyville/Rouse Hill Magpies, before moving on to play for the East Coast Eagles women's team and into the AFLW pathways.

She developed into a versatile player, happy to play in any position on the ground.

The former St Columba's Catholic College student was drafted by the Melbourne Demons straight out of school in 2019.

She played with the club for three seasons, before being headhunted by the Sydney for its inaugural season last year.

Tarrant said it meant so much to her to play for the Swans, herself being a fan since she was young.

"[My cousins] were big Sydney Swans fans, so picked up the support of the team from basically as soon as I started playing footy, and I was just obsessed," she said.

"I used to love watching Adam Goodes and Jarrad McVeigh play. It was always a dream of mine to play for the Swans or even play in New South Wales in general.

"I got the opportunity to come back to Sydney and be a part of the founding team, that was something really, really special to myself and my family."

It was a tough first season for Sydney - not winning any games and finishing last on the ladder, but they rebounded back to make the top eight this year.

Tarrant puts that success down to the teams hard work and determination to improve.

"Basically, as soon as last season finished, we all got straight into offseason running and conditioning, and were really just hungry to prove ourselves, that we were worth the investment," she said.

"Even just winning two or three games was a big thing for us and was showing that we were heading in the right path.

"But to make finals really signifies that what we're doing and the support we're being given is exactly what we need to be successful."

Tarrant and the Sydney Swans take on the Gold Coast Suns at 7.15pm on Saturday, November 11, in a fifth (Suns) versus eights (Swans) match up.

"It's going to be a big one. Gold Coast are only playing a second final themselves, so it's gonna prove to be a good battle," said Tarrant. "Both teams have some pretty good game styles and plans and structures.

"Obviously, I'm devastated that it won't be in Sydney and that we'll have to travel. My immediate family - mom, dad and my brother - will head up there for the game."

Tarrant has loved her time in the AFLW and has found it to be an incredibly supportive experience.

"The atmosphere that AFL provides, support in itself, it's such a social and warming environment to be in, especially for young women and young girls," she said.

"From a young age it doesn't have that real competitive nature to it like some other maybe more developed females sports, so I think it allowed me to really come out of my shell and helped me identify as a person."

"I really hope that people, especially young females, but just in general, can look at my story, and even the story of the Swans AFLW and really take some inspiration and that it's something to look at. To know what's possible if you put enough hard work in."