She's had a go at netball, she's tried touch football, but when the AFL ball landed in her hands it was finally love at first kick.

The 18-year-old, who only played her first Australian rules football game two years ago, is now making sporting history as the first player ever drafted for the Sydney Swans' inaugural AFLW team.

Sargent-Wilson is the only South Coast player named on the team so far, and she's proud as punch.

"That in itself is an honour, being able to represent the region," she said.

Sargent-Wilson has been playing high-level sports in the Illawarra since she was a kid, representing the Illawarra in rugby and netball.

As she prepares for the national competition, she said growing up with a family who doesn't shy away from competition has helped her create a winning mindset.

"I love to run and I do consider myself to be both an endurance and speed athlete, so that skill set really transferred over to the AFL field nicely, and I love the physical aspects of the game.

"I've got three younger brothers who I think have helped build that," she laughed.

Sargent-Wilson will join the AFLW's seventh season, the first time that all 18 clubs will play in the competition.

The sport has grown in leaps and bounds since its inaugural season in 2017 and Sargent-Wilson said the new teams reflected a huge appetite for women's AFL.

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"When you really think about it, it's a part of history and having that in the back of your head just kind of reinforces how special it is, and what an honour it is to be a part of the Swans' first season," she said.

"It's a massive milestone for not only the Swans, but for the game of footy itself," she said.

While she still sees a disparity between the men's and women's competitions, she's confident the culture around the AFLW is just getting better.

"The competition will hopefully align more with the men as it keeps on growing and strengthening," she said.

"Women can now have that as a professional career, and not have to, I guess, worry about other jobs on top of their sporting commitments."

Sargent-Wilson may be taking to the field earlier than expected, as the AFLW considers moving their season forward to August.

This means the players - and spectators - can avoid the searing summer heat and won't be competing against other drawcard summer sports like cricket.

"it's a whole other factor that I have to consider, playing in summer. It's quite an intense game, so that's good news," she said.

As the siren approaches, Sargent-Wilson is trying to pack in as much learning as possible.

"To learn and to be led by [coach] Scott [Gowans] is amazing and I want to capture as much knowledge from him as I can," she said.

If the competition's August start date goes ahead, Sargent-Wilson and the new team will kick off their pre-season in early June.

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