The Giants will be playing five matches in this year’s Victorian Football League competition, which will keep the team's players closer to what's happening in the Aussie Rules heartland of Victoria.

Farrugia’s considered by many to be the heart and soul of the Giants, with her wholehearted performances being at the forefront since the women’s team was first assembled.

She’s learned plenty in that time from coach Alan McConnell and his great footballing brain, including there, is more to the game than just physically competing at club level where "kicks and marks and where you stand are just secondary to keeping people's heads attached to their bodies".

At this elite level following structures are important and it's quenched a competitive streak from within: where she loves training hard and understanding the tactical side of the game.     

“We had this academy [match] in 2016 prior to me playing in the state game [for NSW] and there were a couple of photos from the game and I was playing on the ball and I'm literally standing in the middle of nowhere and I'm not marking up on anyone," Farrugia said.

"I just pretty much thought you could run your own show, not because I was arrogant or anything, I just thought this is a good place to stand, so you just stand there, but you learn there's a reason why you stand in particular places and you're always thinking two steps ahead of the play."

The PE teacher works full-time at Our Lady of Mercy College in Parramatta in order to maintain her lifestyle, as an AFLW salary isn't large enough on its own just yet to "pay the bills", but she's still excited to see how far the game has progressed.

She had to google women's AFL to get a start with Macquarie University in 2011, but for the younger players coming through, she's happy they now have a visible pathway to follow and due to this, they're much more advanced from a young age.

"The kids coming through now they've got that skill element that I was missing," she said.

"They've just got to have all the other things too, which is the work ethic and the commitment to want to do it long term and I think most kids who play AFL have got that in spades.

"We've got a young girl at the moment, Alyce Parker, who's running around, who's, in my opinion, the complete package: she's got the skill level, the determination, the body shape and the smarts to be a very good player for a very long time and potentially lead our club.

"So I think the future of the game is very strong and I think we're going to have success long into the future, not only for the Giants, but for the AFLW as a whole."

The Giants face Geelong on Friday evening from 7:15pm at UNSW Canberra Oval.