She called the meeting an important opportunity to “step back and take a proper view at where the game’s at, and all of our views on it” particularly in the wake of Steve Hocking and Nicole Livingstone coming on board at headquarters.

Fixturing and the competition’s structure is the biggest item on the cards for Pearce.

“While you love the whirlwind of a seven-week season, I think it would be great to have more time as it’s so intense," she said.

"You put as much effort and time in the preparation for the season as you would if it was a full length competition where you play each other twice and have the finals series.

“For teams like Collingwood who take a few weeks to get going and then really stand out when things start clicking into gear as a team and individually, it’s kind of already over.

"I’m really keen to share my view on what it looks like now that we’ve got North and Geelong coming in (in 2019) and where it’s going to sit in the calendar.”

For Pearce, the obvious solution is to start the season earlier.

“I know that the tennis and cricket are on at that stage but I think there’s a different crowd and still an opportunity to get people going and finish it up now... to give it the stage it deserves," she said.

"I think, in the long-term future, with how creative we’ve gotten with games being on a Thursday and Monday and at any hour of the day, I think we can overlap with the men’s season.

“The question is how. Potentially then we play the grand final in the men’s first bye or something like that. It’s only going to get better and better.”

Other award winners Courtney Gum, Chelsea Randall and Chloe Molloy agreed on the desire for a finals series in future.

On her award win, Pearce said that “when it’s voted on by your peers it means heaps - people who know what it’s like to go out there and compete and what it takes to lead.

So the fact that the people around you, not just within your own team, have acknowledged that feels like people respect the way you go about it.”