THOSE at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night were witness to some AFLW history, as Essendon and Hawthorn faced off in both clubs’ inaugural clash.

Someone who was in the thick of the action was Federica Frew, who was part of the victorious Essendon side who ran away with the match in the last quarter to take care of the Hawks.

She described the experience of running out onto Marvel for her debut as “pretty crazy, like running out the crowd was so loud, just to see everyone that’s come out to support the team it’s just amazing, I’ll never forget it. It’s just one of the best nights of my life.”

Despite what many may have predicted, what Hawthorn showed on Saturday night was not a total surprise to their opponents according to Frew.

“They’re such a contested side, and like they’ve got some unreal players that they’ve also recruited to come across, and we expected them to be right with us. There was talk about the line in the sand game before, and they brought it right to us so credit to them, it was a really tough game and can’t wait for the rest of the year.”

Frew’s path to the AFLW was certainly not common, as she was one of the club’s pre-signings after a stellar VFLW campaign.

“It’s been a pretty whirlwind couple of years. I played over in America college soccer, then I came back, joined the VFL team, spent you know three or four years with them then this year we had an unreal year and won the premiership, and then midway through the year just got signed and it’s just been like a dream come true.”

Coming straight from the VFLW into the AFLW has allowed Frew to work on different areas of her game.

“Well it’s been good because it has allowed me to since I really worked on my goal kicking and like my forward craft in the VFL, since I’ve come to the AFL, training with the girls just like picking up the bits of my game that I really need to work on, like defensive pressure, staying involved in the game and I’m just trying to kick goals and take my opportunities. Missed a couple today, but just trying to be creative and do what I can for the team to get the win at the end of the day.”