Rebecca Privitelli has had to scrap and fight to still be playing AFLW footy today.

It has all been about finding the balance of looking after her body, and looking after her mind.

In the very first AFLW season back in 2017, she was playing as a defender for Carlton. Now, coming into the League's 10th season, she is the focal point of Sydney's attack and deemed one of the best marks inside 50 in the game.

But along the way, she was delisted twice, dropped more than once, spent a year unlisted, and only found her peace once she established a life away from footy.

"I definitely didn't think I'd still be here 10 years later," Privitelli said earnestly on The Inaugurals.

"I was so lucky, I came up at a time where I had a lot of opportunity, I had parents that supported me and actually loved watching me play footy, and loved the fact that I was so passionate about it."

The passion was something that ebbed and flowed during Privitelli's early years in the system. Drafted with pick No.142 in the very first Telstra AFLW Draft back in 2016, she spent just one year at Carlton before being delisted.

A year later, after just one game at new club Greater Western Sydney, she was cut from the list again, but a chat with then-head coach Alan McConnell triggered something in Privitelli's mind.

"I had a really good conversation with Al at the end of that season, and I've got to say, he's probably been one of the most influential people in my career as a coach," Privitelli explained.

"But he said to me at the end of that season, it's kind of a light bulb moment for me, but he said, 'You can keep doing the same thing and you'll keep getting the same results, or you try something different.' And that's pretty much what kickstarted the next 12 months for me."

Privitelli needed to answer some questions for herself, and she could only do that away from the harsh spotlight of weekly selection at an AFLW club. Did she really want to play footy at the highest level? Was her love for the game still there?

"The reality is, when you get to this level, it's different and it's more competitive, and sometimes you can lose that passion for the game. And I certainly felt like I did at that point in my career, which for me was growing up being nuts and just absolutely loving footy. Living and breathing.

"It was a really uncomfortable and unsettling feeling."

The mental side of things was one part holding Privitelli back, but her fitness levels and trust in her body was also limiting her from reaching her best form. Ultimately, Privitelli's outlet proved to be a solution for both.

She fell in love with hiking, cycling, camping, and spending time in nature, which offered a physical challenge, but also mental separation from her daily life.

"It was finding things away from footy that I really enjoy, and I think it shifted the way I live my life. I think I went from, 'I have to train because this is going to make me a better player' to 'I actually just want to live a better, healthier lifestyle'," Privitelli said.

"I found passion for things like hiking, bike riding, all the crazy adventure hobbies. But I think it gave me something away from footy that was still helping me in footy… it was still helping me build my fitness and it's something that I still do today because I love it."

Finding a tight knit crew to go on those adventures with was also crucial. Privitelli's former GWS teammates Tarni Evans, Cambridge McCormick, and Nicola Barr are always ready to stock their packs and jump on a bike to spend some time away from the world.

Another key to Privitelli establishing balance in her life was her move out of the footy stronghold of Melbourne. Growing up in the northern suburbs of the city, she lived and breathed footy. But by moving to Sydney when the Giants threw her a lifeline at the end of 2017, there was a dawning realisation that footy can't be absolutely everything.

"Leaving Melbourne and moving to Sydney was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me in my entire career. I actually love it up here, and I didn't think I'd enjoy being out of Melbourne this much, but it's very different," Privitelli said.

"The lifestyle is very different, the footy world is very different. But I think that's something I've really enjoyed… Early on, I was really big on just everything being footy and since I've come up to Sydney and had that year off footy, I realised how important my life also is outside these four walls here, and I really do like the balance of when I'm here being the most professional athlete I can be, but then when I'm away having other things that I'm really passionate about."

Understanding how to love life as a whole thing, rather than simply for one part, allowed Privitelli to be better prepared, and she saw her body changing as her fitness and health improved. Footy then became an itch she needed to scratch once more, and in nominating for the 2019 draft, she was throwing her hat back in the ring because she didn't feel done, there was still more to give at the top level.

"We played a few VFLW games (in 2019) and I think that was the first step in me showing the Giants where I was at and the progress that I'd made over those couple of months. I think I had some OK games, I kicked a few goals in those games, so it probably set me up pretty well," Privitelli said.

"But I think the other thing was they could see, and especially Alan, he could see a shift in the way I trained, the way I played, and the way I prepared. And my body, physically, it changed as well. So, I think those things showed them that I had the right attitude and the right determination to want to be better and want to get back to playing at that level."

Landing back at the Giants via pick No.97, Privitelli played every game of the season for the first time in her career, and kicked six goals playing as a key forward target. Despite the season being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was pleased with her ability to become a consistent, reliable player. Her Mark of the Year Award was just the cherry on top.

Hitting those heights, however, didn't mean there wouldn't be tough stuff around the corner. As AFLW emerged from the COVID lockdowns the following year, it still needed to be agile around state-based quarantine rules and border closures. This sent the Giants into an unexpected hub to open their 2021 season, which proved to be a blessing in disguise for some as they mourned the death of teammate Jacinda Barclay the October prior.

"That's probably the toughest period of my entire career," Privitelli said.

"It came with a lot of challenges, a lot of ups and downs, but there was something really special about being around that group, and I think that's why that group of players that season, when we did go into the hub, means so much to me, because it was just so nice to have everyone to lean on … I found it a really special thing being together and experiencing that together, and I certainly don't know how I could have gone through that period without that group."

The following year, Privitelli took up an opportunity to shift east as part of incoming club Sydney's very first AFLW list. Amidst a chaotic period – two seasons in one calendar year and the addition of the final four clubs – the forward was keen to experience a fresh start.

A conversation with Scott Gowans, who had recently been instated as the Swans' first AFLW coach and was an assistant at Carlton back in 2017 in Privitelli's sole season there, set things in motion.

"After sitting down with him and I met Kate (Mahony, Sydney's executive general manager of AFLW), and straight away I was like 'OK, I think this is a really important change and a really important moment in my career'," Privitelli said.

"As much as I loved my time at the Giants and I have so much respect for that group and those girls and the club, I just felt like it was time for something different to kind of kickstart that momentum for me again."

Kickstarting momentum on the field was one thing, but Privitelli was also doing it off the field. After applying for the Fire and Rescue training program back in 2020 – in which she was denied – a second application was approved for a 14-week commitment throughout the duration of the 2022 (S7) pre-season.

"Being an athlete and performing at a high level week in, week out, was probably a big driver in wanting to get into a job like that… I'm not someone who likes sitting at a desk all day, so I knew I wanted to have more of a purpose in life," Privitelli said.

"And I think footy gives me a purpose, and I've always loved that about playing the game, but I felt like there's going to be a point where this comes to an end. And as I said, I'm so passionate about what I do away from the club, so I knew having a purpose outside of these four walls was going to be really important for me.

"So, when I got in, I was stoked because it was a really long process and really hard application process. But yeah, to get that dream job, and do two things that I absolutely love, I'm just so grateful for."

It meant very early starts and long days during her first pre-season with the Swans, but it was all for a greater good.

"It was kind of wild, I was up at 4.30 every morning driving out to the academy … and it was probably an hour and a half from home. So, doing the academy from seven until 3.30pm, 4pm, then racing back, getting back for training," Privitelli explained.

"At that point, we were doing night training… doing all the meetings and then getting on the track at probably 7pm, and I probably wasn’t getting home until 11pm at that point. So, it was a pretty wild time, but I knew it was worth it.

"I knew once I got through that 14-week period, I was going to be able to go out to station and go into a normal roster, and that was going to give me really good balance with footy."

Reward for the commitment, and willingness to keep putting herself in uncomfortable positions, has been seen in Privitelli's time at Sydney. She has been the Swans' leading goalkicker in each of the last two seasons, she has grown into a leader among her younger teammates in attack, and she often shows up on game day following a 24-hour shift as a firefighter.

And it all comes back to establishing that balance in life.

"(Firefighting) gave me something that allowed me to switch off when I had the opportunity to switch off, but really dial in when I was here, and it still does," Privitelli said.

"I'm really fortunate and lucky to be able to still do both. I think confidence is a really big thing… and I kind of made it a really big focus to just be really present in the way I played, and just focus on the moment, as opposed to looking at what was going to come, looking at the outcomes.

"But probably the third thing I think is this team. I think the way we play footy is exciting and it allows our forwards to get opportunity and probably for me, someone who likes to lead up at the footy, it probably allows me to play to my strength better."

Things have changed in a big way for Privitelli, and her journey has been intrinsically linked to the growth of the AFLW.

The Sydney Swans AFLW season gets underway against Richmond on Friday, August 15 at North Sydney Oval. 

Sydney AFLW memberships are available here.