At just 22-years of age, Sydney Swans midfielder Laura Gardiner has already made her mark and recorded quite the honour role in her short career to date.

And this weekend she will add another accolade to the list, becoming just the eighth Swan to play 50 AFLW games when Sydney face West Coast Eagles at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon.

In her three seasons as a Swan she has quickly become a key component to the Sydney side. Relentless effort and work rate, record breaking disposals and consistency are the characteristics of her game.

Sydney Swans AFLW Senior Coach Scott Gowans said Gardiner is "so consistent, she rarely plays a bad game."

"She came to the Swans as a forward and wanted to play midfield and credit to her that she's developed her engine and her game and she’s just a ball magnet," Gowans said.

Gardiner is consistently at the centre of any contest. Fans talk to her constant ‘leather poisoning’, racking up the disposals as a key playmaker in the Swans midfield. There have been signs spotted at AFLW games this year referring to her as the "engine that can" - due to her work engine nature that Gowans and many others reference.

Gardiner is a no fuss player and despite being a consistent individual disposal leader, has a team first mentality. In a recent interview she said she values being consistent and showing up for her teammates. "I am not the most flashy player but you know what you are going to get from me and I will give it 100%."

Gardiner’s football journey began in Geelong, playing underage footy for the Geelong Falcons in the NAB League and was also an U18 Victorian Country representative, catching the eye of Geelong scouts in her draft year.

She was drafted to the Cats in 2020 with their pick 20 and made her AFLW debut in Round 4 of 2021, going onto play a further three games for the senior side but was a standout in the Cats VFL side winning their Best and Fairest in 2021. The following season she was also included in the 2022 VFLW Team of the Year.

At the conclusion of Sydney's inaugural season, the Swans were looking to boost their stocks after a tough initiation in the AFLW. Gardiner’s performances in Geelong caught the eye of Scott Gowans and the Swans recruiting team and in March 2023 she was picked up by Sydney after securing a trade with the Cats.

It was a busy trade period for the Swans going into their second season with the likes of Chloe Molloy, Lucy McEvoy and Irish duo Paris McCarthy and Julie O'Sullivan all joining the movement to the harbour city.

The list work paid dividends and the new-look Swans had an impressive and much improved second season with Gardiner one of the stars of the 2023 season.

Her debut game in the red and white was a historic one as the Swans defeated their cross-town rivals, the GWS Giants to record their first ever win in the competition. Her 19 disposals and 13 tackles in her first game gave Swans fans a glimpse of what was to come.

In just her third game for Sydney, against a powerhouse Brisbane Lions outfit, Gardiner recorded 41 disposals. She then went on to have seven more games with 30+ disposals in 2023.

It was a successful 2023 for the Swans, making finals for the first time and Gardiner has previously said the Elimination Final win over the Gold Coast Suns, the club’s first ever finals win is her favourite Swans memory to date, describing it as “surreal”.

Gardiner said the Swans 2023 Elimination Final win over Gold Coast has been the highlight of her time with the Swans.

Her incredible season saw the then 21-year old win the Sydney Swans AFLW Club Champion award and earn All-Australian selection alongside teammates Ally Morphett and Chloe Molloy.

Although season 2024 was a tough one for the team, Gardiner again had a consistent season. She registered 25 plus disposals in eight games but missed two games at the back end of the season due to a hand injury.

In 2025 she has continued to be a consistent ball winner, racking up 30 plus disposals on the regular with 35 against Fremantle, 37 against Adelaide, 38 against Gold Coast and a personal best 43 disposals against Carlton in Round 9 at Henson Park.

With all of these achievements for Gardiner at just 22-years of age, it's certain that there is plenty more in store for Laura Gardiner and there's no doubt Swans fans will enjoy her 'engine' for many years to come.

Laura Gardiner had a stellar 2023 season which saw her claim the Sydney Swans AFLW Club Champion award.

Sydney Swans AFLW players to 50 games

Jas Grierson (Sydney Swans and GWS Giants)

Brooke Lochland (Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs)

Lucy McEvoy (Sydney Swans and Carlton)

Darcy Moloney (Sydney Swans and Geelong)

Rebecca Privitelli (Sydney Swans, GWS Giants and Carlton)

Brenna Tarrant (Sydney Swans and Melbourne)

Laura Gardiner (Sydney Swans and Geelong)*

*50th game this Saturday, October 25th.

01:28

Gardiner receives her Guernsey for 50th AFLW game

Go behind the scenes as Ally Morphett presents Laura Gardiner with her Guernsey for her 50th game in the AFLW.

01:40

Meet Laura Gardiner - The Engine Room

Meet Laura Gardiner, Sydney Swans midfielder and ‘The Engine Room’. In our fourth and final episode of our AFLW mini-series, presented by IVE Group, we meet Laura who talks about her relentless work rate, record-breaking disposals, and how she brings consistency to the midfield. The Sydney Swans and IVE Group worked together last season, with IVE assisting with signage and fan engagement activities. We’ve expanded the partnership in 2025 to grow the AFLW audience through a content series aimed at profiling our athletes.