In her second season of AFLW Jesse Wardlaw wants to cement her position as a forward after spending time in the ruck in 2019.

“I’m hoping to be more in the forward line this year,” Wardlaw told lions.com.au.

The 19-year-old has a new line coach in Daniel Merrett, who played 200 games for the Lions’ men’s team, and has offered plenty of advice.

“He’s got a lot of footy knowledge,” she said.

“It makes a huge difference.”

Wardlaw has returned in tip-top shape, finishing eighth in the time trial and beating her previous time by 19 seconds. She said the team are training well and forming strong bonds.

“I think it’s been really good. The new girls have slotted in seamlessly,” she said.

“Now we’re getting into game simulation situation type drills. so just getting used to each other on the field and gaining that trust and building that relationship with each other on the field.”

As soon as the new recruits and draftees were announced for the Lions AFLW team, Wardlaw and her teammates went to great lengths to welcome them into the pride as quickly as possible.

“We’ve had a lot of time in the pre-pre season to get to know the girls,” she said.

“As soon as they were announced they were in our team we just wanted to bring them in straight away. We’ve had a lot of team bonding days.

“It’s good to be able to build those relationships before the season has actually started.”

During her pre-season Wardlaw has been busy promoting and then taking part in the World’s Big Sleep Out where she and teammate Jessy Keeffe spent the night sleeping on The Gabba’s concrete floor on Saturday 7^th December.

“It’s not very comfortable,” she said.

“We didn’t need a sleeping bag at all because it was hot all night.

“I feel sorry for people on the other side of the globe sleeping in freezing temperatures.

The pair raised more than $4,200 and people are still able to donate here: