IT HAS been an eventful year for Georgia Nanscawen, one the has culminated in the unfurling of Essendon's maiden women's premiership flag at the club's home, the Hangar. 

On March 10 last year, Nanscawen was announced as the first signing to Essendon's AFLW team, due to enter the competition in August, after a one-year stint at North Melbourne in 2019 failed to work out as hoped.  

Already the co-captain of the club's VFLW side, the former Hockeyroo was determined to find success in the program that had created such a strong base for its upcoming AFLW season. 

Nanscawen was a crucial part of that program, which ultimately went undefeated and reached the Grand Final against the Southern Saints on July 3, 2022. Her Bombers were flying, up by nearly six goals with mere minutes remaining. Nanscawen was going to add her side to the club's history books, then carry that premiership medallion into a strong AFLW season in six weeks' time. 

But it wasn't to be. Instead, when the game was well and truly won, she went down with a dreaded ACL injury, souring the historic victory and delaying her return to the AFLW that year.  

"It was a really weird day," Nanscawen told womens.afl.  

"The highs and the lows of sport, so many mixed emotions. I don't know whether we celebrated (the premiership) quite enough… it was what was such a great moment for the club and the history of the club, and I think it deserves to be celebrated." 

Now Nanscawen is on her way back, with her eyes firmly set on that August return. Being back and part of that VFLW program has been a handy addition to her rehab journey. 

"First and foremost, has been getting the rehab right, which obviously means doing a lot of stuff off by myself. But it is beneficial that the VFLW is running at the moment, and they've been in full training, so where possible I've been able to incorporate into drills and get that footy touch back," she said.

This year, Nanscawen will be like a brand-new midfield recruit for the Bombers who have shrewdly recruited over the off season as they looked to bolster areas of the ground that weren't quite as strong as others. 

Adding rebounding defender Brooke Brown, tenacious tackler Kodi Jacques and tall options Leah Cutting and Georgia Clarke, Essendon has only improved on its experienced core already on the list. 

"They've tried to fill areas that where maybe highlighted throughout the previous season that needed a bit of attention, but Georgia Harvey (Essendon's AFLW recruiting manager) has done really well… I'm looking forward to getting together as a group and see how we all gel." 

In its inaugural AFLW season, Essendon finished with the best record of its expansion contingent – Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney – but the club is far from satisfied with the honour. Instead, it is looking to push harder, and further this year. 

"We still have a lot of work to do, Nanscawen said. 

"We're obviously proud of having a decent first season. But I don't think anyone's satisfied with that. We were certainly disappointed to not make finals, so there's certainly that that hunger there to improve on what happened last year.  

"I think I think we have a real chance to really push harder this year."