Georgia Gee is shaping to be one of Essendon’s most important and experienced players ahead of the 2023 AFLW season.

Nearly two months into pre-season training, Gee is confident that the groundwork is being laid for a connected and gelled on-field product.

After a 2022 season that saw the upstart Bombers impress against their more campaigned opponents, Gee can see the side establishing its identity even further this year.

“We’re really driving the standards for team connection at training ahead of game time. The sessions on Tuesdays have made us feel even more part of the club, really helping with the connections we’re building and integrating with the men’s AFL side as well,” Gee said.

“We want to go into the season being known as Essendon, and not just the new club joining the competition.”

With the season opener just 40 days away, the clash holds extra significance with Gee a chance to line up for her 50^th AFLW game, an impressive accolade at just 23 years of age.

Fitting with the team approach however, the milestone isn’t luring Gee away from the task at hand.

“I’m super excited for round one. I’d kind of forgotten about the 50 games until a few of the girls and ‘Woody’ (Senior Coach Natalie Wood) mentioned it to me, I wasn’t really sure what I was up to,” Gee said.

“All I’ll be worrying about is hopefully playing well and getting the win for the group.”

With the team in good shape after their pre-season camp and closing in on their September 2 start against Hawthorn, Gee is jumping at the opportunity to see what the Bombers can achieve.

“I know we’re quite fit and we’ll be pretty quick, but I feel like we’ll be great with ball in hand as well. My body’s feeling really good and we don’t really have anyone in rehab at the moment, so we’re all looking pretty set for the season,” Gee said.

“I just want to be a little more consistent this year. Hopefully I can still try to impact on the scoreboard where I can and play a role that leads us to some team success.”