WHEN Zac Efron needed a private gym to use when he was in Melbourne, Essendon player Grace Belloni was happy to help.

Taken with pick No.9 in last year's Telstra AFLW Draft, Belloni stepped onto footy's big stage for the first time last weekend, making a composed NAB AFLW debut at Manuka Oval in a thumping Bombers win.

But before fulfilling her childhood dream, she had an unusual brush with Hollywood royalty.

The 18-year-old grew up in Olinda, a town 40km east of Melbourne's CBD in the Dandenong Ranges. Her best friend's dad is Joost Bakker, the renowned zero-waste guru, who has built restaurants and houses around the world using a sustainability blueprint that has attracted global acclaim.

Bakker is currently building Efron's house in Byron Bay, alongside Belloni's father, Tom. And when Efron, the famous actor from High School Musical, Baywatch and 17 Again was in Melbourne last year, he asked Bakker if he knew of anywhere he could train, in private.

Bakker, knowing Belloni was in full training mode ahead of the AFLW draft, put them in touch.

"It's a long story," Belloni tells AFL.com.au.

"Joost is building Zac Efron's house in Byron Bay right now. Zac Efron came down to the Dandenongs and was here for work. Joost called me and said, 'Zac is here for a few weeks and needs somewhere to go to the gym'. He knew I was into fitness. He asked if I had anywhere to work out that was private.

"I said he can come to my family house, which is my uncle's house now, because he has a big home gym and sauna.

"I brought Zac in, did a workout, then he ended up going there for the week.

"(It) is so weird to think he was at my family house, now my uncle's house. He was so great."

Belloni is half American, half Australian. Her father, Tom, is from San Clemente in California but spent his 20s in Colorado. He met her mum, Kirsten, while they were both travelling and got married in the United States, before deciding to raise a family in Australia. Despite having no exposure to Australian Football before then, Tom coached Grace in junior footy, standing out Ted Lasso style due to his accent.

And on Saturday, he completed the circle by presenting Grace with her guernsey ahead of her debut.

"He played footy when he came over and still plays footy now, it's the funniest thing ever. It's a great watch. He is a big surfer, skater, snowboarder, so always an athlete," she says.

"When he came over, he played local footy with my uncle, then coached me, coached the girls side. He really got into it for me.

"He has a heavy American accent, everyone always comments on his accent, but I can't hear it. Everyone says it's very strong, but when we go back to America, everyone thinks he has an Australian accent."

Belloni grew up with an older brother, Tyler, and five older male cousins, who all played footy in winter and cricket in summer. She tried other sports, but only one truly interested her.

"I tried dancing and I tried all that other stuff, but it wasn't really for me," she says. "I joined the under-10s team when I was eight and then played there for two years before they introduced the girls side. I played with the girls, but I also continued playing with the boys at the same time. Most of the time I was the only girl.

"I grew with an older brother, Tyler, who is 23. I have five boy cousins who are all older than me and we are all very, very close. They were very into footy and I just grew up around it. My uncle was the same - such a big footy head."

While her family helped introduce her to the game, it was a famous summer night back in 2017 that set Belloni's footy dream in motion.

"I went to the first ever AFLW game at Ikon Park. I was always into sport, but that was the first time I realised that I could do this," she says.

"I literally have a book from when I was 10 years old and it is me writing, 'my biggest dream is to play AFLW'. That was when I was nine, so definitely from a young age I wanted to do this."

Bri Davey made her debut in that game and has since become a two-time All-Australian, AFLPA MVP winner and the 2021 AFLW best and fairest. Belloni has always tried to emulate the Collingwood star, especially since transitioning from a key forward to a midfielder.

"Bri Davey was my idol when I was younger," she says. "I loved her physicality and the way she goes about it."

From the age of eight, Belloni played her entire junior career for Olinda Ferny Creek in the Outer East Football League. By 15, she was playing senior football for the same club, before playing for the Eastern Ranges in the Coates Talent League. The exposure to bigger bodies has helped her transition to the AFLW.

"I always played up a level, so in under-14s I played under-16s, and (in) under-10s I played under-12s. So it was pretty natural for me [playing senior football so young], physically I felt fine," she says.

"You come across some bigger girls, but there was never really any doubt in my mind. I loved being around the older girls and even in my last year at Eastern we had a week break and I got to go and play in the Grand Final and win with them."

With the first step of her AFLW goal realised last December, Belloni has moved across Melbourne to a share house in Ascot Vale, not far from The Hanger, with teammates Mia Busch, Steph Wales and Matilda Dyke.

Last weekend was a dream a decade in the making, with Belloni part of the generation that grew up knowing what was possible.

If you can see it, you can be it. Now Belloni is being it.