MAISY Evans has taken the long road to the AFLW, across three different states and four different sports.

The Greater Western Sydney pre-season draftee's journey started in Victoria, growing up playing netball and rugby (both union and 7s).

She played some football on the side, but with local clubs St Kilda City juniors and Hampton Rovers seniors in the VAFA, and didn't participate in the traditional talent pathways.

The unusual choice of rugby in Melbourne stems back to her parents, with mum Sue Cox having represented Victoria in the sport, while dad Ray Evans captained Sydney club Randwick.

"I played about five games for Hampton (in year 12), then I had a really bad ankle injury, so I was rehabbing that for eight months, it was a full ankle reconstruction that set me back a bit.

"I applied for the AFL Riewoldt Family Excellence Scholarship at Bond Uni, and was lucky enough to get that, and I've played footy with Bond (in the QAFLW) for two and a bit years.

"Netball was my dominant sport (growing up), and I was always a goal attack and goal shooter, but I was never tall enough for those roles in the netball scene."

Evans nominated for the Telstra AFLW national drafts in 2024 and 2025, and while she was overlooked, she was asked to be a train-on with Gold Coast last season.

The Pre-Season Draft afforded teams an opportunity to round out their lists ahead of the main training block, with the Giants taking Evans at pick No.2, and local academy graduate Sophia Gaukrodger.

With just a week between the draft and day one, Evans had a few days to pack up her life in Queensland and drive down to Sydney.

"Training with Gold Coast was a really good insight into what an AFLW squad is like. I'm really glad I did it, because now I kind of know what I'm stepping into.

"It's definitely been difficult, I had to sort out with my housemate who was going to move in, and then I got the packing done in about two days. Saying my goodbyes was quite hard as well, lots of tears and very emotional.

"I'm now going to be living near Maroubra in Sydney, with Poppy Boltz and Scarlett Johnson."

Standing at 185cm, Evans is nominally an athletic ruck/key forward, with a strong attack on the footy who uses her frame to her advantage.

But she has a somewhat untapped weapon up her sleeve, after Bond Uni coach Andy Lovell threw her on the ball during her handful of games this season.

"I've absolutely loved my time in the midfield. I like playing ruck, but it gets a bit tiresome, jumping up every five seconds. Hopefully I can play a bit through there with the Giants."