IT'S BEEN a whirlwind ride for Moana Hope but reality has quickly kicked in, with the star forward pulling up sore in the warm-up of Collingwood's first training session.

Hope was named a Collingwood marquee player nearly four months ago, and on Tuesday night at the Holden Centre finally got to take to the track with her Magpie teammates. 

But she appeared to have a lower back complaint after just 10 minutes, and was looked at by a physio while teammates completed a time trial.

Former triathlete Lou Wotton won the trial, with Steph Chiocci coming in second.

Hope, who kicked 106 goals in the VFL Women's competition in 2016, was restricted to ball-handling drills with Meg Hutchins (recovering from a torn meniscus).

Tennis star Daria Gavrilova and veteran journalist Mike Sheahan – whose daughter Kate is a rookie at the club – were among the interested onlookers at training.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Hope had said she was thrilled to finally get underway with her new team after the months of build-up.

"I'm really excited to hit the track tonight with my team," Hope said.

"We have an amazing squad, and once we get out on the field and kick the ball around, it's really going to sink in. So bring on tonight." 

Even coming off such a successful season, she admitted to being a bit daunted by the elite facilities at Collingwood.

"I've just been playing club football, and to come to Collingwood, it's just mind-blowing," she said. 

"The facilities, the people who run it, the guys who are playing. It's just every kid's dream."

Collingwood recruited well in the inaugural women's draft, managing to snare star players such as Nicola Stevens and Chiocci (who has captained the Bulldogs in exhibition matches), as well as snapping up experienced campaigners Penny Cula-Reid and Bree White.

Hope couldn't separate her new teammates, and said she was looking forward to lining up with all of them.

"I can't give you one, but I can give you 27 of them. That sounds bizarre, but they're all amazing in what they do. The selectors and the coaches did a great job selecting players for their roles."