Midfielder-forward Richelle Cranston will make a long-awaited return to Ballarat this Sunday, when the AFLW Bulldogs host Brisbane at Mars Stadium in the final round of the home-and-away season.

In a league-first, the Bulldogs will play their first AFLW home match at the venue, following VU Whitten Oval redevelopment works commencing this year.

Cranston, now 32, made the move to Ballarat as a teenager, joining North Ballarat football club and claiming back-to-back Kate Lawrence Best and Fairest medals for the VWFL North-West Division in 2011 and 2012.

“It’s a real homecoming for me this weekend. I've played there many years ago,” Cranston told The Ballarat Courier this week.

“I've been lucky enough to play a VFL game with the Cats, but I feel like the surface has had a bit of an upgrade since then,”

“I was just chasing footy - I always had a footy in my hands and just didn't have an option to play, but as soon as I found out there was women's football for 18 and up in Ballarat, I was straight there.”

Pending a Richmond upset, the Bulldogs could be playing for a spot in the top six when they face Brisbane on Sunday afternoon.

Cranston said despite that outcome, the team’s mentality won’t change.

"Annoyingly we have to wait and see how the Collingwood and Richmond game goes, but we're going to go into it with the mindset that it's a final anyway," Cranston said.

"I think knocking off the reigning premiers will give us some wonderful momentum going into next year. Either way, we want to take them out.

"We had that interrupted start and we've let a few games slip, a (six)-point loss to Freo, a draw with Gold Coast, a lot of what if's - a point here and there could be a different result right now."

The Club extended its partnership with the State Government and City of Ballarat late last year, promising a further two home AFL games to the region per season until the end of 2024.

Tickets to this weekend’s Bulldogs-Lions clash at Mars Stadium are available now.