Western Bulldogs forward Sarah Hartwig says she’s surprised at how quickly her 50^th game has come around.

The 23-year-old will celebrate the half-century in the Dogs’ AFLW season opener against Melbourne on Saturday night, becoming just the seventh player at the Club to notch up all 50 games in the red, white and blue.

“I’m a bit surprised at how quickly it’s come around, I mean it is my sixth season to be fair but it’s interesting because I wouldn’t call myself a senior player but I’m up there with all the other (50-gamer) girls now,” Hartwig told Andy Maher and Josh Jenkins on SEN 1116 this week.

“No one has yet reached 100 so that’s the next thing on my list, but I’m very excited for this week.”

Hartwig was drafted with Pick 11 in the 2020 class, starting her AFLW career as a defender before being swung forward in Season 7 2022 – a move she has since relished.

“When I first came in, I was running off half-back and trying to work around reading the play…since I’ve come forward though I’ve really been able to get into the structures of the game, kick goals and also step up a little bit as a leader,” she said.

“I’ve been able to help the younger girls now that I’m a little bit older in developing their game as well which is really cool.

“If we throw someone back maybe I could be that person as an interceptor or something – which is nice to know it’s an option – but I do really love playing in the forward line and I hope to stay there for a while anyway.”

Hartwig said the team won’t be putting any expectations on themselves this year, instead looking for continued growth after a promising 2024 campaign.

“We really just want to work on our growth this season and really cementing our structures and being confident in our game each week,” she said.

“Just knowing what we can do and being really strong in our strengths – we’re just focusing on ourselves this season which is what we’re looking forward to.”

The first bounce this Saturday night will be at 7:35pm AEST at Mission Whitten Oval.

Celebrate 10 seasons of AFLW and the trailblazers who made it all possible at our Pioneer Party this Saturday night!

For just $15, enjoy a pre-game show from Tigerlily & Nat Sax before the bounce ahead of an exciting Hampson-Hardeman Cup clash between the Dogs and Dees. See you there!