Just days after being elevated to the Western Bulldogs AFLW list, the 22-year-old from Yamba played a key role in the Bulldogs’ VFLW drought-breaking win on Good Friday.

Slotting three first-quarter goals in the 39-point victory – and snapping a 16-game losing streak in the process — McFarlane was proud of how the team approached the hit-out.

“Everyone played a massive part in it,” she told the VFLW State of Play podcast on Tuesday morning.

“(Going down to Box Hill by one point) was a bit of a kick to the guts last week, but it definitely put a fire in heaps of our bellies.

“I think we gave the league in itself a bit of a shock. It just showed our best footy does work.”

McFarlane’s journey has seen her play a lot of football along the East Coast of the country – from Brisbane AFLW through to Western Bulldogs AFLW.

Returning to local footy after being delisted from the Lions, McFarlane had one focus in mind – and surprisingly, it had little to do with returning to the highest level.

“I had two shoulder reconstructions at the start of my AFLW career, so that wasn’t the best way to start,” she explained.

“I went back to the QAFLW because I wanted to find my love for the game again, just playing locally and not really wanting to achieve anything out of it.

“I honestly just wanted to get through a season without getting injured – that was my main focus.

“When I got the call from the Western Bulldogs VFLW team, seeing if I could come down and give it a crack – I definitely took the opportunity with both hands.

“The first phone call I had just felt like home. The whole team was so welcoming with me.

“Even the first training session – there wasn’t one girl that walked past me without giving me the biggest hug.”

The VFLW Bulldogs next face Port Melbourne at ETU Stadium on Saturday morning.

“We won’t forget about last week, but we’ll need to hit restart again,” McFarlane said.

“We can’t get too ahead of ourselves – we just need to play our method because we know it works.”

The first bounce will be at 10.30am and live-streamed via afl.com.au/vflw.