Adelaide forward Stevie-Lee Thompson has come a long way since making her AFLW debut against GWS in Round One, 2017.

Thompson, originally from Darwin, was a rugby league player and had no real affiliation with an AFL side.

But the Crows saw her potential ahead of the first AFLW season and selected Thompson for their inaugural squad.

After deciding to take a punt on the game, Thompson now has two AFLW premierships to her name and, this year, became part of Adelaide’s leadership group.

She will notch her 50 game milestone with fellow leadership group member Sarah Allan in the Preliminary Final.

Speaking to the Media on Wednesday, Thompson said she was grateful for her journey but was not satisfied yet, with another finals series to come.

“Obviously I’ve been here since the first season and being part of it again to try and get through to the Grand Final is an amazing feeling,” Thompson said.

“Growing up I was never an AFL supporter… seeing myself here six years later is amazing and I never thought I’d be playing 50 games, that’s for sure.

"Seeing myself here six years later is amazing.

“Having that (50 game) opportunity with Noffy (Ebony Marinoff) and then Sarah Allan next week with me, getting to share that with her is a special moment.

“I look back at photos and seeing how tiny I was… A lot of people actually speak to me and say how much I’ve grown as a person and as a leader.

“I definitely think I’ve grown a lot, I didn’t really talk as much as I do now but it’s amazing to see the amount of growth I’ve had and all the others as well.”

Adelaide finished the 2022 season as the Minor Premier and will have this weekend off before taking on the winner of Fremantle versus North Melbourne in a home Preliminary Final.

Having claimed two premierships (2017, 2019) and played in last season’s losing Grand Final, Thompson knows just how hard it will be to win the ultimate prize this year.

But she said the team was fully focused on the task ahead, starting with the Preliminary Final.

“Losing a Grand Final isn’t really a good feeling,” Thompson said.

“But it just brings more hunger and opportunities for us to take it to the next stage this year and play our best footy.

“We all know we can definitely do that and I can’t wait to run out there with the girls.”