Amy Gaylor might have had a stunning debut season, but she refuses to get complacent heading into her second NAB AFLW season.

Signed as a priority selection by Essendon as part of the expansion list build rules, she played a crucial part in the club's run to a second consecutive finals series despite a spate of injuries to key players.

Initially, Gaylor was prepared to play as a forward – a new position for her after playing in the midfield as a junior – but on the eve of the season head coach Natalie Wood threw a spanner in the works.

"Something we often joke about, me and 'Woody', I actually trained the whole preseason forward which, yeah, my whole junior career (I) had never played forward, but I trusted her," Gaylor told AFL.com.au.

"And then I think it got to maybe the night before, or the day of our intraclub, we had a couple of injuries and she thought, 'I quite like your marking ability, I'd love to see you down back'.

"So, from then on, played my game in the intraclub, and she loved me back there, and then I ended up playing most of the season (at) half back and then played a couple of games on the wing as well.

"I did get thrown around quite a bit, but I'm actually quite grateful now that I did have that. I guess now I have that versatility."

Gaylor has relished the opportunity to try different things, offering the team what it needs in the moment, especially because there was a world where she wasn't playing any footy in 2024.

At the start of her draft year of 2023, while in year 12 at high school, she went down with a knee injury. It was originally diagnosed as a dreaded ACL injury, before surgery showed something else.

"At the start of the year I had a knee injury, and the scans showed that it was a potential ACL, and then went into surgery about two months later. Turns out it was intact somehow, and I then I think it was (a) six-week recovery from surgery, and then I managed to get back for the last Metro game," Gaylor said.

"It was an interesting season, and I kind of always knew in the back of my head that Essendon had those pre-signing picks, but you just never know, especially when you're injured, you're not out on the track, you never really know how the season's going to go."

While that certainty ahead of draft night was a huge positive for Gaylor, it did mean she missed out on the nerves and excitement coming into draft night. But she was locked in to join the likes of Maddy Prespakis and Bonnie Toogood at the Bombers.

"You couldn't ask for a better role model," Gaylor said of Prespakis.

"I remember she was in my interview with Essendon, and her just walking in, I was kind of starstruck. Like, this is my new teammate, but yeah I've never met a more composed footballer … and she's just been a great role model to look at, just her craft, all of that."

Gaylor earned a Telstra Rising Star nomination for her week six performance against Sydney, with 15 disposals and six intercepts in the club's three-point win. Her composure caught the eye of fans and media alike across the season, which resulted in her third-placed finish in the Rising Star votes at season's end, behind Port Adelaide duo Matilda Scholz and Shineah Goody.

"I felt throughout the season that my confidence kept building game by game. I was taking riskier kicks, backing myself in the one-on-one contest, stuff like that. And yeah, it definitely helped me flourish as a player, having that Rising Star nom as well," Gaylor said.

"It's pretty outstanding, when you hear the two people that were above me, like, outstanding players. But I've kind of set a standard for myself now, I've had a great first year, but that doesn't mean it's going to come in the second year.

"So, it's about not being complacent, I guess, but still working. I know I've got that potential now, and I'm building on that year I had."