A week later, the Blues landed one of AFLW's biggest names, luring high-flying forward Tayla Harris from the Brisbane Lions after she had spent just one season with the runners-up.

The moves shocked those who were unprepared for the landscape of AFLW to shift at such speed but to those involved the decisions were affirmation this competition was being built to last.

In less than a month, the wisdom of such decisions will be laid bare when the Blues once again open the season at Ikon Park against the Magpies on the first Friday evening in February.

There will be no excuses for failure nor platitudes this time around if wins don't come because the participants soon realised that any gratitude for the opportunity to compete was not enough to satisfy their desire to win.

With many lessons already learned, this season will be even more competitive and the questions asked of participants more probing.

The players and coaches know that, which is why Melbourne's Daisy Pearce organised a camp at Bondi Beach so the Demons hit the ground running when pre-season officially resumed.

It's why Collingwood's Moana Hope, who officially resumed training on Friday, needs to improve and Adelaide's Erin Phillips must find ways to back up her unbelievable debut season.

With nearly a year having passed since footy fans turned up in massive numbers to watch the historic opening game, the anticipation of what lies ahead in the upcoming 29 games of AFLW 2018 has not dimmed.

That's because many footy fans wanted more of AFLW after the first grand final between Adelaide and Brisbane became a fierce and memorable contest, which the Crows ended up winning due to Phillips' brilliance.

Rather than being swept up in the emotion the AFL resolved to stick with eight teams playing seven rounds and a grand final between the top two.

It was a sensible decision, delaying expansion plans until 2019 after a year of phenomenal growth in participation that led to 1690 female teams created in 2017, an increase of 76 per cent from 2016 which stretched the game in wondrous ways.

In that time, the women's pay was improved, a trade period and draft was held, with the Western Bulldogs snaring Isabel Huntington with the first pick, a father-daughter rule was introduced, former Olympian Nicole Livingstone was appointed AFL head of women's football and Geelong and North Melbourne won keenly fought licences to take part in 2019 while St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast and the Gold Coast will expand the competition to 14 teams by 2020. Essendon and Hawthorn were among the clubs disappointed to miss out.

But there are also challenges. The decision to disqualify transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey polarised opinion and forced the AFL to explain a call it found difficult to explain. Mouncey's courage during the process will lead to policy change and better understanding of the realities facing transgender athletes.

Pre-Christmas, the noises coming from the eight competing clubs were familiar tales of renewed hope and skills being refined but the game itself and the personalities at its forefront will change at a pace the men's game would barely tolerate.

The last-touch rule has been introduced to speed up the game and encourage teams to attack through the corridor, which the AFL hopes will increase scoring.

New names will be added to last year's stars such as Phillips, Stevens, Pearce, Karen Paxman, Darcy Vescio, Stephanie Chiocci, Ebony Marinoff, Tayla Harris, Sarah Perkins, Kaitlyn Ashmore and Jessica Dal Pos, with Kate Brennan and Kiara Bowers ready to emerge now they are fit.

Think Huntington, the No.1 draft pick, who wants to become a doctor but might become a gun footballer first; Lily Mithen, whose tenacity was seen in glimpses last season; former Hockeyroo Georgina Parker, now a Magpie rookie; or basketballer Monique Conti, who gets her chance at the Bulldogs.

The list is endless with 50-odd new names joining the competition as the pool of potential players grows throughout Australia, setting up a platform for the standard to improve.

But on February 2, all that is put to one side as Carlton and Collingwood take to Ikon Park, with the Magpies' first club champion in navy blue colours.

How Magpie fans greet Stevens will show just how much winning now matters in AFLW 2018.