From delisted to playing finals for a new club one year later.

It's safe to say Keely Coyne has landed on her feet, but it's through hard work that the former Bulldog is preparing to play a major role in Hawthorn's finals campaign.

As part of the draft haul in 2022 that brought Rylie Wilcox and Heidi Woodley to the Western Bulldogs, Coyne's early AFLW years weren't as fruitful as those of her peers. Following a debut – against the Hawks – she played 12 games in the red, white, and blue before an ACL injury took footy away.

It was during a tumultuous time for the club. The Dogs were hitting rock-bottom and brought in a new coach (Tam Hyett), head of footy (Patrice Berthold), and list manager (Dan Fisher). But it meant that Coyne was stuck on the outer.

"Looking back on it, it probably was a bit messy in terms of who was looking after me, but it worked out in the end. That was pretty tough, and then Tam comes in, Patrice, all the new staff, and I actually knew Tam from the Sandringham Dragons before that, so I did have a relationship with her," Coyne told AFL.com.au.

"But coming into the side, she probably knew I wasn't going to play, so I was probably on the outer from that point of view, which was hard."

Rehab wasn't exactly going smoothly, either. Some early setbacks meant that Coyne couldn't straighten her leg until 20 weeks post-surgery – well behind the typical timeline for athletes working their way back from an ACL reconstruction – but she threw herself into the challenge.

"I had Elle Bennetts with me in rehab, Brooke Barwick was also going through the back end of her rehab, and Bailey Smith as well, so we had a little group," Coyne said of the rehab group at the Bulldogs.

"I actually did part of my rehab with Bailey off-site for about six weeks, which was nice having someone going through very similar emotions, and then getting a routine out of that was pretty good."

Through it all, Coyne and her management were mentally prepared for the high probability that she would not be offered another contract by the Dogs. Getting ahead of it, they started talks with other clubs in advance of that final exit meeting, and it was Hawthorn that was most appealing.

After all, the reason Coyne first came to footy was Hawthorn forward Bridie Hipwell, who introduced her to the game when trying to start a girls' team at East Sandringham.

Coyne's dad is a Scottish rugby player who has been through his fair share of knee injuries, so footy wasn't necessarily the code of choice, until Hipwell came knocking.

"We had mutual friends, and she was starting a team, so I got roped into doing that. The East Sandringham Zebras, we won multiple premierships, which was nice," Coyne said.

"We've been friends for a long time, so I'd always heard about Hawthorn. When she got drafted, I was a little bit jealous because I'd played with Jas (Fleming) and a few of those girls, and so I knew how fun it was going to be. They were the future of the club."

Knowing that the Hawks were keen didn't stop her official delisting by the Western Bulldogs from hurting, however.

"It's always a shock when you get told that you're not wanted, or not needed anymore. So, (it was) a little bit heartbreaking because it's also the club you were drafted to, you want to play as many games as you can for them. I mean, it's first taken away through injury, and then taken away for good," Coyne said.

She shook off the hurt pretty quickly, as the Hawks snapped her up as a delisted free agent almost immediately. With her rehabilitation in the rear-view mirror, and a new system to sink her teeth into, Coyne got to work.

Given the depth of talent at the Hawks, she wasn't expecting early games, but was ready and willing to step up when she was needed. Fortunately, she pulled on the brown and gold in the club's round one win over Brisbane as a late inclusion for Aileen Gilroy, and hasn't missed a game since.

"I knew 'Gilly' (Gilroy) had been sent for a scan on her hamstring, and we found out at team selection the Thursday night. And then I think it was a couple of hours later, Daniel (Webster) called me and pretty much warned me that it was looking most likely that I was going to play. When he told me, I was pretty excited. My whole family flew over to Brisbane, which was nice," Coyne said.

"Early on I was getting games maybe off the back of injury, but with injury comes opportunity. The speed of the game has changed so much since the last time I played, so it was just getting used to playing footy.

"Learning about the people I was playing with took a bit of time, and then in the last five weeks I've found my spot on the wing."

In less than 12 months, Coyne has gone from the dregs of the Bulldogs' list, trying to get her body right, to a finals berth with the Hawks, doubling her career game tally in the process.

"It's been really exciting, and almost a bit of a pinch-me moment. Twelve months ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be in this position," Coyne said.

"Playing finals is really exciting, and with the young group we have, there is no ceiling. Daniel's instilled in us that anything is possible, and winning is what we want."