Australian rules football is not the preferred sport in Moree.

There are no full-sized fields, no goalposts, no local competition.

But Lauren Appleby fell in love when a friend introduced her to the game.

Now, she's travelling eight hours each way to attend training as a member of the highly coveted Sydney Swans Academy.

With hopes to hear her name called out during the 2025 AFLW draft, the 17-year-old is taking the travel in her stride.

Lauren Appleby, of Moree, is a Sydney Swans Academy player that travels eight hours each way to train. Picture supplied

"I'd love to be drafted one day," Appleby said.

"It's a goal of mine, especially coming from more of a remote area, it makes it 10 times harder and even 10 times more of a goal."

She is one of eight Academy players featured in a new TikTok docuseries, Young Bloods, following their progression towards draft night.

But the road to an AFL contract is winding. And a spot in an Academy doesn't guarantee you anything.

Moree to the big city

Balancing farm work, the HSC, and hours upon hours of travel takes a lot, and when Appleby is training on her own, there is no one but herself to keep her accountable.

Kicking towards goals constructed by her dad with plastic tubes from old farming equipment, she's making football work for her.

"Training at home has to be done all by myself and with my motivation," she said.

"The training is unreal to have really, coming from home where you've got nothing at all to here where you've got the best of the best.

"I train at home, I've got a small little backyard that gives me enough room to run around and kick the footy. Dad put up some posts in the backyard for me to aim at, and that's my training. That's probably the only posts that are in town at all."

Despite not having access to the same facilities and competitions as many Academy teammates, Appleby hasn't let being in Moree hold her back.

It's made her more driven than ever to succeed.

Sydney Swans Academy player Lauren Appleby trains alone in her backyard in Moree when she cannot be in Sydney. Picture supplied

Documenting herself through the filming of Young Bloods, she wants the world to see how far country kids can go.

Turning the camera on didn't come naturally at first, but by the end of the season, she was more than comfortable chatting to her phone.

"I think it's pretty cool to be able to have more of a unique story to everyone else," Appleby said.

"I'm just paying a lot further away coming in to travel, and not having much at home just makes my story so much different, which I love because I'd love to be able to encourage other people from around more remote areas to be able to chase their dreams and put your mind to something and be able to do it."

Her dedication has paid off. She has played in all but one of the Academy games this season and made a cameo appearance in the Under 22 Summer Series.

While it was a dream season for Appleby, for every player with highs, there are some with lows.

Footy first since day one

Ned Hardman has been in the Sydney Swans Academy his whole footballing life.

He's been involved since his first year of eligibility, but when he decided to turn his focus entirely to football, the universe played a cruel joke.

Running out for one final game of rugby union with his school team, Hardman didn't make it to the end of the game, breaking the top of his left tibia off and dislocating his kneecap into his quad.

It led to months away from the game.

Ned Hardman has been at the Sydney Swans Academy since he was 11-years-old. Picture supplied

"I've loved footy from a very young age, I've always wanted to do it, and I love playing it," Hardman said.

"It was pretty challenging but I think it would have been worse if my draft year was last year.

"But because I knew I still had this year I wasn't too annoyed. I was only really annoyed during a few Swans games, seeing everybody else go out and same thing with training, when everyone else could go out I'd just be staying inside because I couldn't join them."

Sitting on the sidelines, filming a documentary, wasn't how Hawkins had anticipated his 2024 season would go.

But to share the behind-the-scenes reality of the Academy, he said, was a privilege.

"It was pretty unique, it's pretty good because it shows the behind the scenes of what it's actually like to be in the Academy," he said.

Injuries stop for no one

Aimi Jenkin was shocked when she was asked to join the Academy for the first time in 2024.

Only able to attend two trials, she was not sure she had done enough to get into the program her brothers were already part of.

But the high of selection was quickly brought down when she injured her hand in her very first training session.

"It was pretty devastating, to be honest," Jenkin said.

"I was excited to get back and get into everything, but obviously, going into the first session [I injured myself], it was pretty demoralising."

Though the experience has made her more resilient as a player, it has also increased her ongoing caution about injury.

Aimi Jenkin joined the Sydney Swans Academy for the first time in 2024, but sustained a hand injury in her first training session. Picture supplied

With a history of concussions, she said the possibility of being reinjured and forced to the sidelines again is always in the back of her mind.

Support from her family, including younger twin brothers Guy and William, who are also in the Academy, helps.

"It definitely was intimidating, but the whole thing was surreal," Jenkin said.

"Obviously, I've been working up to it for a really long time and my brothers are in the Academy, so I'd heard from them all their experiences.

"So I was quite prepared of what it felt like, what it would be like and it was great."

While the season was rocky for the teenager, filming for the docuseries was a bright spot when things felt tough.

Being mic'd up at training was a new experience, forcing her to be on her best behaviour, but she has enjoyed the experience.

"It's cool. I've gotten quite a few messages from friends and stuff, who are sending the episodes to me, but I think it's cool," she said.

"I can just imagine me and like the other people in that documentary rocking up to a Swans game and everyone's like, 'oh yeah, they're some athletes from the documentary', so it's pretty cool."