It was a phone call to former team mate Ash Brazill that clinched new Docker Bella Smith’s move across the country to play football for Fremantle.

The pair played together at Collingwood where Smith was originally drafted before moving to the Swans as an expansion signing ahead of the club’s inaugural season in 2022.

The Freo recruit has revealed she was starstruck the first time she met former Diamond-turned AFLW star Ash Brazill when the pair were both at Collingwood in 2021.

Smith, 23, grew up in South Australia and played netball as a junior before making the switch to football, recruited by the Pies in 2020.

She was overawed when she saw the netball team - which was owned by the club and shared their training facility at the Holden Centre - including one of her teammates Brazill who was juggling both codes.

“When I was at the Pies I was surrounded by all these netball girls that I had been fangirling over growing up it was unreal,” Smith said.

“So very keen to be back with Braz but not so keen to go one on one against her in training.”

And it was Brazill who she contacted before she making the choice to leave Sydney.

“Freo was really nice in letting me do that prior to me making my decision, and honestly the words she had not only for the group but for the program sold me very quickly,” she said.

“It was great to get in touch with her before needing to make the decision.”

Smith has played 36 games across five seasons and coach Lisa Webb has big plans for the tall utility.

“I think something that stuck out to me with how much value they place in role players,” she said.

“She plans on seeing me as a forward, and it’s not my role to get 20 touches and take 10 spectacular marks, it’s just get up for the contest bring it to ground for the smalls and put them through the big sticks if you get a chance.

“I just love that she wasn’t stats based and I just think she’s an awesome human, she came down to Sydney before the draft just to have breakfast with me so I think that shows sort of what kind of character she is as well and how much she cares about her players.”

Smith was traded from Sydney in exchange for pick No.49 and said she had previously enjoyed the excitement of the trade period from the outside but being a part of the process herself this year was nerve-racking.

“With how this trade went down it was just as stressful, especially just the whirlwind that it was,” she said.

“While I love the trade period and I love watching it as a spectator, being a part of it I absolutely hated it, I was not a fan.

“But I’m so grateful and so excited to get over to the west and crack in with them.”