Dubbed by Collingwood General Manager of Women’s Football Jess Burger as the ‘Mama Bear’ of the group, it’s not hard to see why Sabrina Frederick is one of the most loved figures within the AIA Centre.

Respected by all and looked up to by just as many, the inaugural AFLW player has been a stalwart and trailblazer of the competition for nine seasons.

And through a career of passion, care, and above all a drive to win every single time she steps on the field, it’s fitting Frederick becomes the first player to bring up 75 career games while wearing the black and white.

Having played the last four of the those in the space of 16 days as part of the condensed fixture, the Ruck said it hadn’t been on her mind too much, but that she was beginning to soak in the plaudits.

“I think with a condensed fixture, I've not really had my mind on the 75 games just because there's been so many games coming up, but it’s nice to reflect,” Frederick said on Thursday.

“I feel like in football, it's so week to week, and your focus is so narrow normally, like you're either reviewing a game or you're previewing a game, so I think the last couple of days has been really nice to like to reflect on my entire career.

“There’s not many people that get to play for eight years and not just be a part of the system, but actually play.

“For me, it's nice to actually think back and think back about my first few games at Brisbane, and then couple of games at Richmond to now being here for me, it's kind of cool also to know that I've played the most amount of games at this club, because I feel like I found a real home here.”

As Frederick alludes to, her journey has been one of trailblazing and change, starting off at the Brisbane Lions in 2017 when the league first started.

That was as a 19-year-old, and as one of the two marquee players clubs were allowed to select before the first season of AFLW, coming to the sunshine state from Western Australia via England where she spent the first seven years of her life.

The 182cm played 23 games across three seasons at the Lions, before spending two years with Richmond, and then landing at the Pies ahead of the 2022 season.

Through 36 games and counting at Collingwood, Frederick has adapted to new roles, taken countless players under her wing, and found a formal place in the leadership group in 2024.

And through it all, it is the relationships she has built that keep her coming back, day after day.

“I think I have such strong relationships with the players … and actually having really strong relationships with that many people is normally quite rare, but I have that here, which I don't take that for granted,” she said.

“I’ve been playing football for a long time, and I feel like this is the first time that I've actually had a large group of people that I genuinely care about, not just as footballers, but as people.

"So I think that's probably why I've probably gotten the ‘Mama Bear’ nickname, is I just really care about our people. I really care about people getting better in here, and also trying to focus on how I can make them better humans and better players.

“I've just always wanted to be the ultimate teammate. That, for me is the number one goal.”

Having started out in all the way back in 2017, with the competition in its infancy and holding just eight teams, Frederick has seen it all.

Fast forward to the present day, with talent pathways brimming with players and 18 sides taking the field each week, Frederick said it has been a joy to watch the competition grow and play such an integral role in it doing so.

“To be honest, I didn't even think that I would be here still playing whilst that talent pathways were like this, because the league has grown so quickly,” she said.

“Obviously it's still in infancy, so there's still growing pains, but I didn't think that someone like a Lucy (Cronin) would be coming through whilst I'm still playing, but in the same breath that motivates me, because these players are coming through, and I need to compete.

"I need to still compete with those players, I still need to be putting in the effort they're still putting in, so I think it's being able to be to be inspired by them and admire that, but at the same time know that I've still got to put in that work to be good enough to be competing with players that have been through the system.

“I admire the growth and be proud of the work that has gone on before, but also know that I'm in it still now, and I want to make the most of it now and help those players too, because hopefully I can shorten the gap of learning for them.”

With helping others and giving guidance such a theme of not just her football, but her life, it has been hard for Frederick to embrace the spotlight this week.

But as she reflects on her journey, as one of the few players to have reached the 75-game milestone so far, she can’t help but smile at her longevity and passion.

“I think there's a handful of people across the league in general that have achieved 75 games and like you do the math on how many games that have been in AFLW, to get to this point I've really barely missed a game,” she said.

“I think more than anything, knowing that I've pretty much been available for every game that I've been able to play is massive.

“At this Club it’s such a proud place to be and to be here for that milestone, I just genuinely just want to do the jumper proud more than anything. Obviously I haven't played all my games here at this club, but the games that I have played have been a journey to how I'm playing right now.

“I just need to channel everything I've learned to play my best role now for the club, because they're so proud, and I want to do the Club and the jumper proud.”