The Sydney Swans AFLW team have officially kicked off their 2023 pre-season campaign on Monday evening in Sydney.

There were several new faces for the first session with the Swans welcoming seven new players for their second season in the competition. Chloe Molloy, Lucy McEvoy, Laura Gardiner, Hayley Bullas (ruled out of season 8 with injury), and promising Irish talents in Paris McCarthy, Jennifer Higgins, and Julie O'Sullivan. The coaching team has also been bolstered by former Swans player Colin O'Riordan and GWS player Tanya Hetherington and CEO Tom Harley was also on hand to assist.

The first training kicked off with a 1.5km time trial with a solid pace across the board. Bridie Kennedy crossed the line first, followed by new recruit Laura Gardiner and rounding out the top three was 2022 co-captain Brooke Lochland.

Senior Coach Scott Gowans was pleased with what he saw for the first session of the year and was excited by the new faces around the group for team's their second season.

"Nearly 25% of our list is new, so it's about learning the way we play, it's an exciting night," Gowans said.

"Our new coaches will bring experience,  the main thing we felt as a coaching group (last season) was that we had a really good staffing group but we wanted to go to the next level to bring in different opinions to the program.

"There is a big improvement which is nice, the players have done a lot of work to preparation themselves for tonight, so it's good to get going. Our focus was on our skill level and so far they have shown that has improved."

Despite coming close on several occasions last season, the Swans were unable to record a victory in their first season but Gowans believes the group will continue to develop after last year's experience.

"We want to focus not just on our first game, but on the journey," Gowans said.

"Part of the journey is building a legacy for the club and set standards that others will follow and that's really the message to be honest," Gowans said.

"Hopefully the wins become part of that process. I know a lot of coaches talk about it but it's really what it is. We go into camp this week and will do some work around that and our values as a team."

The 2023 AFLW Season will commence on the first weekend of September with the full fixture yet to be confirmed, sign up for MySwans to be the first to know when 2023 AFLW memberships are on sale.