Sydney Swans forward Brooke Lochland has today announced her retirement from AFLW with Sydney's Round 10 match against Waalitj Marawar (West Coast Eagles) on Saturday set to be her final game after an impressive nine seasons in the game.

The 33-year old former Swans co-captain, All-Australian and 2018 Western Bulldogs premiership player will retire with an impressive honour roll, having played 64 games across two clubs - 35 for Western Bulldogs and 29 for the Sydney Swans.

Drafted to the Western Bulldogs at pick 53 in the 2016 National Draft, Lochland made her debut for the Bulldogs in Round 1 in 2017.

Just a year later in 2018 she became an All-Australian and Premiership player as well as the league’s leading goalkicker. That same year she kicked seven goals in one game, the most by an AFLW player in a single match, a record that still currently stands.

It was in mid-2022 when Lochland decided to start a new chapter and move to the harbour city. She became the first marquee player to join the Sydney Swans from an interstate team when the club gained entry into the AFLW competition for Season 7 and made an immediate impact at the club on and off the field. A born leader, Lochland was an inaugural Sydney Swans co-captain and the club's leading goalkicker in 2022. 

An emotional Lochland told teammates on Friday afternoon and reflected on a journey which she said she is "incredibly grateful for."

"Never did this six year old who went to Auskick with the boys in her Bombers jumper with her childhood hero James Hird #5 on the back ever think that she would be drafted to an AFL club one day," Lochland said.

"I am grateful to the Western Bulldogs who gave me the opportunity to live out my dream, to have called Whitten Oval home for six years and to have been part of a club that has pioneered women's football. To Paul Groves for drafting me and seeing something in me and to Debbie Lee and Nathan Burke- to be able to work alongside two greats of the game will forever be a highlight of my career.

"And then my move to Sydney, I am grateful to Scott (Gowans) & Kate (Mahony) for the opportunity to come up here & be an inaugural player for the Sydney Swans. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made and I am one of the lucky ones to say that I’ve been able to play for this great club full of wonderful people & supported by the best fans in the world.

"I am incredibly proud of all that I’ve achieved. Not many people get to say they have competed at the highest level in three different sports for over 20 years and travelled the world doing it. I stand here knowing that I’ve given my heart and soul to two clubs over nine seasons and to be able to leave the game as a premiership player is something that no one can ever take away from me.

"I will miss the feeling of running out in the red and white jumper every week with the girls who I now get to call my sisters.
 
"The game has given me some of the best years of my life that I will cherish forever. I am excited for what’s next and for the next chapter of my life."

Sydney Swans Coach Scott Gowans said Lochland has left an incredible mark on the game and on those who have been with her along the journey.

"Brooke has been amazing for the club, she was the first player to take a chance on us from a marquee point of view, she was our inaugural co-captain and served the club very well.

"As an athlete, she was previously a junior international inline speedskater, living across the world and pursuing her dreams and then came back to play AFLW where she has become a premiership player and impacted greatly at two clubs.

"The things that people won't see are the things that she does for others, particularly with younger players like Holly Cooper, she really mentors them and teaches them the way. She has left a tremendous legacy on the club and will go down in history as a leader in more than one way. It will be what she has done on the field and off it as well."
 
BROOKE LOCHLAND STATISTICS
Drafted: pick number 53 in the 2016 National Draft
Debut: Round 1, 2017
64 AFLW games* (29 Sydney, 35 Western Bulldogs).
28 goals
2022 Sydney Swans Inaugural co-captain
2022 Sydney Swans leading goalkicker
2018 AFLW leading goalkicker
2018 Western Bulldogs Premiership player
2018 All-Australian
*will play her final and 64th game on Saturday