A BELOVED teammate. A fan favourite. A Game Changer.

This weekend Gab Pound will become the fifth Carlton AFLW player to reach the 50-game milestone, and just the third to do so entirely in Navy Blue.

And while she’s stood alongside her teammates to celebrate their achievements over the first half of the season, on a personal level, Pound has continued to take things one week at a time.

“We kind of take it season by season, year by year, and see how it goes,” Pound said.

“I think it has given me a bit of time to reflect. Being there since day dot has been an incredible journey and to be able to grow along with the club as well, has been pretty exciting to be part of.”

There have been plenty of memories for the kid from Albury who moved to Melbourne to chase their football dream, but it’s hard for Pound to forget that euphoric night at IKON Park back in 2017.

“You can't really go past that first game. All of the emotions that come with that, not only personally, but for the wider community,” she said.

“I know there were so many emotions rolling around and it was just an absolutely incredible game to be part of.”

Since being drafted by Carlton with the Club's fourth selection (pick No.30) in the 2016 NAB AFL Women’s Draft, Pound has grown into a figure synonymous with the Club’s AFLW program.

“I was pretty young coming in but being able to grow as a person on and off the field has been pretty special – and to grow with people like ‘Darce’ [Darcy Vescio], ‘Moods’ [Breann Moody] and ‘Planeo’ [Natalie Plane] along the way has been pretty special,” she said.

“To be able to reflect on season one and see how far we've come as a club, as a competition and myself as a player as well – I feel like all of those things working together, it's pretty special to be part of.”

Pound’s on-field endeavour has earned her All-Australian honours but the headband, flowing locks and long sleeves have made her a favourite amongst Carlton fans.

For Pound, she’s happy just being herself.

“I've always gone about things my way and how I go about life is just being me and being authentic,” she said.

“I think that's such an important part of being part of the community and really respecting myself. I feel like that's the only way you can go about life and enjoy it. It's great that people are getting on board that and getting on board with the Club as well.”

Just as Pound has grown, the competition has done the same around her, with developments in the most recent collective bargaining agreement allowing players like Pound to better balance life away from football.

“You go through the whole comp from start to finish and there's a lot of milestones along the way. The biggest one was probably this season, having expanded fully to 18 teams and a top-eight finals series as well," she said.

"It’s pretty awesome to be a part of and there’s a long way to go, trying to get to that 17-game home-and-away season, but you can absolutely recognise how far we've come and being able to expedite that in the last six years.

“I think with the pay increase for me personally, and I'm sure many others, I've been able to focus more and be able to balance those two things [football and study] much better.

“As a lot of players know, the sacrifice that we've had to make just to make time for footy has been pretty incredible.”

As humble as ever, her football goals remain simple despite the milestone on the horizon.

 “I don't really have huge goals and if they come, they come. I'm just excited to be here and incredibly grateful for my opportunity at the Club.”