Painter, 16, was selected for the interchange after an impressive year with the Pioneers.

"Leading into the year we were very confident that Lucia would have a successful season as she is a very talented footballer," Pioneers coach Danny O'Bree said.

"We're incredibly proud of her for the way she conducted herself this season and with how she has improved."

Painter said each week she set herself goals as part of her aim to continually improve.

"I took on plenty of feedback from coaches and applied what I learned at the next game," she said.

"I feel like this year has been a really good season in terms of my overall development.

"To be named on the team makes me feel very proud of myself as it's a reward for all of my effort."

O'Bree said Painter's contributions to the squad extended further than just game-day as she embraced being part of the leadership team.

"It certainly gave her plenty of confidence, made her a better teammate and improved her football," he said.

"Overall she is quite a complete player."

Despite unfortunately missing out on the last two rounds due to concussion, O'Bree said Painter had shown versatility across the field.

"Predominantly Lucia was on the ball but we tried her out as a defender for a couple games to help continue developing her game," he said.

"If it wasn't for missing out on the last two games she would've had more opportunities up forward.

"Looking ahead, we're very confident that she has a bright future."

Sport news:

The 2022 NAB League Girls best-and-fairest was won by Dandenong Stingray's Amber Clarke on 20 votes, followed closely by Western Jet's Charlotte Baskaran (19).

Northern Knight's Ava Jordan came in third on 14 votes, followed by Bridget Deed (Eastern Ranges) on 10 and Reese Sutton (Calder Cannons) on nine.

Pioneers finished the 2022 season with a 2-8 record (67.60%) in 10th position on the ladder.

Several Pioneers are now preparing to compete for Victoria Country at the 2022 NAB AFLW U18 National Championships.

On Saturday Victoria Country will travel to Adelaide to play South Australia.

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