GOLD Coast has opened the doors of its recruiting department in 2019 to welcome AFL Women's midfielder Jamie Stanton.

Stanton has returned to her home city to play for the fledgling Suns' after spending two seasons with Brisbane and one with North Melbourne.

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Already armed with a teaching degree that she is putting to use at Southport State High School, Stanton told Gold Coast she was interested in exploring list management and recruiting.

The Suns were happy to oblige and help give the 24-year-old some experience.

Under the watchful eye of list and strategy general manager Craig Cameron and national recruiting manager Kall Burns, Stanton has used the past eight months to develop her skills.

"I've been able to do like a mini internship, on-the-job training," Stanton told womens.afl.

"While I was in Melbourne I was scouting some VFL games, I did (under-18) nationals for both girls and men.

"I was able to shadow them (Cameron and Burns) and sit with them and create my own reports to see if I had an eye for it.

"So far I've passed the test so we're chugging on."

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Stanton was in the Suns' room for night two of last week's NAB AFL Draft (she was training on the Gold Coast with her teammates during the opening night) and observed the club's handling of the blockbuster Jeremy Sharp trade.

"I walked in on Thursday and found out it was potentially an option," she said.

"Finding out how much work goes into figuring out a trade, who to trade with, how early they have to start talking … I was sitting and watching, learning, taking notes and asking questions.

"It was a really interesting experience and I've learnt a hell of a lot."

Stanton said her knowledge had at least doubled during the year and it had even impacted on her own game.

She said her communication skills had improved, not only in her delivering of messages, but knowing how she could help teammates reach their potential.

Once the 2020 AFLW season has finished, Stanton hopes to continue juggling her teaching career with more work in recruiting, watching NEAFL, Academy games and both national championships again.