The last thing Sharni Layton heard as she "netball grabbed" a low-bouncing ball and lined up her first AFLW goal was not the kind of support chanted by the netty nerds in her old "Sharni army".

"Oh it's pretty windy Sharni," the former Australian Diamonds captain and much celebrated goalkeeper – now Collingwood AFLW player – was taunted by her West Coast Eagles opposition in last week's season opener.

Career goal: Sharni Layton is growing in confidence as an AFLW player. Credit:Simon Schluter

Seconds later she was doing an "aeroplane" victory run, an outbreak of joy that went viral. It was a landmark moment for the 32 year-old whose high profile and huge following as a national netball star meant the fall of her mental health before leaving the game in 2018 also made news.

"It was just amazing," Layton said this week of her first goal in her new code (one at which she once declared she "sucked"). "It was a bit two-fold, when I first came into the AFLW it was like I wanted to kick goals and be awesome but I'd been a defender my whole sporting career.