The Southern Saints have secured their first signature ahead of their debut VFLW season, with former Vic Country and Dandenong Stingrays captain Georgia Walker committing to the club for 2018.

After being granted a license to compete in the AFL Women’s competition from 2020 at the end of September, the Saints will build their program in the VFLW across the next two seasons before entering the national competition.

Walker, 19, arrives at the club following a glittering underage career that included All-Australian under-18 honours as well as an impressive career in the TAC Cup, before she played two games as a top-up player for Collingwood in the inaugural AFLW season.

Head of Women’s Elite Pathway Peta Searle said Walker’s signature was another landmark moment on the Saints' journey towards entering the AFLW competition.

“Today is an exciting day for us,” Searle told saints.com.au after Walker put pen to paper on Wednesday.

“To finally have a player, and a player of Georgia’s calibre, as a VFLW St Kilda player in our team is the culmination of a lot of work in our build towards 2020.

“So to finally have someone like Georgia in our jumper is a very proud moment for us; we’re very excited to get into it.”

Searle, who became the first female to coach at an AFL club when she joined St Kilda in 2014, said Walker’s leadership attributes made her a very attractive proposition for the Southern Saints’ program.

“Georgia is a former Dandenong Stingrays captain and Vic Country captain,” Searle said.

“Her leadership is outstanding, she has a great work ethic and she really looks to get the best out of herself.

“She is coming off an outstanding year playing off the half-back flank and is also quite versatile.”