A strong individual defensive performance has done little to satisfy a motivated Belinda Smith in the wake of Fremantle’s 32-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in their NAB AFL Women’s opener at VU Whitten Oval.
With 17 disposals, Smith was one of Fremantle’s best on ground. The 21-year-old was a rock in the backline, creating opportunities out of defence in the opening half, while maintaining her standard as the Bulldogs took the ascendency late in the game.
In a week where women’s football has seen an outpouring of support from around the country, Smith admitted it was hard to come off on the wrong side of their historic opening game.
“I’m pretty shattered at the moment,” Smith said.
“We didn’t perform our best but our eyes are firmly on next week now. We’ll review this on Monday and then we’ll set our sights on the Lions.”
Fremantle matched the Bulldogs in the opening term. Freo had three more scoring shots but trailed by seven points thanks to some wayward kicking, while the Bulldogs converted all three of their scoring shots.
In the second half the Bulldogs turned the screws in a ruthless performance that kept Fremantle goalless.
“It wasn’t our best footy and we’ve got a lot more to give out there,” Smith said.
“We just didn’t want it as much but we’ve got so much more in us, and we’re going to focus on that for next week.
“While I feel like I did my role today, and I’m happy with that, it still wasn’t enough to get the team up, and I know I have some areas to work on still.”
“It was definitely the toughest game I’ve ever played in, it’s a whole new game now, and we took a lot longer to adjust than they did.
“It was a hot footy out there.”
The opening round of the AFLW competition has seen over 43,000 fans attend three of the four games played so far.
Next weekend, Fremantle will have their chance to play in front of their home fans, taking on the Brisbane Lions on Sunday afternoon at Fremantle Oval.
“I’m super excited, I can’t believe the support that we’ve already had from our fans,” Smith said.
“Hopefully it can continue for the season because we have got a lot to show our fans, and we’ve been working really hard.”
Smith said that this support will make what should be a tough week a lot easier.
“We’re very disappointed with the loss and how we performed but our eyes are on next week,” Smith said.
“We can’t wait to bet back to training and to work that little bit harder and iron out those creases and get back to it. We can’t dwell on this for too long.”
