Fremantle will unveil six new players in Saturday’s RAC Derby at Fremantle Oval, highlighted by the long-awaited debuts of Ann McMahon and Aine Tighe.
Both McMahon and Tighe have battled through incredible adversity to get their first AFLW cap, and senior coach Trent Cooper confirmed they will be joined by first year players Jess Low, Dana East, Airlie Runnalls and Makaela Tuhakaraina.
McMahon and Tighe have recovered from multiple ACL injuries on their road to the AFLW, and McMahon’s dreams of playing at the highest level were all but dashed following a horrific work place incident in December 2019 while working as a WA Police Officer.
Cooper said the emotion on display when the playing group was told about McMahon’s debut only showed how much it meant to everyone at the Club.
“Ann and Aine came in during the off-season after my first season at Fremantle in 2019,” Cooper said.
“We had been tracking Ann when she was at East Fremantle a year before we drafted her, and we would have drafted her the previous season but she ruptured her ACL, which cost her a spot on the list that year.
“The amount of work that she’s done, and the obstacles she’s had to overcome. It would be hard to find anybody who’s done it as hard as what Ann has.
“Her diligence and work ethic, it’s been phenomenal. You could see from the players’ reaction from the news that she was making her debut about what it means to everyone on the list.”
A forward / ruck who hails from Ireland, Tighe has sacrificed being with her family and friends to play AFLW and has endured two ACL rehabilitations since arriving in Australia.
“It was May 2019 when I went to Ireland and met Aine and her family in Leitrim,” Cooper said.
“The journey that she’s been through to play her first game has been harrowing as well and she had to do it on the other side of the world from her family and friends.
“She’s just put in so much, even if she never got to play a game, she’s still been a valuable addition for the Club with the amazing work she does for the Club’s Fans and Community Engagement team.
“But we know she’s a great talent as well and it’s great for us that we’re getting a talent out on the park like that. It’s greater for her and that’s what everyone is feeling at the moment, for what she’s been through, for her to make her debut this weekend is very special.”
Cooper also praised the work of Fremantle’s other four debutants.
East and Runnalls are likely to earn some midfield minutes, with Runnalls also to spend time on the wing. Tuhakarina is an exciting small forward prospect while Low is a hard-bodied defender who has impressed one-on-one in match simulations throughout the pre-season.
“Jess has been a train on and worked extremely hard. She came through the amateur ranks and then to WAFLW and just every year, got better and also sought feedback and improved in areas that she needed to. She’s extremely fit, extremely strong and extremely competitive,” Cooper said.
“Airlie is hard running, has really good skills and knows how to find the footy. I would think she can make an impact straight away.
“Dana models her game on Kiara Bowers and tries just as hard as Kiara, which you can’t say about too many people. What we are expecting is a fierce contest – she showed that against West Coast in a scratch match when she was outnumbered on a few occasions.
“Makaela is just raw and exciting. We said this year that we wanted to be brave with our selection and brave with quite a few things and Makaela fits all of those bills. She does things that nobody else in our team, or probably to be honest in the competition, can do.”
Match day information: RAC Derby
Gallery: Training 4 January
Full Freo contingent set to travel
