Fremantle have welcomed back fresh legs for Sunday’s round five clash with North Melbourne at North Hobart Oval.
The experienced Kara Antonio will be joined by Aine Tighe, Dana East and Makaela Tuhakaraina, who will each return to the Fremantle line-up for their fifth AFLW match.
The quartet will replace Kiara Bowers (suspension), Bianca Webb (omitted), as well as Amy Franklin and Matilda Sergeant, who will each miss the match through concussion.
The historic clash marks the first time that Fremantle’s women’s side have ever played in Tasmania.
Fremantle will be looking to remain undefeated and pick up their sixth win for the season, while North Melbourne will be looking for their fourth win of the year (North have played one less match than Freo so far.)
Senior coach Trent Cooper said it was great to have fresh legs return for the game.
“It’s great to welcome back the four players that we rested from the Bulldogs game, in which we freshened up the young players in Tuhakaraina and East, who are both jumping out of their skin to play again,” Cooper said.
“It has also been great to manage Kara Antonio and Aine Tighe through this period, and they are ready to run out there on Sunday.
“It was hard for those four to watch on from the side lines last Tuesday night, but the 23 girls who did play did great work to get the job done.
“Our medical and high-performance team have done an amazing job with our availability to have everyone up for selection, bar suspension (Bowers) and collision injuries (Cuthbertson, Sergeant, Franklin).”
Bouncedown for the clash is at 5.10pm (2.10pm WST), with the game broadcast live nationally on Fox Footy, as well as streamed live on Kayo and the AFL Women’s official app.
TEAM v NORTH
Defenders: Tiah Toth, Laura Pugh, Sarah Verrier, Aine Tighe, Jess Low
Midfielders: Ebony Antonio, Ange Stannett, Steph Cain
Forwards: Dana East, Kara Antonio, Roxy Roux, Gemma Houghton, Makaela Tuhakaraina
Followers: Mim Strom, Hayley Miller, Gabby O'Sullivan
Interchange: Emma O'Driscoll, Ann McMahon, Mikayla Hyde, Airlie Runnalls, Mikayla Morrison
Emergencies: Jasmin Stewart, Bianca Webb
IN: Kara Antonio, Makaela Tuhakaraina, Dana East, Aine Tighe
OUT: Kiara Bowers, Bianca Webb, Matilda Sergeant, Amy Franklin
