Freo's captain looks lively with electrifying chase

Fremantle’s AFLW side have used their last round before finals to bounce back and show they are looking forward. 
 
A tough contest against Gold Coast at Fremantle Oval on Saturday afternoon saw Fremantle come out on top, winning by 39 points.  
 
Captain Hayley Miller believes the game has set the team up ahead of the finals series.  
 
“That’s what you want rolling into the finals, a really tough game and to their credit they absolutely came out (firing) and they gave a really tough contest,” Miller told Fox Footy. 
 
The high-pressure game proved to be too much for the Suns in the third and fourth term. 
 
“No goal came easy. It broke a little bit in the end but to their credit an incredible season too, from where they’ve come from," Miller said.

01:36

'They gave a tough contest' | Hayley Miller

Hayley Miller spoke to Tania Armstrong post-match against the Gold Coast Suns.

After a disappointing last two rounds, a great display of teamwork in the final quarter saw Fremantle assert themselves back into the competition as fierce competitors. 
 
“Obviously last week was incredibly disappointing and it wasn’t us at all,” said Miller. 
 
“We wanted to come out here and we wanted to play some good footy.”  
 
Senior Coach Trent Cooper also said the final term displayed the quality of skills needed heading into finals.  
 
“We hadn’t played well last week and even the second half against Adelaide, so we needed to get a bit of momentum,” Cooper told Fox Footy. 
 
“We have to sharpen up a bit, but we really went home with the game strongly, which is pleasing to see what we needed to do.” 

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    Freo's captain looks lively with electrifying chase

    Hayley Miller converts after this brilliant chase down tackle

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Cooper said it was a tight race to the finish line amongst the top six on the ladder, believing those in finals contention are closer than ever.
 
“I don’t think there’s a lot between the top six sides this year. Also, what we’ve got now is we’ve really proven ourselves on the road this year,” said Cooper.  
 
Fremantle will travel over east again to take on North Melbourne in week one of the 2022 NAB AFL Women’s Finals Series next Saturday 19 March at Arden Street Oval.  
 
“We’re looking forward to getting back to Melbourne,” said Cooper.  
 
“We’ve won more games in Melbourne than in Perth this year, so we’re looking forward to that challenge next week and we’ll see what happens after that.”