Senior coach Michelle Cowan has left Wednesday’s NAB AFLW Draft thrilled with the talented group of seven players that have been selected to join Fremantle’s primary list.
Fremantle added height with two rucks in picks no.18 Jodie White and no.40 Alicia Janz, alongside a handful of players that add versatility through the midfield, forward line and defence.
Three of the seven players won best and fairest awards in the 2017 WAWFL season with White winning the league’s Best and Fairest while pick no.2 Stephanie Cain and pick no.10 Evie Gooch were club champions at Swan Districts and East Fremantle respectively.
“We’re really happy with our list build and the efforts our list management team have gone to make sure that we have the right players on board,” Cowan said.
“We’ve topped up across the board. We’ve got a couple of ruck options through today's draft, picked up some key forwards and also some that go through the midfield and in defence.
“There’s a lot of versatility that we've added and we’re excited about Friday when we get to add three more players through the Rookie Draft.”
Fremantle continued their preference for homegrown talent with all seven hailing from WA.
It strengthens an already tight-knit group, with captain Kara Donnellan on holiday in the United States with pick no.33 Emily McGuire during the draft.
“As soon as we recruit at Fremantle you become part of the footy club,” Cowan said.
“There’s no doubt the existing team will be rallying around the girls and they'll be rapt to have them on board.
“They’ll get access to the gym and get a pre-season program, so they’ll get to work quite quickly.”
Read Michelle Cowan’s comments about each of Fremantle’s draftees below.
Pick no.2 - Stephanie Cain
Steph’s story is an incredible one, she’s somebody who showed a lot of drive and a lot of resilience after she was delisted at the end of the 2017 season. We gave her some clear feedback out of AFLW season one and she’s gone back to Swan Districts and applied herself really well there. She’s had a significant impact in their premiership winning team and she’s also gone on to win the best and fairest for the club in a premiership year. We’re rapt with the way she’s applied herself over the past six months and that’s why she’s been our top pick in this draft.
Pick no.10 - Evangeline (Evie) Gooch
Evie's a former soccer player with the Perth Glory who also has a strong football background. I coached her at U18 State level a number of years ago. Football was her number one love but she switched back to soccer due to the limited opportunities in footy at the time.
We were really impressed with what we saw in her return to football at East Fremantle, winning their best and fairest, and we know that she can grow and develop into being a significant contributor at Fremantle.
Pick no. 18 - Jodie White
Winning the WAWFL best and fairest is an incredible achievement for Jodie. She’s someone who applies herself and does everything to make the most of her skills and opportunities. She’s an incredible person and she’ll bring a lot of experience to the side which will be great for our club.
Freo's Kiara Bowers presents Jodie White with the WAWFL Best and Fairest award
Pick no.26 - Ashlee Atkins
Ashlee started her career at Swan Districts where she won the WAWFL's leading goalkicker award in 2010 as a 17-year-old. She's since moved to East Fremantle and her story is another interesting one. Only in the past 12 months has she really focused on becoming an elite footballer - having watched season one of the AFLW she realised that she wanted to be a part of it.
She made some significant sacrifices in her life to make sure she could get an opportunity and these players pick themselves. Ashlee earned her AFLW spot through her application and preparation after an excellent WAWFL season.
Pick no. 33 – Emily McGuire
I think Emily was around 10 days too short of being able to get drafted in 2017, being the age limit of 18. I loved the way that Emily's gone about it at Swan Districts. She’s worked really hard on her craft and she gets a well-deserved opportunity now. She's a key forward and an elite kick as well, she’s got strong hands which is what we missed in our first season and we’re looking forward to seeing her in an elite environment.
Pick no.40 – Alicia Janz
Alicia was excellent for us during her three games as a top-up player but under AFLW rules we were unable to retain her on our list at the end of the season. We gave her some feedback and she went back to Swan Districts where she contributed really well. Alicia has a lot of potential and it's exciting to see what she can do with her drive to apply herself and get the most out of her footy career.
Pick no.44 – Leah Mascall
Leah has a lot of experience as an AFL footballer and at the highest level representing Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Fremantle in the AFLW exhibition games. She’s a seasoned footballer that had limited opportunities through her injuries. She’s rehabbing really well and we’ll work closely with her and get her ready for round one.
