Fremantle captain Hayley Miller hasn’t sugar-coated where Fremantle are at after falling to their second consecutive loss to start Season 7 in the NAB AFL Women’s Competition.
Freo mustered a lone point in the 26-point loss at Fremantle Oval to find themselves at the bottom of the ladder with five games left to play in round two.
As the leader of a young group, highlighted by five Club debutants so far this season, Miller said they need to return to form quickly to keep their season alive and show the new faces what ‘Fremantle football’ means after four consecutive finals series.
Freo’s chance to bounce back comes next week with a clash against the Western Bulldogs at Ikon Park on Friday 9 September in what will be Freo's first Friday night game since round six, 2018.
“We need to improve really quickly and that was the feedback we had from last week,” Miller said.
"We’re going to have to change a few things. We have to have that belief otherwise you’re going to continue the way you are.
“We’ll get cracking at training, get the vibes up and get the confidence back that we’ve lost in the past couple of weeks.
“The girls, especially the new ones, they don’t know what Freo football is about at the moment, so we need to teach them and move forward.”
Miller credited Fremantle’s backline for holding strong against Geelong’s surges, conceding three goals from their 31 inside 50s with Ange Stannett and Sarah Verrier holding down the fort.
“The backs, they’re always pretty solid,” Miller said.
“There were a lot of inside 50s, they had a lot more than us.
“Unfortunately, it was probably the quick ones that got down there off the back of the mids or forwards not pushing back. That really killed us.”
Kiara Bowers once again delivered for Fremantle in the midfield with a team high 18 disposals and seven clearances as well as a game high 12 tackles.
“It’s pretty standard for Turbo,” Miller said.
“She always cracking in and pulling massive numbers whether we win, lose or draw.
“We’re always proud of what she does but obviously, we need to get everyone else at that level.”
