With a newfound confidence and another year in the AFLW system, Amy Mulholland is ready to take the league by storm in 2023.
 
After relocating to Australia from Ireland in 2020, the small forward enjoyed a rapid rise when taking up Australian Rules Football, going from Wembley Amateurs to Subiaco in the WAFLW to Fremantle in the space of two years.
 
But Mulholland said her first season, where she played eight of a possible 10 games, came with the mental battle of wondering if she belonged at the top level.
 
A full pre-season has seen her able to bring what came naturally in Gaelic Football to the AFLW, and she had been one of Fremantle’s standouts in the two practice games against West Coast and Collingwood.

“This year has been a huge change for me,” Mulholland said.
 
“Last year was a bit of a whirlwind and sometimes I would have questioned if I happened to be here by luck.
 
“This year I'm building on my own confidence to know that I've earned my place.
 
“I would have probably went into my shell a bit just learning the new sport, whereas now I feel like my confidence is returning, so I can go back to how I played Gaelic football and bring that into footy.”

Mulholland said she’s benefitted from the arrival of Senior Coach Lisa Webb, who has invested significant time in game plan education.
 
It allowed Mulholland to learn alongside her teammates instead of playing catchup.
 
“I know what my role is. We're all coming into this year with a new coach so there's the feedback and education around the game plan,” Mulholland said.
 
“Having a full preseason this year compared to last season has definitely made a big impact on all of us, not just me individually. I think we're all ready for round one.”

In Fremantle’s one-point win against Collingwood on Saturday, Mulholland impressed with her ball use on the run.
 
She said she’d benefitted from focusing on the areas that are different to Gaelic Football.
 
“I've been doing a lot of work (on my kicking) in the preseason and in the academy sessions before preseason kicked off, that's definitely had its dividends,” Mulholland said.
 
“Hopefully I can continue to build on that and move forward into the season.
 
“I've also been working on upping my pressure and my inside 50 and defence work.”
 
Mulholland said the excitement was building around the Club leading into a round one RAC Derby against West Coast on 3 September at Fremantle Oval.
 
“It's getting to the exciting point now. We've had our intra clubs and our practice games and came away with two wins,” Mulholland said.
 
“(Against Collingwood) it was a very high pressure game, which was good for us to get the experience, you can only have so much pressure playing against one another.
 
“We all know what we're trying to do.”
 
Step up in intensity the perfect prep
AFLW practice match report v Collingwood