Emma O’Driscoll was among Freo’s best against Collingwood on Sunday as she formed a brick wall in defence to notch a game-high 14 intercept possessions.
The rebound defender was Freo’s main driver into attack with a game-high 338 metres gained, while she also amassed 19 disposals and took six marks.
The 23-year-old said she felt back to her best after an interrupted month heading into last weekend’s season-opener due to a leg laceration that she sustained in a pre-season intraclub hitout.
“As backs I thought we really held it up down there and when we got the opportunity to bring the ball to ground that’s exactly what we focused on,” O’Driscoll said.
“The last thing I was thinking of was trying to intercept the ball, it was just about trying to win my one-on-ones.
“I was a bit slow last week but thank god for Laura Pugh who held us up. Our backline has got big things coming for the rest of the year.”
Despite leading in clearances (29-23), inside 50s (31-21) and tackles (92-90), Fremantle were unable to impact on the scoreboard with scoreless first and third quarters.
In contrast, Collingwood kicked three goals in each of those quarters to help them bridge the gap on the score sheet.
After recording 15 inside 50's in the first three quarters, Fremantle notched 16 inside 50s to zero in the final term in a spirited fightback.
“We needed to fight a bit harder in the first three quarters but unfortunately, we couldn’t get the ball rolling until the last,” O’Driscoll said.
“Going into the next few games we are going to hunt the ball, hopefully get it moving forward and that tackle pressure in the last term was great - so we need to keep that going.”
It was a game of firsts for Ange Stannett and Orlagh Lally who each kicked their first ever goal in the AFLW.
Stannett has trained as a forward for the majority of the pre-season after a positional switch from the backline, while Lally is still cementing her game in just her second season of AFLW.
“It was so cool! If I had the energy, I think all of us backs would have been down there celebrating with them but we did give the double cobras in the backline.
“It’s great for those girls and there will be many more to come because they are only improving each and every week.
“It will be great to see how they go for the rest of the season.”
O’Driscoll hoped the best for Gabby O’Sullivan after she exited the game early in the first term with a dislocated shoulder, while AFLW Senior Coach Lisa Webb confirmed that the midfielder/forward would get scans in Perth.
“We all love Gabs, it’s a bit of a sisterhood here,” O’Driscoll said.
“We will definitely wrap our arms around her and we hope that she is okay.
“She has hurt her shoulder, I haven’t had a big chat with medical yet, but we’ll obviously have to get it scanned when we’re back in Perth,” Webb said.
“It’s the same shoulder as she did last year.”
