Sunday morning saw Fremantle’s AFLW squad hold their Season Launch for 2024, with just 20 days to go until the season opener.

The morning kicked off as the playing group and staff gathered in Walyalup for a very special annual smoking ceremony led by Uncle Richard Walley, Professor Colleen Hayward and the Club’s Indigenous and Multicultural Liaison Officer Che Wyatt.

The season launch begun shortly after, hosted by Fremantle’s Sailing for Oranges, where players would be presented their Fremantle home jumpers by loved ones and family members for Season 2024.

ANGE STANNETT: ‘It’s that connection piece for us’
Captain Ange Stannett spoke to the playing group, coaching staff, family and friends at the launch, and gave an update on what the side have built on during pre-season.

“We've touched on it a few times today, but it's definitely just that connection piece,” Stannett said.

“I think even just looking back at the game two nights ago, we're starting to feel it – we're starting to see it out on the ground, what that looks like.

“We’ve always been massive on it (connection) off-field, and it’s one of those things that can be difficult to measure when you’re on-field as well.

“Looking across the bench when I was out there for Friday night’s match sim, you would see girls chatting through things, we're trying to solve problems, we're identifying things differently this year, and again, that speaks to the things that we're trying to do - the experience and the maturity that we're building in the group.

“It comes back to the girls. No one can do the work more than us, taking every challenge into our stride, putting the work in, and pulling each other through it as well.”

KARA ANTONIO: What it means to receive your jumper
As proceedings were fully underway, backline coach and inaugural captain Kara Antonio touched on how much it meant to her when she received her first jumper, and how it felt to wear it with pride.

“I remember seven or eight years ago when I received my first jumper,” Antonio said.

“On reflection it was really a time that I could sit back and think about all the hard work, determination, grit, obstacles and the challenges that I faced along the journey to get me to where I was, in receiving that jumper, which was a really proud moment for myself and my family.

“Every time I used to pull the jumper on, it was a privilege. It wasn't anything I ever took for granted and it was something that I was always really proud of.

“It was about my family, my friends who had got me there, the coaching staff, the football club that had backed me in, but most importantly the teammates that I would run out every single week with, knowing that they had my back and I had theirs.

“There's also a number of girls today who will receive their first ever Fremantle jumper, which is so exciting.”

Antonio gave some words of wisdom and advice to the playing group before they received their 2024 jumper.

“I just want you to think about the legacy piece, whether it's your second year or your ninth season," Antonio said.

“What legacy do you want to leave when the jumper is no longer yours and you're about to pass it on?

“For me it was about leaving the jumper in a better place and leaving the Club in a better place than when I found it, but each individual will have their own legacy piece that they want to leave.

“That’s really the message I want to leave for each one of you girls today, receiving a jumper from obviously someone very special to you, a family member or someone that's impacted your career or your life.”