AFL
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Fremantle AFLW recruit Ash Brazill has placed her confidence in the Club’s leadership group despite Club captain Ange Stannett being sidelined for the entire 2024 season.

After being traded from Collingwood in the off-season back to her native Western Australia, Brazill has quickly found her feet within the four walls of Fremantle after being named in the Club’s leadership group before her first season in the purple.

“I’ve been here three or four months now, and I feel like I’ve been here for years,” Brazill said in her Thursday morning media conference.

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'Anything is possible' | Ash Brazill

Ash Brazill spoke to WA Media leading into next week's season opener against Essendon.

“If you’re not an athlete and you’re looking from the outside in, you’re like, ‘why would you have a captain who’s on the sidelines?’”

“I’ve had injuries before, and I’ve been a captain that has sat on the sidelines, but with what this group (Fremantle) can do, anything is possible.”

Speaking on Stannett’s new role, Brazill was confident that the captain would be able to offer a fresh perspective on the games while leading from the sidelines.

“Seeing what Ange is actually doing as a leader off the field, she’s able to watch the game in a different light and is able to give us that feedback."

- Ash Brazill

"When you’re on the field, you’re only really able to focus on your game, whereas she’s now able to sit back, hear the coaches, deliver what the coaches are saying, and she’s learning more being off the field.

“I’m actually excited to see what she can do in a year’s time (when she returns from her ACL injury), but for now, what she’s doing—I think anyone would die to have a leader that good and give that sort of advice.”

This sentiment is one Brazill also shares for senior coach Lisa Webb.

“I’ve never had a coach who is so strategic,” Brazill said.

“She’s all about the connection from the backline to the midfield to the forwards.

"We all know what each other are doing, and if you switch in from a back to a mid, you are expected to know what your role is.”

With just over a week to go until the women play their first official game, Brazill expressed her excitement to see the end of the preseason.

“I think our training standards are awesome. It’s my first preseason as an AFLW player… I’ve never done so much running in my life,” Brazill said.

Fremantle’s women’s team will kick off their 2024 campaign against Essendon at Windy Hill on Saturday 31 August.