Fremantle have named their team of 21 to take on Essendon in their elimination final at Fremantle Oval on Saturday afternoon, headlined by the inclusion of Ash Brazill.
The defender was ruled out during the third quarter of the week 9 clash with GWS to manage an ankle injury, and missed the final match of the home and away season last week against the Bulldogs.
Brazill has been named on the interchange bench and replaces Joanne Cregg who has been omitted for the clash and listed as an emergency.
Sarah Verrier and Phil Seth will each play their 50th AFLW match for Fremantle this weekend, with Verrier named in the midfield and Seth on the interchange bench.
The pair have each won Fremantle’s Best First Year player award when they came onboard, with Seth earning the award in 2019 and Verrier in 2021.
Verrier was drafted at pick 14 in the 2020 AFLW Draft, and made her debut against GWS in round 1 of the 2021 season.
While the 22-year-old has spent the majority of her career in the backline, she has the versatility to swing into the midfield and forward line when required, and kicked a goal in the round 6 clash with Geelong.
Verrier and Seth spoke to media on Thursday morning ahead of their milestone match, and touched on what it will mean to wear the purple jumper for the 50th time.
“I love living the high and lows with the Club,” Verrier said.
“Whatever we go through, we’ve always stuck together and stayed as a really tight family so I’m just happy to be at this Club and happy to go forward in finals.”
Selected at pick 28 in the 2018 AFLW Draft, Seth made an instant impact in the side and debuted against Melbourne in round 1, 2019.
Like Verrier, Seth has played predominantly in the backline throughout her career, yet has also swung forward when required.
“My favourite part of a game day is definitely at the end when we all get to sing and celebrate,” Seth said.
“Even watching our games back, I often look at when we finish and how we all come together and celebrate.
“The opportunity to do that when we get the (win) is really special, and of course we’re hoping we can do that again this week.”
Seth touched on the excitement in the group to play in a finals match, with it being the first time for over half the squad.
“We’re really excited to be back there again under a new team – I’m pretty sure half the team haven’t experienced finals before, so I think it’s really exciting,” Seth said.
“(Round 1) still seems like it was forever ago. I know we’ve changed a lot in how we’ve played since (then), and I’m sure (Essendon) have done exactly the same.”
Defender Laura Pugh will captain the side in the absence of Ange Stannett, who continues to manage her coaching role from the bench.
Ariana Hetherington and Tahleah Mulder join Cregg as the three emergencies for the match.
Bouncedown is at 4pm WST, with the game to be broadcast live on Fox Footy and Channel 7, as well as being streamed live on Kayo Sports.
