Fremantle have secured a place in finals for the first time in three seasons and will face Essendon at home on Saturday afternoon in an Elimination Final.
Senior Coach Lisa Webb spoke to media on Tuesday morning and reflected on the group’s growth since week one, as well as the determination to stay on task in the absence of key players.
“We’ve made finals, which is really pleasing. We’ve been aiming for that (and) obviously it’s a big focus of ours to continue to improve and with that has come finals,” Webb said.
“We’ve lost players during pre-season and then we’ve lost some during the season and their (the team) ability to just keep getting back to work is amazing.
“I’m just proud of the group. They’ve never dipped away, they’ve always anchored back to what we need to improve on, where we need to get better and that’s a really great sign for our group going forward.”
Webb praised the connected squad, and said the players don’t shy away from having tough conversations and helping each other improve.
“We’ve got a really great balance. They love hanging out together, (and) they love challenging each other and that’s probably something we’ve improved on, those hard conversations,” Webb said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Ange Stannett or (Tara) Stribley, Morro (Mikayla Morrison), Holly (Ifould), who are younger players – if you’re not pulling your weight or doing the right thing, the girls will continue to challenge you.
“The great thing is we’ve got buy in, so there hasn’t had to be too many of those conversations, which is really pleasing.
“We all want to make it and we all want to get that premiership success, and we know that’s an all-in mentality with this group.
“They’re really connected, they’re honest, and they’re really caring off-field for each other as well.”
Ange Stannett has had to manage her captaincy from the sidelines throughout the season, after an ACL injury took away the chance of running out on the field in 2024.
“She’s incredible. She’s one of our bench coaches,” Webb said on Stannett.
“Trademark is a massive part of us and how we want to perform on field as well, and she holds the players accountable for that as she does herself.
“Having her there on game day but also leading leadership meetings, she’s so great and (I’m) just so pleased for her growth, improvement, and being able to get through what is a very difficult time for a non-playing player.”
Encouraging the Purple Army to get down to Fremantle Oval on Saturday, Webb insists the side will leave nothing out on the field.
“Now (it’s) back to zero. It’s exciting we get a shot to play Essendon,” Webb said.
“We want as many fans there as we can because we know we play our best footy in front of them.
“I can tell you right now the girls that are in the change rooms, working hard, believe they can beat anyone and so do I.
“We’ve grown a lot since week one and we’re looking forward to making sure that this week we play our best football of the season.”
Get familiar with Freo Oval before game day using the map below.
