Senior AFLW coach Trent Cooper runs through how the Fremantle-listed players fared in rounds seven and eight of the WAFLW.
ROUND SEVEN
East Fremantle 2.4 (16) def by Subiaco 5.6 (36)
Subiaco were really dominant in this game and it was played in pretty tough conditions. Subi secured their domination through the midfield and never looked like losing.
Philipa Seth (East Fremantle)
Philipa played a fair bit through the middle and down back. She was very solid without really making a huge stamp on the game.
Gabby O’Sullivan (East Fremantle)
Gabby was quite good, she’s been in pretty consistent form without tearing games apart and we’re pleased with how she’s going.
Evie Gooch (East Fremantle)
It was Evie’s first game back and she was probably East Fremantle’s best, so it was really pleasing to see her step straight back into it after her minor arm injury.
Hayley Miller (Subiaco)
Hayley was really influential with her run and metres gained and played a big role for the Lions.
Leah Mascall (Subiaco)
Leah had a shut-down role on Roxy Roux, who is one of East Freo’s better players, and did a good job there.
Lindal Rohde (Subiaco)
Our new rookie signing, Lindal had her first game for Subi as a Freo player and she was very good. She’s been very consistent with her form on the wing and we’ve been rapt with the way she’s been going. She did very well against quality opposition.
Claremont 4.3 (27) def by Swan Districts 6.5 (41)
This was a really good game with quite a few AFLW players in action.
Gemma Houghton (Swan Districts)
It was Gemma Houghton’s first game back and we were really pleased with her She was a little bit fumbly, which was to be expected, but her forward pressure and lead-up was really good. She had a goal and two goal assists, so we’re rapt with her first game back.
Ange Stannett (Swan Districts)
Ange continues to build and she was really good through the midfield. She was on limited minutes and started every quarter on the bench but when she came on she had a great impact. She used the ball really long and made good decisions.
Jasmin Stewart (Claremont)
Jas bounced back from a quiet game the previous week and she impressed through the middle and kicked a lovely goal from a long way out and gave Claremont a lot of drive through there.
Laura Pugh (Claremont)
Laura was Claremont’s best last week across half back. This week she played through the midfield and was very good through that area. She played more of a quarterback role and got a hold of plenty of possessions and distributed it well.
ROUND EIGHT
East Fremantle 5.7 (37) def Swan Districts 4.5 (29)
Both games were played at the same time on the weekend in pretty tough conditions on Saturday afternoon in the rain. I watched the East Fremantle v Swans game and it was a really entertaining game with lots of momentum swings where East Freo just held on for the win.
Philipa Seth (East Fremantle)
Philipa was very good through the middle with a very consistent four-quarter effort. She drove the ball forward, was really good in the clearances and was one of East Freo’s best.
Evie Gooch (East Fremantle)
Was close to East Freo’s best. Evie played through the middle as well and in a quarterback / sweeper role. She took a lot of intercept marks and drove the ball forward really well.
Gabby O’Sullivan (East Fremantle)
Played across half forward, it was a tough day for forwards but Gabby still had an influence. She didn’t have a heap of touches but she had some very influential ones.
Gemma Houghton (Swan Districts)
It was Gemma’s second game back and she really impressed and almost got Swans over the line. She took two really big contested marks and goals and she took two more marks in the dying stages but unfortunately for Swans, she missed her shots which would have made the result really interesting.
Ange Stannett (Swan Districts)
It was Ange’s final game before she has a bit of a break. She was a bit slow to get started in the game but she worked her way in through the midfield and we’ve been really happy with the body of work that she’s had so far playing midfield and preparing for another AFLW season.
Peel Thunder 0.1 (1) def by Claremont 4.6 (30)
The Peel v Claremont game was played in atrocious conditions. The ground down at Mandurah was almost under water and it was a really comfortable victory to Claremont. Peel struggled to get it forward and Claremont had the ball in their front half for probably 80 per cent of the day.
Tayla Bresland (Peel)
Played forward in the first half and just didn’t get near it as the ball didn’t get up there. She went to the backline in the second half and was one of Peel’s best in defence, so it was good to see her get back into familiar territory. Tayla’s done a good body of work up forward, just to free her up and get a different skill set, but she’ll probably spend the rest of the season in defence now.
Sabreena Duffy (Peel)
Sabreena had her first game back. She’s still very much underdone so she’s on limited game time. She didn’t have a big impact for Peel but it’s just good to have her back out there and she can build from there.
Jasmin Stewart (Claremont)
It was really pleasing to see Jasmin back to her best football. She kept her feet in the wet conditions, had 10 touches in the first quarter and continued on her way to being one of Claremont’s best.
Laura Pugh (Claremont)
Started back and then went through the midfield. She’s been really consistent in her games this year and we’ve been really happy with her form.