Fremantle captain Kara Antonio is eager to help the next group of talent to arrive at Freo and realise their AFLW dream.

This year is a little different for the Fremantle leader however, as she prepares to tune in to Tuesday’s NAB AFLW National Draft from the west coast of America.

Antonio is currently in California honeymooning with wife and Freo teammate Ebony after they tied the knot earlier this month.

“It’s exciting, we’ll be watching the draft from America so we’re pumped to see who we can get because there’s some really great young talent out there,” Antonio said.

“It’s so great that the next crop of players coming through will get their opportunity to play AFLW, it’s what dreams are made of. 

“I’m looking forward to meeting all my new teammates when we get back at the start of November.”

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Tuesday’s draft has an extra edge, with Freo sharing the WA talent pool this year with West Coast, as they join the competition in 2020.

“This year’s draft is a bit more exciting than previous years because we’ve got the Eagles in this year,” Antonio said.

“The fighting for players part is probably very stressful for the football department but it’s pretty exciting for us because we don’t know who we are going to get.

“I’ll be ready to text all the newcomers as soon as they are drafted so I’m looking forward to watching.” 

Fremantle’s AFLW squad have been working through their individual training programs ahead of their upcoming pre-season starting in November.

Antonio said the group is fit and firing for 2020 and looking to take the next step, after reaching the heights of a preliminary final in 2019.

“We’re really keen to get started and hit the ground running,” Antonio said.

“We obviously still have lots of fire in the belly from what happened last season, going down to Carlton in that prelim final and missing out on the big dance.

“We’ve stuck together and made a pact that we are ready to go again after some unfinished business in 2019.

“You can feel the vibe around the club already and the girls are ready to go.”