It was a lively atmosphere at Victor George Kailis Oval as Fremantle’s AFL and AFLW teams combined at training on Saturday afternoon.

It was a mix of hard work and fun, as the teams came together for an afternoon of ball games and bonding out on the track.

Michael Walters and Ebony Antonio said the occasion was overdue.

“It was pretty fun…this is the first time we’ve done it, so it was really good fun,” Walters said.

“It was good to hang out with the girls; we see each other around the traps but we don’t really get that chance to mingle and play some games.” 

“It was fantastic they allowed us to train with the boys today,” Antonio said.

“Since the first season we’ve been wanting the opportunity (to train with the boys).

“Hopefully we can get a few more training sessions like this.”

Walters said he had adopted a refreshed approach to training this pre-season, looking to work smarter in the lead-up to round one. 

“The thing for me is to be smart while training,” Walters said.

“In the past I’ve been working with my heart rather than my brain and along with that comes injury.

“This year has been somewhat different; I’ve worked hard but I’ve also been smart in my training.

“My focus is being fit and pushing again for the midfield this year, but also playing down forward when they need me.”

Just over nine weeks out from round one of the AFLW competition, Antonio said the group was fitter and more than ready to get started.

“It’s a lot of excitement, we lost eight or nine girls to other teams obviously but the girls that we’ve brought in are fantastic characters,” Antonio said. 

“The young girls that we’ve brought in are not just going to be great players for next year but they are future prospects that can play for 10 years at Freo.

“There’s a lot of excitement around the group and we’re really fit as a group, probably better this time than last year.

“We just can’t wait to hit round one and we’re ready to go.”