Fremantle AFLW player Aine Tighe will re-unite with her teammates on Thursday night after finishing her hotel quarantine stint following her return to Perth from Ireland.
At 11pm on Wednesday night, the versatile ruck/forward completed her 14-day hotel stay, but for Tighe the two-week period was far from time wasted.
“I was very lucky, the hotel has been fantastic, I was looking out over the Swan River while I exercised, so I couldn’t complain too much,” Tighe said.
“Kate Starre (Fremantle’s AFLW high performance manager) was awesome in giving me a program to work on while I was in my hotel room.
“The exercise was good for breaking up the time as well…I watched a bit of Netflix, worked online for a couple of hours a day and just chilled out really.
“In saying that, I can’t wait to get cracking and get back down to the Club on Thursday to train.”
Tighe returned to her home country throughout the AFLW off-season, with an individual program set for her by the club.
“Obviously, it’s a bit different in terms of Covid-19 back home at the moment,” Tighe said.
“The last six weeks in Ireland we have been in full lockdown so other than work reasons or essential reasons we haven’t been able to travel anywhere.
“Luckily, I was able to keep working away at my home gym and the cCub gave me plenty of training to keep on top of things.”
Tighe is eager to re-join her Fremantle teammates who she hasn’t seen for a number of months.
“The girls sent me gifts on one of my very first days of hotel quarantine, it was a nice little pick me up,” Tighe said.
“There was a bit of training equipment, some books and some magazines and even a little bit of chocolate in there to keep me going as well, it was really nice.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back down and being part of the group.
“I’ve been training on my own for a long stint over the last couple of months, so I’m really looking forward to getting down and having a kick.”
While a season-ending knee injury meant Fremantle fans weren’t able to see the Irish recruit in action last season, Tighe had glowing reviews of both Mim Strom and Roxy Roux who stepped up to shoulder the ruck load in her absence.
“They were phenomenal – we saw it early on in terms of what Mim could do in the pre-season and that she was more than capable of stepping up and delivering,” Tighe said.
“She just grew with every game, it was fantastic to see.
“Roxy is obviously a superstar and will be for years to come…and she is well able to hold her own in any capacity.
“For both Mim and Roxy to come into the competition in their first year and have that kind of impact is phenomenal and I’m just excited to see them grow over the coming seasons.”
