Experienced defender Leah Mascall has called time on her playing career at Fremantle after four years with the club.

Mascall last played for Fremantle in last year’s 70-point semi-final win against Gold Coast before the 2020 season was cut short prematurely.

The 30-year-old sustained an ACL injury to her left knee during training in December of last year and missed the entire 2021 season.

A popular member of the group, Mascall said she will cherish her time at the club.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time at Freo and as much as I’ve dealt with injuries over the journey I would absolutely do it all again in a heartbeat,” Mascall said.

“I can’t rate the program any higher and I think the way it is organised is a really well-oiled machine.

“There is such a good squad of staff and players, it’s been amazing.

Mascall pointed to the thrill of playing two games at Optus Stadium as stand-out moments from her four-year AFLW career.

“I was lucky enough to play in the very first AFLW game at Optus Stadium against Collingwood which we won back in 2018,” Mascall said.

“Playing in front of that crowd was amazing…and then the very first RAC Derby at Optus Stadium.

“They are two games that are hard to beat for sure.”

As for what’s next, Mascall is certainly not planning to put the feet up anytime soon.

“I’ve got a few things left in the pipeline!” Mascall said.

“In the near future, I want to have a go at racing motorbikes…I might be out there this year depending on how things go.

“I’m a hockey player by trade so potentially a bit of that and I’ve done triathlons before.

“There’s certainly a few things that I’d like to go back to doing, so I’ll be keeping myself entertained with something like that.”

Senior coach Trent Cooper said Mascall had been an incredible team player over the past four years.

“Leah came onto our list in the second year of the women’s competition and despite constantly battling injuries she put together a really good career” Cooper said.

“She transitioned from a midfielder who gathered a fair bit of the ball at WAWFL level to a lockdown defender.

“Leah was willing to do whatever she could for the team and that was probably what epitomised her the most and why her teammates loved playing with her.”

Cooper said exit interviews for the playing group would be carried out over the weekend.

“The next part of the process is our exit interviews for all the players,” Cooper said.

“They will be conducted over the next two days before the players go on leave.

“We will then consider further list changes in the period leading up to the sign and trade period.”