In a moving speech at Sunday’s Fairest and Best, senior coach Trent Cooper spoke about his pride in coaching the Club’s AFLW group.
It was announced on the evening that Cooper would coach Freo for a further two seasons and Cooper said he felt that Freo’s AFLW team embodied the culture at the Club.
“It’s probably something I’ve taken for granted (as a coach), which I shouldn’t. It’s the fight we put in every week no matter what the circumstances are,” Cooper said.
“We haven’t lost a second half for two years, and sometimes we’ve put ourselves in big holes and we’ve been able to dig ourselves out, and sometimes we fell just short.
“I think it’s such a Fremantle thing to have that fight.
“We’ve seen it with the boys in the way they play and in the way the women play as well.
“I think as a supporter, you’d be really happy to support a club that does that. It’s what I’m most proud of as a coach.”
Cooper said that the Fairest and Best night was an important evening to acknowledge those who have made outstanding contributions to the team.
“I think the people that win the awards tonight are not just team players, but they do their trademark, they raise the bar and were improving,” Cooper said.
“It’s been phenomenal to have someone like Kiara Bowers, who will surely finish near the top tonight, she went away and she improved over the offseason – the people we acknowledge tonight have all done that and they’re all team players and we’re lucky to have them at the club.”
