Intercept defender Belinda Smith says West Coast’s effort must improve in Saturday night’s clash against the Western Bulldogs as the Eagles attempt to rebound from last round’s disappointing loss to Brisbane.

Getting back to the basics of football is integral for the group as they come into the final two matches of the AFLW season, facing potential 2022 finalists in the Bulldogs and North Melbourne.

Being competitive will allow the Eagles to build some momentum as they come into the off-season and allow the group to internalise their improvement this year, before another extended pre-season in 2023.

“We can really get some good learnings out of them and show a good bit of momentum going into next season, which is important as well,” Smith said.

“I think we just need to come back together as a group and really go back to the basics of footy.

“We’ll just keep chipping away and are already looking to have another really big pre-season again.

“It’s going to show a lot of the character in our group to see how we regroup and go again, and it will show a lot of resilience, a lot of fight if we can.

“It’s just little focuses for the whole group as well, let’s just get the ball going our way and with the contested footy to start with.

“Put your body on the line and show the effort that we didn’t see last week against Brisbane.”

The 2022 campaign has thrown challenges at the Eagles, and the hub experience was an eye-opener for the group in discovering the inner workings of life as professional footballers.

“The hub was fun, it was a different experience, it’s hard when you put a group of football teammates and friends into a working environment 24/7,” Smith said.

“So that in itself has its own challenges, but it was a good chance to get away, bond with the girls and get to know the girls better.

“It was also a good chance to really address some issues within our program, we can come in and train really well for the 15 hours we’re contracted a week.

“But seeing what we do and our actions and behaviours outside of those hours, I think, was pretty eye opening for everyone.

“What it takes to be a professional footballer is putting in 24/7 dedication to football, and whether that’s eating right, sleeping right, to recovering correctly.

“I think we all took away a lot of things individually and as a group that we need to work on.

“The connection between the group has never really wavered, we’re a really tight-knit group, we all have so much love for each other.

“It’s just at the moment it’s not translating on-field and there is frustrations in that.”