West Coast forward Aimee Schmidt is relishing the opportunity to play football off of ‘instinct’ and said her freedom in the forward line has been a positive in an unorthodox season.

During a stint in the Melbourne hub and quarantine Schmidt managed to string together a series of consistent performances and impressed in round seven at home against Richmond, booting three goals from 12 disposals.

Schmidt is the current leading goal scorer for the Eagles – with seven from nine matches – which has surpassed her previous numbers across five seasons with the Giants.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing up forward this year with the girls and I think I’ve been able to play with a bit of freedom,” Schmidt said.

“I think that’s really suited me and obviously being able to kick some goals is really awesome.

“That licence to play footy off instinct has really helped, whether that’s come from years of experience or whether I’ve just been lucky and the ball’s bounced my way at the right time,” she laughed.

“I put it on my boot, hope for the best and usually I look up and it’s gone through the big sticks.

“Now, I’m just trying to take that leadership role to the next level and trying to help the young girls and support the forwards as much as I can.”

While the group has faced adversity across the year, Schmidt said another takeaway from the season is the players’ tight-knit relationships off-field.

The hub experience has bonded the team – ranging from ages 17 to 33 – and Schmidt is hopeful this can translate into on-field performances in their match against North Melbourne on Saturday and next season.

“It’s been quite challenging because we’ve had a lot of curveballs thrown at us this year,” Schmidt said.

“But I think the positives to come away from it is that it’s probably bonded the group a lot more.

“If we can improve on that bond and take that bond onto the field I think that’s something that we can use as a positive.

“It’s definitely something that can push us and drive us forward and make us a better team.

“Obviously we haven’t got the results that we want, but we’ve got to try and find some positives in the season and I think that team bond has gone over and above.

“I think the forwards group is a really fun group to be around, the whole team is.

“Being in the hub we got to see a lot of those personalities come out which is awesome, so I think the group is just a fun group and I’m really loving it here.”