West Coast fell to the Dockers by just eight points in the round one AFLW RAC Derby, and despite the result, there were many positives to take away from the game.
Eagles coach Michael Prior said the team will learn from the loss and continue to push forward with their current style of play.
“We’ve reviewed it, we think we gave ourselves some chances early,” Prior said.
“We just missed in front of goal, at one end of the ground ‘Hooks’ (Dana Hooker) had a snap and it was going towards goal until the last metre and it took a left-hand turn, and one up the other end bounced over one of our girls in the goal square for a Freo goal.
“We came out of halftime and it was six shots a piece, they had obviously kicked a couple and we hadn’t, and then in the last quarter we got trapped on the far side of the ground a fair bit, there’s a few learning that will come out of that.
“Contests around the footy we thought were really strong all day, and we think our style is going to stand up.”
The Eagles take on Gold Coast this Saturday in their first road trip of the season and Prior said they’re expecting a tough game against a good Suns side.
“What we do know about Gold Coast based on last year is that they’re a really strong contested team,” Prior said.
“I managed to catch the last quarter of their game against Carlton and it just seems that maybe the pressure from Carlton dropped slightly, and then Gold Coast won some centre clearances in that last quarter and were able to score pretty quickly off the back of that.
“So, three goals in the last quarter, we know they’re a good side and we’re going up there looking to get the points.”
Teenage sensation Ella Roberts was nominated for the round one Rising Star after her impressive performance against Fremantle last weekend, an honour she said she was not expecting.
“I wasn’t really expecting it, definitely not,” Roberts said.
“I was very honoured, it was nice to get it over and done with in round one, now I can just focus on playing some good footy.”
With her role evolving from key forward to spending more time in the midfield, Roberts said she’s enjoying the variation.
“Obviously I’ll play wherever the team needs me, but I’m kind of loving the 50/50 role,” Roberts said.
“I can get up around the contest, but also back and hopefully kick some goals.”
Having played only 11 games of AFLW so far, Prior said he’s excited to see what Roberts is capable of as she develops.
“I think Ella is capable of being one of the best players in the competition moving forward,” Prior said.
“I still think there’s a lot of improvement in Ella’s game and there’s a lot of things that she can still work on and get better.
“But if you look at someone who’s played 11 games, what she’s been able to do in 11 games is pretty special, and I think in the next two or three years, we will see the full potential and I think we’ve got a pretty special player.”
