The West Coast Eagles AFLW team will take on Richmond in round one of their 2024 campaign in less than a months’ time, and co-vice-captain Bella Lewis said the new-look lineup is pushing for success.
“Success doesn’t come over night, but I think it’s the buy-in that we have from the whole group and the whole coaching staff and to be able to go through our values and see what that looks like on-field,” Lewis said.
“We’re not shying away from the fact that we want to win games, in the past it’s been a little bit of just holding on to not losing, but I think with some of the fresh ideas and fresh faces that have come in, it’s been a real chapter turning moment for us.
“So, why not? We’ve got the talent and now we’ve got the resources to be able to bring that talent together and be really successful so why can’t we do that?”
After an extended pre-season period that commenced in January, Lewis said the group is excited to play against opposition when they face Fremantle on Friday night in match simulation training.
“We’re getting to that point in the pre-season where we’re ready to stop playing on each other,” Lewis said.
“We’re really excited that we’ve got the opportunity to play against live ‘oppo’ (opposition) in Fremantle and then St Kilda next week, and then Richmond in round one.
“The girls are really excited and we’re just keen to get out there.
“We’ve played intraclub, we’ve played match sim, and you always think you’re going pretty well.
“But to be able to test that against opposition and see what we need to improve and what our strengths are, and to be able to do that against Freo, who we will verse in the season, is going to be a really good opportunity.”
Lewis praised new senior coach and AFLW icon Daisy Pearce for what she has brought to the table so far.
“We have had a bit of change within our program but it’s always refreshing to have new people coming in,” Lewis said.
“What Daisy brings, she brings in spades and it’s no secret about the culture that she’s brought.
“She’s got a great footy IQ brain, but the way she connects us and the coaching staff is a really powerful tool, and I’m really excited to see how it transitions onto the field as well.”
West Coast are entering into their sixth season in the AFLW having never made finals, but Lewis there’s no limit to how far the team can go this season.
“We refer to an analogy of an archery board, why are you going for the outside when you may as well just go for the middle,” Lewis said.
“So, why just aim to make finals, we’re trying to see how successful we can be, if you put a limit on it, I think if you get there you kind of just give it away a little bit.
“We’re just trying to go with the process and a lot of that for us is mindset, so if we can just continue week in and week out, I’m sure the results will come with that.”
The Eagles recruited 10 new talents in the off-season, with each player bringing their own strengths and additions to the side.
“We’ve got a lot of individual flair and talent that we can bring together in our system,” Lewis said.
“I think we’ve been able to do that a lot more than in previous years, I think our effort, our work rate and our ability to control the ball and skill execution has been a lot better.”
