Emotions were high at Victoria Park on Sunday as the West Coast Eagles made their AFLW debut against Collingwood at their traditional home ground.

With 10 Eagles making their first foray into senior football, the team needed its most experienced players to step up and show the way.

And that’s exactly what boom recruit Dana Hooker did.

The two-time AFLW best and fairest award runner-up was all class in her first outing as an Eagle, amassing 18 disposals (15 kicks, three handballs) running through the midfield.

She also had the honour of kicking the club’s first official AFLW goal after pouncing on a desperate handball from fellow onballer Imahra Cameron and kicking truly on her right boot from 30m out just three and a half minutes into the contest.

Hooker was ably assisted in the midfield by her skipper, Emma Swanson, who also registered 18 touches, Cameron (13 disposals) and 18-year-old winger Mikayla Bowen, who stuck 10 tackles in her AFLW debut.

But it was her ability to consistently extract the ball from stoppages, break the lines and surge the ball forward that helped her claim this week’s Best Eagle Afield gong.

The 29-year-old was further rewarded with seven AFL Coaches Association votes from senior coaches Luke Dwyer and Steve Symonds.

Swanson received five votes for her inspirational performances against the Pies.