With pre-season for the 2025 NAB AFLW Season officially underway, players were challenged with three sets of 1km time trials, setting the tone and intensity for the remainder of the year.

The group returned fit and firing, after months of putting in the work behind the scenes during optional pro-block training. 
 
New recruit Tilly Banfield and inaugural player Kiara Bowers led the way at Monday afternoon’s time trials, finishing side by side on every set. 
 
Fremantle signed Banfield as a Rookie Signing in December last year, where she was identified early on as an ‘elite runner’ and has since settled in smoothly for her first AFLW pre-season.

Bowers has always been known for her speed and tenacity, but remains equally as impressive, given that she gave birth to her beautiful son Luca in August 2024.  
 
The pair were consistently challenged by speedy midfielder Meg Kauffman, who placed third behind Banfield and Bowers for each time trial. 
 
Jo Cregg and Phil Seth rounded out the top five for overall average across the three sets, and for two out of the three individual sets, while Orlagh Lally and Gabby Biedenweg-Webster featured once each in trials two and three. 
 
Team morale and spirit was on display, with the group pushing each other throughout the run, hyping each other up in the breaks, and congratulating one another at the end. 

Time Trial 1 
Tilly Banfield 
Kiara Bowers 
Meg Kauffman 
Phil Seth  
Jo Cregg  
 
Time Trial 2 
Tilly Banfield 
Kiara Bowers 
Meg Kauffman 
Orlagh Lally 
Phil Seth 
 
Time Trial 3 
Tilly Banfield 
Kiara Bowers 
Meg Kauffman 
Jo Cregg 
Gabby Biedenweg-Webster