Fremantle has confirmed its final team of 21 to take on Brisbane Lions in the Club’s first home game of the season on Saturday afternoon, headlined by the return of forward Phil Seth.
Seth has been named on the interchange bench and replaces Tunisha Kikoak, who entered concussion protocols following a head knock during Fremantle’s Sunday clash with Port Adelaide.
Seth’s last appearance in purple was in the Club’s Semi Final against Adelaide last season, where she booted a goal, and the week prior to that, celebrated her 50th AFLW game in the Elimination Final against Essendon.
Joining Seth in Fremantle’s bench of five consists of Amy Mulholland, Gabby Biedenweg-Webster, Dana East and Indi Strom.
Fremantle Senior Coach Lisa Webb said the side will take this opportunity with both hands against the Brisbane Lions.
“It’s a challenge for us, but one we want to be in. We talked about this late last year against Adelaide, and these are the positions we want to be in,” Webb said.
“We want to be the best and this is a gift for us to come up against a side that’s really strong early in the season and we’re looking forward to this challenge.”
After a stint up forward in Round 1, Hayley Miller has been named in the midfield alongside Gabby Newton and Kiara Bowers, with Ange Stannett and Orlagh Lally on the wing, and Mim Strom in the ruck.
“We’ve got a really great midfield. Hayley didn’t play midfield minutes last week and neither did Ange, and that’s the beauty that we can bring those players through whenever we need to,” Webb teased in Thursday morning’s media conference.
“They’re very important players for us and trying to get that midfield mix right is difficult, but a good problem to have.”
Midfield machine Aish McCarthy, who is known to be dangerous on the scoreboard, has been named in the forward line alongside Georgie Brisbane, Meg Kauffman, Bella Smith, and Sarah Verrier.
This will be Fremantle’s first time hosting the Lions at Fremantle Oval since Season 5 in 2021, where the Club fell short to Brisbane by 11 points.
“We look forward to getting down to Freo (Oval). We haven’t been in front of our home crowd for a while and we’re really excited about that opportunity,” Webb said.
Jo Cregg, Evie Parker and Indi West have been named as the three emergencies for the clash.
Bouncedown on Saturday is at 3.05pm WST at Fremantle Oval.
The game will be broadcast live on 7mate and Fox Sports, and streamed live on Kayo, Binge and 7plus from 3pm WST.
