Fremantle have registered their second win of the pre-season with a hard-fought 15-point victory over Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval on Saturday.  

Both sides were missing several key players for the match-simulation clash, which was played on a dewy deck, with the 6.9 (45) to 4.6 (30) win. 

Gabby Newton stepped up to skipper the side in the absence of captain Ange Stannett and set the tone early with a strong tackle in the centre square. 

The first quarter was a scrappy affair with neither side able to convert pushes forward into goals. Ash Brazill showed leadership in the back half and made her presence felt. 

An early snap by the home side saw Port take the lead fresh out of the quarter-time break, but it wasn’t long before Bella Smith took her opportunity. A left foot snap giving Fremantle their first major. Matilda Banfield seized a ground ball for Fremantle’s second, which handed Fremantle the ascendancy heading into the main break. 

Once again, the stand-in skipper Newton led by example as the third quarter got underway, laying strong pressure from the first ball up.  

Port converted an early set shot for goal before Mim Strom began to exert her dominance in the forward fifty. Strom and Meg Kauffman are working hard to set up a Kauffman snap for the goal. Noa McNaughton crumbing a second for the term to keep Freo in front at three-quarter time. 

Tunisha Kikoak competed strongly all day in a standout game for the young forward, including increased minutes in the ruck. Kikoak and Smith pinch-hit to allow Strom space up forward. The All-Australian booted two final-term goals to hand Fremantle a 15-point win. 

Senior coach Lisa Webb praised the forwards’ efforts post-match. 

“The learnings for TK and Bella were fantastic,” Webb said. 

“They’re two young players who are really growing in what they can do, and for them to ruck a solid amount of time was great for us.” 

Webb was also impressed with Madi Scanlon, who returned to the field playing managed minutes following a quad injury. 

“Having her back out there, I thought she was terrific, and it was a great reminder of the strengths that she has, and it was exciting to watch her,” Webb said. 

Webb was pleased with another pre-season victory but is keen to get to work on a number of learnings from the match. 

“They threw a few different challenges at us in terms of spares behind the ball, but we managed to work on the field,” Webb said. 

“The players took great accountability and were able to act on some of the learnings from the off-season and implement them in-game. 

“We had quite a different team out there, which was fantastic to see. We had a lot of young players out there, I thought, who really stood up in key moments.  

“We’ll get a lot of learnings from today, where we need to improve, but on the whole, exposure and on-the-field learnings would account for the biggest growth in our group today.” 

Fremantle will return to Perth to begin preparations for their only official practice match of the pre-season against Richmond at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday 25 July at 10.30 am. 

The Fremantle v Richmond AFLW Pre-Season match is open to the public and will also be broadcast live on Kayo.  

Match Simulation #2 
Fremantle v Port Adelaide 
Alberton Oval 

FREMANTLE             6.9 (45) 
PORT ADELAIDE        4.6 (30) 

GOALS: Strom 2, Smith, Banfield, Kauffman, McNaughton 
BEST: Brazill, Newton, Strom, Kikoak 

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