All-Australian defender Emma O’Driscoll helped lift Fremantle to a 20-point win over Collingwood in their Round 2 clash at Victoria Park in Melbourne. 

O’Driscoll had a dominant opening quarter and finished with 22 touches, 11 intercepts, seven marks and three tackles in a game that saw Fremantle get their first victory of the 2026 AFLW season. 

“It felt amazing to be back out there with the girls. Last week I had to be a spectator. I’m not a great spectator but I’m obviously the biggest cheerleader," O’Driscoll said. 

"You can’t control anything from the sidelines so just to get back out there with the girls and bring some energy, I don’t have to do anything crazy, just bring the energy and voice and that’s what I did and that’s what the girls did as well.

“It was even better to get the win.”  

Fremantle performed with greater intensity and tackle pressure from the first ball-up as they looked to put their Round 1 loss to Port Adelaide behind them. 

“We were disappointed with our performance last week, we didn’t play like us,” O’Driscoll said.  

“At the end of the game I was just yelling ‘that’s our footy’ just bringing it back to what we do best, and we absolutely smashed the contest. I thought our mids were great. Our forwards got their hands on the ball, and it wasn’t pretty at times, we don’t need to be sexy, we just need to apply pressure and get the ball going forward. 

“Box ticked for me personally getting out of rehab but also to get the W was great. After last week’s effort, the girls were super hungry and you saw that because our performance was phenomenal.” 

Four-time All-Australian Kiara Bowers showed no sign of slowing down in her eleventh season. The 2021 AFLW Best and Fairest winner with another solid performance amassing 26 touches and seven trademark tackles.  

“There was one effort where she just ran down and tackled someone and I just got up in her face. We use the term every dog needs a pat, we just don’t give Turbo a pat enough," O'Driscoll said.

"She is so consistent and I think when you just expect that of someone you think they don’t need the compliment but far out we just need to get around Turbo because she’s a mum of two, however old she is, and she just gets out there and puts her body on the line every single time.

Fremantle forward Eden Zanker was celebrated on ground by every one of her teammates after she booted her first goal for the Club, following an off-season trade from Melbourne. 

“It was so good, that first one, the whole team ran in. It’s really nice as a back to get close enough to celebrate as well.” O’Driscoll said. 

“She certainly performed outstandingly. That second one from the boundary, I just looked at Ash Braz and was like ‘how did she do that?’, she pulled that one out. She’s a great player and I can’t wait to see what’s to come for the rest of the year for her.” 

Fremantle return home to Cockburn ARC Oval this Sunday for their Round 3 clash with the Blues. 

“Last year we lost against Carlton so we’re looking to redeem ourselves against them. They’ve got a strong side but I think after this win we’ll take that confidence and that momentum because we know how to play our footy now so good luck to them," O'Driscoll said.