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2021 NAB AFLW Season
Fremantle v GWS GIANTS
Round 1 • Sunday 31 January 2021 • 5:10 AM (UTC)
58 8.10
Full Time
28 4.4
Dockers Won By 30
Fremantle Community Bank Oval,  Perth  • Whadjuk

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    Match Preview: Round 1 v Fremantle Dockers

    Everything you need to know for our opening round clash.

    Where and when: Fremantle Oval, Sunday January 31, 4:10pm EDT/1:10pm WST

    Last time they met: The GIANTS and Dockers haven’t faced each other for over two years, after not being drawn to play each other during the 2020 or 2019 seasons. With only nine rounds scheduled in the now 14-team competition, it isn’t unusual to go a season or two without facing one particular team. The last time these two teams met was in round five, 2018 when the GIANTS beat the Dockers 39-21 at Fremantle Oval. Courtney Gum, Ellie Brush and Erin McKinnon starred that day.

    TV and online: All AFLW matches are available live on Foxtel, Kayo, the AFLW Online site, AFL Telstra TV App and on the AFLW and AFL Official Apps. GIANTS matches are also broadcast live into NSW and the ACT free-to-air on 7mate.

    What it means for the GIANTS: Round one is always the first opportunity to get a gauge of where teams are at for the new season, particularly after the 2020 season was cut short due to the pandemic. The GIANTS are coming off a heartbreaking final-minute loss to the Demons in their first finals appearance that preceded the competition being cancelled. We recruited young, but experienced, defender Katherine Smith from the Demons who is still coming back from an ACL injury suffered last year. The bulk of the GIANTS’ list is settled but we welcomed some new faces through the draft including young Canberra duo Tarni Evans and Emily Pease and experienced local defender Libby Graham. Gaelic star Bríd Stack joined the club from Cork in Ireland - but unfortunately suffered a serious neck injury in the club’s practice match - while former basketball and mum-of-two Erin Todd came in as a replacement player for Irishwoman Yvonne Bonner, who was unable to come to Australia for this season. The only recent exposed form was that practice match against the Adelaide Crows a fortnight ago, which the GIANTS lost by 20 points. It’s worth noting the GIANTS had been in transit for more than 30 hours in the lead-up to the game and only arrived in Adelaide late the evening before. Speaking of travel: the GIANTS broke from pre-season training on December 18 as a coronavirus cluster broke out in Sydney, with the team coming back together in Albury in southern NSW on January 1. They’ve been on the road since and relocated to Adelaide - via a stopover in Canberra - two weeks ago. Lou Stephenson is the only player not to join the hub, with work commitments with NSW Fire and Rescue in Sydney.

    Where’s the opposition at? It’s fair to say the Dockers dominated the 2020 AFLW season and would have been bitterly disappointed that the competition was cancelled. Fremantle were undefeated in the six games of the regular season that were played last year and they topped Conference B with 24 points. After six rounds the competition moved immediately to finals, where the Dockers demolished the new Gold Coast Suns side, 80-10. They were in ominous form and had Kiara Bowers and Gemma Houghton named in the AFLW All Australian team. The Dockers took on cross-town rivals the West Coast Eagles in a practice match two weeks ago, coming from four goals down to win by 10 points. Skilful with the ball and ruthless in their attack without it, the Dockers set a new standard for the AFLW in 2020 and head into the 2021 season as premiership favourites.

    The number: 34. The number 34 will be printed on the top of the back of the GIANTS’ jumpers for the 2021 season and beyond as the club remembers Jacinda Barclay, who passed away in October. It’s been a tough period for the GIANTS’ AFLW team, losing a much loved teammate and beloved member of the GIANTS family. Along with the number 34 on the playing jumpers and staff apparel, both teams will come together for a minute’s silence ahead of Sunday’s match and players and staff will wear black armbands.

    In the mix: The GIANTS have six uncapped players on their list and at least a handful are in line for their first taste of AFLW action this week. Draftees Tarni Evans, Emily Pease and Libby Graham have all slotted in seamlessly and played in the practice match a fortnight ago. Erin Todd also impressed, even with her limited football experience, while Georgia Garnett is yet to make her debut coming into her second season on the list. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see Irishwoman Bríd Stack - who will spend the next few weeks in a neck brace - while Katherine Smith, who is looking to make her GIANTS debut after three seasons at the Demons, is also still recovering from injury.

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    Second-Half Dockers Surge Downs GIANTS

    Fremantle kicked away from a brave GIANTS side to win by 30.

    Fremantle has launched the new season as it finished a dominant 2020, kicking away from a brave GIANTS side to win by 30 points on an afternoon of mixed emotions at Fremantle Oval. 

    The final game of the opening round started with a tribute to inaugural AFLW GIANT Jacinda Barclay, who passed last year. It was also played in the final hours before a five-day lockdown starts in Western Australia because of COVID-19 precautions.   

    The GIANTS were competitive in a hard-fought opening half, but they couldn't go with Fremantle after the main break, with star forward Gemma Houghton kicking three goals to spearhead the 8.10 (58) to 4.4 (28) win. 

    The Dockers booted three unanswered goals in the third quarter in a ruthless burst of high-speed football, continuing their winning run after an undefeated 2020 season and showing they will be a force again.    

    Star midfielders Kiara Bowers (21 disposals and nine tackles) and Jasmine Stewart (15 and four clearances) gave the Dockers a midfield edge, while the backline was near impenetrable in restricting the GIANTS to two goals in the first three quarters. 

    05:35


    Midfield ace Alyce Parker was immense for the GIANTS, finishing with 29 disposals and seven clearances in a brilliant performance under significant opposition heat. 

    But the GIANTS lacked the depth of their opponents and couldn't handle the Dockers' sustained assault, with the home team laying 62 tackles to 39.  

    Captain Kara Antonio played a link role between the forward line and midfield and was critical in the early stages of the third quarter as the Dockers got rolling, twice setting up Houghton for scoring opportunities. 

    Crafty forward Sabreena Duffy made the most of half chances and was a menace inside 50 with her speed, kicking three goals as the premiership contenders put their array of scoring options on show. 

     

    The difference

    Fremantle's array of scoring options and the skill spread across the forward six makes the Dockers near-impossible to defend. Houghton is an improved player with a bigger tank, Duffy's speed is a weapon, and Gabby O'Sullivan's clean hands create opportunities. Add Kara Antonio's leadership into the mix now and you have a perfectly balanced attack that proved the difference on Sunday.

    Midfield muscle

    Parker's game in the midfield was sensational, finishing with a game-high 18 contested possessions from her 29 touches as well as seven clearances, also a game-high. She was a thorn in the Dockers' side in the first half but was forced into the defensive half in the third quarter as the Dockers made their move. One of the stars of the competition and a club champion at just 19, she should be even better in her third AFLW season. 

    Magic moment

    Mikayla Hyde was a top up player for Fremantle's scratch match against West Coast two weeks ago, but things move quickly. On debut against the GIANTS, she kicked her first AFLW goal after the Dockers linked up through the midfield and found her free inside 50. That scratch match a fortnight ago turned out to be an audition for a spot on the Dockers' list and Hyde grabbed her opportunity.

    Say what?

    "No one picked us to win the premiership this year and we started 0-0 like everyone else. We knew we had to go out and re-prove ourselves and that helped today. But it's going to be doing it week-in, week-out against quality opposition." - Fremantle coach Trent Cooper

    "I was pretty proud of our girls. It's been a rollercoaster number of months (with the passing of Jacinda Barclay) and an interesting day. In the end I don't think it had an influence on the result of the game and I was pretty proud of the way we managed that." - GIANTS coach Alan McConnell  

    02:35

    FREMANTLE        1.2   2.3   5.8   8.10 (58)
    GIANTS                 0.3   1.4   2.4   4.4  (28) 

    GOALS 
    Fremantle: 
    Houghton 3, Duffy 3, K.Antonio, Hyde  
    GIANTS: Schmidt, Beeson, Davies, Bennetts

    BEST 
    Fremantle:
     Houghton, Bowers, Cuthbertson, Duffy, Stewart, K Antonio, O'Sullivan
    GIANTS: Parker, Beeson, Schmidt, Eva, McKinnon

    INJURIES
    Fremantle:
     Nil
    GIANTS: Steane, Lister

    Reports: Nil 

    Crowd: 3,195 at Fremantle Oval

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