Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell has reflected on the season to date, touching on her side’s pursuit of consistency, the lessons from the opening six rounds, and the opportunities that lie ahead.  

Speaking to the media at Alberton, Arnell also touched on Lauren Young’s long-awaited debut, how she’s preparing the group for the upcoming clash against the Saints, and Janelle Cuthbertson’s heartbreaking ACL injury. 

The last time Port Adelaide faced the Saints was in Round 8 of the 2024 season, with the Power securing a 15-point win.  

Arnell on the season so far 
“Every game's so important. I think, being at that halfway mark of the year now, we've got at least six games ahead of us, and we're absolutely locked in on Sunday.” 

“We just need to have a level of responsiveness to the week prior, knowing what we need to improve on, and then there's a level of understanding around consistency, which needs to be a focus for us this year. We're very clear on what we do well when we play well. I think we've seen some games where we've been at our absolute best. We set the scoring record in AFLW only a few weeks ago with 108 points here in Round 3, so there are those positive moments. But then there are moments where we don't show up in a way that we know we can, particularly around pressure factor. We saw that in the Perth game against West Coast where we were not the best version of ourselves. So, it's very much a reflection of how I can support the group as senior coach, and how I can support our whole group to close the gap between our absolute best and our worst. Because I don't think we can expect any level of perfection in footy, and we can't expect to be at our absolute best at every single moment – but how close can we get? A big part of my job is helping the group do that.” 

Arnell on her side’s performance in the Geelong game 
“It hasn't been too public, but the AFL did respond (to the rushed behind umpiring decision) on Monday and said that decision wouldn't be one that would be adjudicated in the same way if that moment happened again. It's important for us to get clarity on that so we don't jump at anything that doesn't need to be jumped at. We can't go back and change the first quarter and how we showed up – and I think that's far more important as a coach. The main thing for us at Port Adelaide is to focus on what we can control – and umpiring is not one of those.” 

Arnell on Lauren Young’s debut in Round 6 
“We were really proud of Lozzy (Lauren Young) to make her debut. That's a kid who, when we talk about pressure factor and showing up in the right way, played her first game of footy, was held on to for a large portion of the game, and made seven tackles as a forward. I'm really pleased with how she showed up, and we saw some good offensive moments from her too. I know with more experience under her belt at this level, she'll just keep getting better.” 

Arnell on Round 7 selection 
“There’s certainly a lot more selection pressure this week. We’d like to see Cheyenne (Hammond) and Piper (Window) train well tonight and continue to put their hand up for selection. We're getting closer to having more of our squad available. All going well, we should have 27 available for selection this week, which is the healthiest our list has been all season. I’m very much looking forward to that.” 

Arnell on preparing for St Kilda at RSEA Park 
“We’ll be looking to train strongly tonight here at Alberton and head over Saturday morning with the crew. We’ll have captain's run at Moorabbin on Saturday afternoon, watch the AFL Grand Final, and then head into a Sunday game at midday. I think the buzz around Melbourne in Grand Final week is one that's unmatched. We’re very much looking forward to rolling out the better version of ourselves on Sunday.” 

Arnell on finding consistency 
“It's got to be about what we are doing when we're at our best and focusing on that at this point of the year. You can address a lot of other things in a pre-season, but when you get probably 60 minutes of a main training session most weeks, you need to really knuckle down on what you do when you're at your best. We saw a great response from the group coming out of Perth and beating the Dees with that focus, and we'll continue to do that for them.” 

Arnell on Janelle Cuthbertson’s heartbreaking ACL injury 
“It’s heartbreaking, to be honest. Janelle is a player who's essentially completed an ACL return and was battling a couple of little niggles to get back out there. She should have been playing in scrimmage a week ago. So, for her to re-injure her ACL has honestly been heartbreaking, given the challenges she's had in her career. Our group always supports each other really strongly and will continue to do that. She’s certainly someone that likes to be around the group, but then there are moments in time where there are different things you need to do away from the group as well. She’s one that always shows up for her team.”