Senior coach Lauren Arnell has reflected on Port Adelaide’s Round 7 loss to St Kilda, highlighting the key areas for improvement include contest work at stoppages, back-half exits, and consistency across four quarters.
Speaking to the media at Alberton, Arnell also touched on playing an offensive style of football, selection pressure, the remaining five home and away games, exposing young players to AFLW, and Maria Moloney’s milestone 50th game.
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Arnell on the loss against St Kilda
“I think our fourth quarter was obviously disappointing, and then we played three quarters of really good footy prior to that, away from home. Our reflection is there's a level of ruthlessness that's required in those moments, and the opposition brought that, and we weren't able to on the weekend. We have the capability to do it, and we've done it in the past, and in that moment when it really mattered on the weekend, we couldn’t reproduce it. We know we've got another opportunity this weekend to do that.”
“If you're losing contest at centre bounce, you're exposed in the game, so that was one part of it. And then the next part was, I think we can do better to help ourselves with our back half exits and be a little bit more predictable to one another and look to gain territory more effectively. So again, those are things that we learn from really quickly, and I trust that we will do that.”
Arnell on playing an offensive game style
“That's the way this team's been built in the latest block of expansion teams in this competition, and in my philosophy as a coach, I think you need to chase offence. I want people to come to our games, whether they're Port Adelaide people, AFLW supporters, or new to the sport, and I want them to enjoy the game. I think one of the most enjoyable parts of the game is the contest, and then the scoring. I'm pleased if fans - whether it's here at Alberton, on the TV, or at an away game - if they're seeing contest and high scoring, I think that's the right product to be putting out there right now in AFLW, and it's enjoyable for our players. Then there's this element of, how do we respond when other teams are scoring against us.”
Arnell on Piper Window’s return to the team following injury
“Getting that syndesmosis injury so early in the season has had a significant impact on our midfield and selection pressure, to be fair. I couldn't have been more pleased, particularly with her first half. I thought the way she attacked the contest and outworked her opponents was exceptional. And no doubt she'll be better for the run.”
Arnell on tackling the remaining five rounds
“We're going to be really honest with ourselves and assess what we need to and be very clear on the areas we can do better. And then there's an element of knowing and having real faith in what we're capable of. We play Saturday night, and the week has now turned to that point of saying let's be really clear on what we know we're capable of, and train with a level of ruthlessness tonight that's required on Saturday.”
Arnell on the Western Bulldogs
“It’s an interesting one. Ellie Blackburn's had some injury concerns last year that were quite significant. We saw a team improve around her as well. They've got some mids that have taken their opportunity (to develop), and I think there's some strong players around Blackburn too, which has meant she's been in a mix of a little bit of midfield time and forward. From what I can tell from last week during the Collingwood game, it looks like she'll spend a little bit more time in the midfield.
“You have to make the most of the opportunities that are in front of you, and we've got one for us on Saturday.”
Arnell on Maria Moloney’s milestone 50 games
“Maria is certainly someone who has been able to build some really strong relationships with her teammates through the course of her time here at Port Adelaide, and at Brisbane. So, I do expect a strong response (from the group) this weekend.”
Arnell on selection pressure and a healthy list
“We had scrimmage in Melbourne last Friday. We saw our scrimmage crew who were not selected last week perform at a pretty high standard and continue to get better. I think outside of pure selection pressure, it also means that our training standards are high too, when you've got a healthier list and you've got more players to train against each other at a higher level. I think that will begin to pay off for us, and I'm very happy that we've got a healthier list at this point of the year.”
Arnell on exposing young players to AFLW
“We've debuted all our draftees this year, and a number of them have banked probably more than they expected because of our injury challenges early in the season, so that is a real positive. We saw Jas Sowden play in front of her brand-new little sister last weekend in Melbourne, and it was probably easily her best game for us this year as a 19-year-old. And then watching Lily Paterson come back into the team after getting some feedback on her work as a mid and going to work on that, and then Piper (Window), obviously returning as a second-year player, was pleasing. Shineah Goody too - we've thrown her on ball, and she's played on wing for most of her junior career and for us at Port, so to throw her on ball in the last few weeks, I think that’s an area that she'll continue to get better in, and there’s some exciting young talent in there for us, which will continue to grow with more games together.”
Arnell on playing at home
“I can't wait for our people to come out and support our group. We're always very good at that at Alberton, and we haven't yet played a night game. I can't wait for Saturday night.”
