Port Adelaide has continued its preparations for the 2026 NAB AFLW season, taking on Fremantle in its second pre-season match simulation at Alberton Oval on Saturday.
Playing against opposition at home for the first time under new senior coach Glenn Strachan, the side produced another encouraging performance, showing further signs of growth despite going down to a more experienced Dockers outfit.
With several senior players managed as part of the club's pre-season program, Port Adelaide fielded a youthful line-up against Fremantle.
Captain Justine Mules-Robinson, co-vice-captain Amelie Borg, reigning best and fairest Matilda Scholz, Gemma Houghton, Maria Moloney and Teagan Germech were all rested as the club continued to carefully manage player loads ahead of Round 1, providing valuable opportunities for the group's emerging talent to gain further experience against quality opposition.
"It was great to play here at Alberton, I love that we got here to play in front of some of our fans, it was a great turnout," Strachan said.
"We came up against a strong opponent, they had some really good players playing, and we had a lot of our young ones out there today, which was exciting to see.
"I thought we competed really strongly, and while the result didn't go our way today, I feel like we'll be better for the run as a result."
Port Adelaide made an impressive start, with strong contest work and defensive pressure generating repeat entries inside forward 50.
While the Power couldn't fully capitalise on their early opportunities, the performance reflected the continued improvement in defensive structure and turnover game that has been a major focus throughout the pre-season.
Kirsty Lamb opened Port Adelaide's scoring in the second term before Piper Window and Julia Teakle found the goals in the third quarter, with Ash Woodland adding the Power's final major in the last.
Abbey Dowrick again led the way through the midfield with another dominant performance, while Woodland was influential around the contest.
In the ruck, Chloe Gaunt impressed with her work against Fremantle All-Australian Mim Strom during the first half, before young defender Olivia Crane was handed the challenge of lining up on the star Docker after the main break.
Strachan was pleased with the way his younger players embraced their opportunities against quality opposition.
"Most of our young talent impressed me to be honest," he said.
"I thought they all executed their role really well against probably a more experienced or seasoned opponent.
"Olivia Crane down back played on Mim Strom for the second half, which we all know Mim's a great player. But I felt like Craney did a great job against her.
"It's pretty hard to come in for your second match simulation and play against an All-Australian calibre player, so I thought she did a great job.
"I felt like some of our young ones through the middle that got a chance were really good as well.
"Piper Window played up forward, which is a little bit of a positional shift for her. We know she's a strong inside mid, but she went forward and had some great impacts. I was really impressed with her game, but ultimately across the board, I thought we were great, and it was exciting to see them all out there."
Up forward, Lauren Young continued to showcase her strength in the air, with her contested marking once again a feature, while Teakle looked back to her best after an interrupted 2025 season, combining strong forward pressure with the goalkicking and craft she is renowned for.
Ella Heads also continued her impressive pre-season with another strong defensive performance, while Jasmine Sowden's relentless repeat efforts were highlighted by an outstanding passage of play in the third quarter.
Grace Parsons and Lucy Boyd also enjoyed their first minutes against opposition after joining the program, with both making encouraging contributions.
"Grace Parsons is one of our injury replacement players, and I thought she was fantastic," Strachan said.
"I thought she competed really strongly. She's a super athletic type, and she's working her way into our program coming in a little bit later, but I thought she did a great job.
"Lucy Boyd had some great moments, some of her defensive stuff was awesome to see."
With captain Justine Mules-Robinson managed for the match, co-vice-captain Sachi Syme led the side and earned praise for both her leadership and influence across half-back.
"Sachi obviously took the reins with Justine not playing today as the captain, and she did a great job standing in," Strachan said.
"We love what Sachi brings, she's a big ball of energy, and some of her footy craft and her IQ is really good.
"She sets us up from half back, and I feel like her work rate's underrated. She works really hard, and I thought we saw some of that today, which was good for her."
While the scoreboard didn't favour Port Adelaide, Strachan was particularly pleased with the continued development of the team's defensive system.
"I thought we did a good job of it against West Coast, and obviously we got some reward on the scoreboard," he said.
"I actually think we defended really well today. Maybe it doesn't show it as much, given it's a different opponent and a different look.
"But I think we'll be really happy when we go back and watch the tape of how we defended.
"I thought our pressure was really good today, and I thought it was a level up again from last week, so that's something that we're always working on.
"It was a great hit-out again, and we look forward to next week against Melbourne. I think we'll walk away pretty happy from this one."
The Power will now turn its attention to next week's official pre-season practice match against Melbourne at Alberton, as preparations continue for Round 1.
The Power will take on the Demons on Saturday, 25 July from 11:30am local time, with the match free for fans to attend, and livestreamed via the club’s website.
Port Adelaide v Melbourne
Saturday, 25 July
11:30am ACST
Alberton Oval
