Glenn Strachan has provided an update on Indy Tahau’s season-ending knee injury, while reflecting on Lauren Young’s impressive start to the season and the team’s continued progress with its refreshed game style. 

Speaking to the media ahead of the side’s second home game against the Suns on Saturday, the senior coach also touched on the forward line mix following Tahau’s injury, Julia Teakle’s return and Gemma Houghton’s evolving role. 

He also discussed the challenge posed by a young and fast Gold Coast Suns outfit, as well as what the team reviewed following its thrilling Round 3 win against the Giants. 

There will be plenty of free fun for all ages around the grounds at Alberton on Saturday. The game kicks off at 2:05pm ACST, with tickets on sale now. Children under 14 enter free. 

Strachan on Indy Tahau’s season-ending knee injury 
“It’s shattering for Indy. Our program will wrap our arms around her, but it sucks for her. I'm sure she'll come back stronger, just like she did last time it happened, and I'm confident that the program will provide all the support that we can for her and her family as well. I guess it was fortunate in a way that her sister and her partner Joe were both at the game on the weekend. I guess that's the unfortunate part about sport, and especially in AFLW, we see it quite regularly. It's a big loss from a program perspective, not just what she does on field, but off field too. She's such a great character, and as much as she'll be around, we won't see her on the field again this year.” 

“She’s amazing. Post-game she was really positive, she wanted to celebrate all the girls, which is a credit to her. The fact that we won the game, and she was accepting of what had likely happened, she was in good spirits. I saw her again Monday, and she was just in great spirits still. It's both a great thing and a hard thing because she is so positive and knows what it means. But as I said before, I have no doubt that she will put in the work to get back and be better again than where she left it. She'll have surgery pretty soon, it’s next week that's scheduled in for, and then she'll start her recovery.” 

Strachan on the theme of the Round 3 review 
“It was pretty positive. We were pretty happy with the way that we executed most of it. Obviously, we never want to concede goals in the fashion that that we did, and the Giants were accurate, so credit to them on that. But I mean, the resilience of the group to be able to still win that game, and obviously Youngy (Lauren Young) got her moment, and that was amazing for her, and the league’s Rising Star off the back of it, which is super exciting – it feels like it's been a long time coming for her. We were upbeat and positive, but still very real around the fact that we're on a journey, and we've got a lot to work on, and that's where we sit at the moment. Hopefully we just keep getting better and better.” 

Strachan on Lauren Young’s form and Rising Star nomination 
“I hope she's going to be a really, really good player for us in in the coming years. And I think the work that she does at the moment with her coaches and by herself is where she's made the greatest progress. And so, if she continues in that vein, I think she'll be a really good AFLW player. She's got the capability. It's just can she put it together, and hopefully she stay away from injury. We're really confident in the work that she's doing. She'll be a star.” 

Strachan on Round 4 team selection 
“Julia Teakle has been training really well, which is nice for her. We're not completely solidified on our team, we'll train today, but I think it makes sense from a positional standpoint. At the same time, we've got Piper (Window) who had a great game on the weekend, and she probably fills some of that. And then Ash Woodland's one that can go forward, and we've tried to explore that at times, and maybe that presents the opportunity. So, fortunately, we do have good depth and it'll be a nice to get Julia back in the team. But at the same time, we're pretty confident with what else we've got as well.” 

Strachan on how Gemma Houghton is adapting to her new role within the refreshed game style 
“Gemma's role has changed significantly, so we've asked her to defend really, really strongly. And while maybe the offensive output hasn't been the same as previous years, I think if you watch her game defensively, she's much better now than when she started. And to be honest, that's what I asked of her. Gemma is doing what we ask of her, and if she continues to defend really strongly, we hope the offensive part clicks, but I think that she's exceeded expectations with how she's defended this year. So, I probably look at it a little bit differently to maybe what the outside's looking at right now.  

“I think that naturally her offensive game is really strong, she kicked 100 goals and was the first player ever to do that in AFLW. So, I'm sure there's parts of her game that she’d love to do a little bit better, and we're under no illusions that we want Gemma to be a big part of this this team and this program. What I will say is she is very diligent with what she needs to do, and she's so positive, and I guess her excitement is such that I'm sure it'll come.” 

Strachan on the forward line mix with Tahau’s injury 
“I think we need a greater spread across everybody. Last year, clearly Gemma and Indy kicked the bulk of the goals. I think for us to be a successful team; we need greater input from all of our forwards. Again, Piper kicking three on the weekend, Youngy kicking a couple. We've got Justine (Mules-Robinson) and Popey (Katelyn Pope) who can regularly hit the scoreboard, plus others, and I think that that is what we need. I'd love to be a team that has multiple goal kickers. We'd love Gemma to kick more goals, we'd love all of our players to kick more goals. If the mids could help out, that'd be great too, and they've done a good job of that so far. I’m not going to put it on any one person, I think we need a greater spread from all of our players.”  

Strachan on Julia Teakle’s form and return to the side 
“Similar to Gemma in the defensive aspect, that is something that she's chasing at the moment. I think Julia's really clear on the parts of her game that she needs to improve on both sides of the ball. So, whether it's the offensive stuff or whether it's the defensive nature of it, she's really clear on what she needs to work on, and I think that when she gets her chance, she'll come in and make an impact, just like Piper did. Piper was out of the team through her injury, but we needed to make sure that when she came back in, that she was going to perform, and she did a great job of that. Julia's no different, just like all of our players that are out of the team are no different.” 

Strachan on how the group is adapting to the new game style 
“I think we're embedding it really strongly. We've not shied away from the fact that it's a journey and it's going to have its ups and downs, and I think that that's what we're seeing. We're seeing some really good stuff, but not consistently enough. We're confident as coaches that what we're doing is right, and we're on the right track. And hopefully, that means we're going to challenge some really good teams. I guess if nothing else, we're two (wins) and one (loss), so we've won two games off the back of some of that change. We haven’t resorted back to how we've played previously, and if that's what we see going forward, I'll be really happy with that.” 

Strachan on how he is preparing his side for the Gold Coast Suns 
“They're a good young team; they've obviously got a lot of talent running through there. We know about the academy players that they've bought in over the last couple of years, and we'll have to combat that. They like playing fast, exciting footy, and we'll do everything that we can to take away their strengths, and I hope that they have to take away ours too. It should be an exciting game, and hopefully one that we perform strongly in.” 

Strachan on his message for the fans ahead of Saturday’s second home game 
“Come and watch because it's going to be exciting. I said this last time about our first home game, it's an environment that you want to be a part of. Saturday afternoon is a good time to play, and hopefully families and fans get down, and I'm sure they will turn out. I can't wait; it's going to be exciting.”