Port Adelaide key forward Ashleigh Saint says it’s time for the playing group to go back to basics to gain back their confidence and self-belief.
Saint’s addition to the club has been a huge boost to the Power’s forward line, with the 25-year-old the club’s equal leading goal-kicker, scoring eight goals from five games.
Saint spoke to the Adelaide media on Wednesday about her time since arriving at Alberton, her connection with Gemma Houghton and what the group needs to focus on over the coming weeks.
Saint on searching for more wins
“I think we're just going to go back to basics with our footy. Just play our role for the team knowing that everyone's got trust in each other. (If we) play our role out there, then we should be able to get the job done if we're doing that.
“I think we'll definitely get a few more wins this year, that's definitely what we're going for. We had a really good pre-season and our trial games in the pre-season as well were really strong and we had a lot of confidence so just to try and get that confidence back and hopefully get a few more wins at the end of the year.”
Saint on regaining confidence as a team
“Erin Phillips is a really good captain and she's been an elite athlete for a long time so her leadership skills in that sense have been really good to give the girls the confidence. I think we’ve just got to have self-belief (that) we've done the hard work, we've done the running, we can all play football, it’s just that self confidence.
“We know we've got it, just the consistency throughout games (is what we are looking for). I think because we've got a lot of younger girls as well, knowing we're never out of the game until the final siren. So just trying to get their confidence up knowing that we can beat these sides then just hopefully playing a consistent game across four quarters.”
Saint on joining forces with Gemma Houghton
“Gemma and I had a connection straight away. She's a really fast forward so she can play higher up the ground and then I'm really good at holding the shape and directing from the back so we've just really gelled well together and we don't get in each other's way. We know how we play as well. I think Gem and I are really happy to be in the forward line together.”
Saint on her time at Port Adelaide so far
“Yeah I'm really enjoying it. I grew up a Port supporter and the girls are really welcoming. I feel like I'm already a part of the family and just the connections I've made and the culture of the club, it's been really enjoyable so far. I've played with a lot of the girls in the SANFL level as well, so I was already friends with some of them and some from the AFLW level as well so yeah, it's been great.”
Saint on the significance of AFLW Indigenous Round
“It's definitely so special for us as a team. We have five players in our team that are First Nations so yeah just being able to celebrate their culture and wear the guernsey that Gemma co-designed. Really excited to pull on that guernsey.”
Saint on North Melbourne this weekend
“We love away trips, it gets all the girls together, we get to do team bonding and build that connection even more. I love hanging out with the girls and hopefully we play our brand of footy this weekend. North Melbourne are a really strong side but if we can play four quarters then hopefully we're happy with the outcome.”
