Hear what senior coach Scott Gowans and key forward Bella Smith had to say leading up to the Pride Game clash against Collingwood at Henson Park this Sunday afternoon.

The two sat down for a press conference on Wednesday, 25 October to chat about team motivation, finals contention and the importance of the Pride Game.   

On finals

Scott Gowans: “We haven’t actually spoken about it, to be completely frank. We’ve just focussed on continual success from pre-season, and we’ve been able to continue that through the program. It's just about us and playing better footy, so that we can advance to be one of the top teams as quickly as possible in the next few seasons. It just so happens that the work we’ve done and the work that we’ve put in has got us in a position where we can talk about finals, which I'm comfortable to talk about it, it's just not part of our motivation or a goal. We are just on this journey."  

Bella Smith: “We are very process driven, and we take every game as it is. It was obviously a good win on the weekend, but consistency is probably key for us and getting another win under our belt. It is always just onto the next week."

On Montana Ham and Aliesha Newman’s injuries

SG: “Montana trained today and looked really good. She seemed to have got through it quite well, she's unrestricted, playing good footy, happy – which is a great thing for us. It is a good thing for the competition. You want to have the superstars playing well.  

“We have match committee straight after and Aliesha’s name will be put up, with a couple others as well. She trained really well today, so it's going to be line ball. The hard part is that a winning side and combination is hard to break into, and in our young history it’s the first time we’ve probably had this selection pressure. It will be hard for her to squeeze her way in, but her name with definitely come up, amongst a couple of others“.  

On Paige Sheppard tackle 

SG: “She was a little bit sick and sorry this week. I just saw her before and she looked better, which is great. And obviously, we want her to get back as soon as she can. She was laughing today and smiling and seemed to be a bit happier. We just hope she can get back for the last game.”  

BS: “We all know footy is a contact sport. I’ve got no comment on the tribunal, but I think it’s something that we have to expect, and it's unfortunate that it has resulted in a concussion for Paigey. But, like I said, we expect contact, and it’s just an unfortunate case of a harder hit."  

On team shift in motivation after Round 7

SG: “I tell the players all the time, Bella could probably recite it word for word. Everything starts off your pressure and your work rate and your intensity. If you bring that, the game plan opens up. If you don’t bring that, then we fall into our shells and, for instance we don’t shift the ball off defensively, and defensively we don’t get back and help out. It’s non-negotiable to bring it. The difference in the data was amazing. It was so stark it’s ridiculous, and if we could take that game back, we would, but credit to the Hawks, they got the four points and that’s the end of the story." 

On Collingwood

BS: “We are definitely excited for the challenge. They have four wins in a row so they're on a pretty hot streak. But with the game that we have just come off, and the consistency that we are looking for, it will be a really enjoyable match. I think, like Scotty said, if we bring that intensity, the effort and that pressure, there’s not much we can’t do. I suppose we bring those things, and it’s anyone’s game.” 

SG: “We have really focused on our process. We are on a journey of continual improvement, so it is really important to improve on what we need to improve on from last week. Also, what we did very well last week, we will bring that into the game against Collingwood.” 

On Pride Game at Henson

SG: “It’s really important to us (celebrating Pride). We just want to send the message that everyone is welcome at the footy. We are very happy to be playing at Henson Park, in particular with this game and we’ve got some activities going on which will be fun and enjoyable. Equality is so important to us as a fabric of this club, and we’ve been doing it since 2015. We are very happy and proud to take that onus on now and get a chance to do it twice, this week, and then next week in Fremantle. We want to fill Henson Park, ticket sales are going really well, which is great.” 

On Highest average crowd attendance

BS: “It's so cool. We get there two hours before the start of the game and the hill is bare. When you come out for the first team warm-up, the hill is slowly filling and then by the time the first bounce gets around, it is full. You can hear it; the atmosphere is amazing. And to have the highest attendance in the AFLW at the moment for a non-Victorian club is something we are super proud of, and we are so grateful for our fans that actually show up and get around us."

See the team back in action at Henson Park and celebrate Pride Game in Round 9 for our final home game of the regular season. Purchase tickets below.