Ahead of our first AFLW finals appearance this Saturday, senior coach Scott Gowans and co-captain Chloe Molloy faced the media on Wednesday, November 8. The two spoke on the pressure and emotion of finals, club success and the match up against the Gold Coast Suns. 

On Finals emotion and pressure

Scott Gowans: “It’s a mix (of emotions). I like the idea of us having to travel as well. I think it's really good, and we took that mindset to Perth, and we were able to jump on the plane together, perform and jump back on the plane together. I think it's exciting, and I like the fact that it is a short turnaround. It is one of those things, if you think about it too much you start to feel pressure. We just don’t have time to. So, it's recovery, one training session, back on the plane and into it. 

“The only thing we have changed, is talking about embracing it. I want them to become good at feeling pressure. When we do become a regular good side, which I think we will, and you’re up the top, you’re not worried that you’ve won five or six in a row and feeling that pressure."

Chloe Molloy: “We have always believed internally that we were capable of something like making finals. It is a long-term success program. We want to build strong foundations and I think it is just a testament to everybody who has helped build the list so far and to the players who were a part of it last year, and the leaders last year. The ability to get through that year, and the whirlwind it was, and it get here. The odds were against us, but I think the best thing now, I want it to be an expectation of our team, is that we win, and we make finals.”  

On the Suns

SG: “We played them in a practice match as well, and it was a close game there as well. If you look through their results and look at who they have beaten and who we have beaten, it's very similar. The percentage is not much different, there is not a lot in it. It's exciting. I think that is all you can ask for, for a final.

“They play a similar game plan to us; they move the ball quite quickly. They have had a few more pre-seasons than us, so I think they're bigger bodies. It's going to come down to which side can maintain momentum longer and when the other side gets it, how you get it back.” 

CM: “The Suns have come a long way since they came into the competition. Even on the weekend they proved, that Charlie Rowbottom is their number one and leader of every stat on their team, and they can do it without her. I think that it was great to see that for them. And I look at our team and I think we have also hit form as much as they have. I think it is a great elimination final. I hope the stadium is packed and we see a great elimination final against two teams that probably didn’t expect to be there.”  

On team spirit

CM: “We have a player meeting weekly, and we all chat, all the time. We are probably the closest-knit group I have been a part of. A lot of us live together and we just talk generally. No one has come up individually, but I don’t think they need to because we are always talking to each other. Whether it's on social media or walking in the hallway. We just always talk. They are humans, and they are young athletes, and they will be nervous, and we will build that up and use those nerves in a good way and use it as a motivator.”  

On club success

SG: “The environment helps you perform your best, whether you are a staff member or a player. It is not lost on me that from the CEO down, everybody is engaged in what we are doing. There are a number of the key staff from the men's program that are coming to the game this week. The genuine excitement when I walked in back from Perth. The conversation that you have when you know people have watched the game of football and are able to talk to you about moments in games. I just haven’t experienced it before and they are tiny things, but they are actually big things.”  

On first AFLW finals players

SG: “I spoke to them last night and I think it is just to take it on. There is no pressure on us, it is just green fields. It is our first crack at it. We set the standard for the generations that will come after us and look back and ask, “How did they go? Did they just tip toe into finals and get demolished or did they actually have a crack”. If we put our best foot forward, and Gold Coast beat us, that’s fine as well. Momentum and belief are amazing in football, and we’ve got that, and who knows, it could take us somewhere very special.

On finals preparations

CM: “Nothing changes for me, personally. And I will be encouraging the team not to change anything either because the external noise will do that for us, and that hype will be created. It is about the team that locks in and sticks to routine as normal as you can, to get it done. I think the hype is fun, I love footy and when there is hype around games, it will just be about trying to block out the external noise that is going to make them more nervous than what they already are.”  

SG: “We were told we wouldn’t win a game as well. The mindset is simply that we just want to do what we can, and control what we can control. Process driven. The energy and excitement that we have shown so far is like a momentum ball that we plan to roll into the finals and take with us. The motivation is continuous success, we are just on that journey and loving it at the moment.”  

On Chloe Molloy success

CM: “I don’t think it is necessarily about paying it off or it has worked out. That’s terminology that I have never had in my head. I was ready for a new challenge, the next chapter of my life and my life as a footballer. I will never refer to it as it 'paid off'. I was up here for a new experience, new challenge, and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to come across and be a part of something not from the very start, but pretty close to it. To build something from the ground up and know that when I finish and retire, I can have a little bit of a legacy. I am just grateful that Sydney took a chance on me, and I took a chance on Sydney. It is a healthy relationship; I love playing for Scotty and I love playing in the red and white.”  

Visit our Finals Hub for everything you need to know ahead of our Elimination Final at Heritage Bank Stadium. Heading to the game? Purchase tickets, HERE.