AFLW senior coach Scott Gowans appeared in his weekly press conference ahead of Round 5. Speaking to the media he discussed the upcoming condensed fixture, the team's Round 4 win over the GWS Giants and their upcoming opponents. 

See what he had to say below. 

On the Round 4 win

“It was a great result. And good that we found a way to win, which is really important. And in such a critical game as well for our season, to get 2-2 is a great position now to launch from there.”

On holding of the Giants surge

“That's a big growth, particularly without Chloe Malloy playing as well. I think that's a big positive for us that we're able to find a way to win and really some good footy IQ with a set play and then Amy Whelan finishing off with a nice goal was great as well.

“In fairness to them, the Giants have improved out of sight this year and you don't get 162% on the ladder without doing something right. So, they've got a lot going for them this year and it was a good result for us, but they'd be bitterly disappointed to lose that as well because it could have gone either way.”

On the crowd at Henson Park

“We love Henson Park… It can be a little bit bumpy there at times, but it came up all right on the weekend and the atmosphere was fantastic.”

On the condensed fixture

“If you look at the quality of football that's played, it's been pretty good and not too dissimilar to the second training session. We always do a 16 v the rest, so you get a few bumps and bruises in that as well. It's not the intensity of a game, but I think the philosophy of it's really good. We've got to try different things to attract more people to the game.

“If someone flicks their telly on a Tuesday night and watches a game of footy, so be it. That's a great result. But it will be interesting at the end of it to assess exactly where we are with injuries.

“I know from our group we're pretty healthy again at the moment, other than the obvious, but we'll definitely manage players through this next two or three games and then hit the back end of the season hopefully with a bit of momentum.”

On the men’s program playing in the Grand Final 

“I think the energy's been really good. Even just the corridor chats that you have, it's just an energy that's all-embracing for the whole club. The integration in here is very good. It's always like that anyway, which is great, but the extra buzz and the feeling around the club is very good this week.”

On facing the Western Bulldogs after their condensed fixture

“The Bulldogs are in great form. They had a big win, and their statistics were really good…I think it actually helps you in that way because you don't have time to dwell on it.

“If you have a bad game, you can actually get back on the horse and ride it again, as the Bulldogs did. They had a great win against Collingwood. I can see both sides there, but I'll let you know in two weeks' time.”

On what makes the Bulldogs dangerous

“I think just their youth. It reminds me very much of us in year one. They're young, they're fast, they've got nothing to lose, they're in development. They try different things, they take the game on, and it's really going to test our defensive systems. That's a dangerous proposition, so we need to make sure that we bring our pressure and get on top of them early.”

On Chloe Molloy’s role

“Her role is about getting better. That's her number one role, is to get right. Her number two role is to help out where she can around the group. She'll be in and out based on her rehab program, which takes priority over everything. On the weekend she didn't have a role but still turned up, and it's just Chloe in a nutshell. But it’s just around the group, and then at the right time we'll give her a little role on the bench with the players as well on game day. But the first few weeks are all about just getting her settled and into her rehab program.”

On developing young players

“That's going to be the bonus going into next year is that we're able to develop players, fast-track them, and then have Chloe come in as the icing on the cake next year and really set ourselves up. So, it's really important for us, and Lucy McEvoy's leadership has stepped up over the last few weeks as well. She's had to have a bigger voice in the group, and she plays her 50th game this week, which is really important for us.”

On Ally Morphett

“We'll do match committee next, and then Ally Morphett will come back in, subject to the doctor's report, which he'll give me in a minute, but he gave me a wink then, so that's a good sign. But yeah, she'll be an important in, and hopefully we can get a good block of games now.”

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