This week will see the AFLW squad play two games in five days as part of a new split round fixture. Assistant coach Tanya Hetherington shares her take on this week's travel commitment and what needs to improved ahead of Round 6A against Essendon. 

Not the result we wanted in Round 5 against the Bulldogs. What were the key takeaways from the game?

I think we saw that there are times when we play our game style and it pays off on the scoreboard and there are times when we get hurt the other way trying to play our style. At the end of the day there are such small margins.  That ultimately hurts you in the end if you can’t play your way for long enough which we weren’t able to do.

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Privitelli lights up the telly with super opener

Rebecca Privitelli somehow manages to squeeze through this sensational snap from the tightest of angles.

We lost Ally during the match. What does she bring to the side and how did you have to adjust on the fly?

We looked forward to welcoming Ally back for this game and unfortunately lost her during the match. Ally brings great athleticism to her position and a presence that was greatly missed. However, we have had to deal with not having Ally before and we feel we have others who can step up and share the ruck duties and offer something different.

How do you prepare for a big match while travelling? 

The group really enjoy travelling together so it is no different in that aspect. The processes we follow are similar, we just get the benefit of connecting more as a group whilst we are down here and I think the girls really enjoy that time together.

We play our first match of the split round on Wednesday night. What have you made of Essendon’s season so far?

Essendon are coming off a great win over Melbourne so their confidence will be sky high. They have a great mix of talent and experience and we will be preparing for their best on Wednesday night. 

What is the side hoping to improve on this week?

We are looking to tidy up some fundamentals this week whilst looking for a more complete four quarter performance and getting back to playing the footy we know we are capable of.

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