The ‘next player up’ mentality paid dividends for the Bombers on Saturday.
Forced into three changes for their AFLW trip to Perth to take on West Coast, the Dons’ inclusions all played key roles in pushing the side to an important 16-point victory on the road.
Boosted by the experience of Jacqui Vogt and the exuberance of youngsters Lily-Rose Williamson and debutant Chloe Adams, the Dons were quick to bounce back into form following last week’s disappointing home defeat to Fremantle.
For Assistant Coach Tash Hardy, the response was embodied in both the playing group’s gameday energy and the midweek preparation from the fallout of the round one loss.
“We had to review (last week) and have a look at the parts that fell down, especially in the second half,” Hardy said.
“The girls responded really well, we went to work on a few little tweaks that we wanted to do and really dialled in on what we did all pre-season, (coming) back to what we knew we were good at.
“I don’t really think there’s one (performance) that just stands out. Chloe Adams didn’t look out of place, again we had Amy Gaylor stepping up, Lily-Rose who came in and played her role and then another one in ‘Jacq’ Vogt, who’s worked really hard over the pre-season.
“It was a real focus for us this week to do the little things right and get it done.”
The Bombers have been focused on adding versatility to their game style this season, both in terms of individual playing positions and the team’s ball movement more broadly.
The ability to float between different modes of play over the course of the win was impressive to Hardy, who’s keen to see the group’s prospects when they return home to face St Kilda at Windy Hill on Sunday afternoon.
“We’ve got a little bit of a look to how we want to play the game,” Hardy said.
“We showed different modes, moving the ball fast, slow, off-line, all those types of things that we know we’ve got lots different gears we can go into. We should go in with a lot of confidence.
“Taking it back to Windy Hill, we get to go home again in front of our crowd and the girls are really going to relish it now.”
