Essendon VFLW coach Brendan Major says the side’s new trio of “exceptional” Tiwi Islanders will add plenty of x-factor to his team this season.

Arthurina ‘Rina’ Moreen (who designed the club’s 2018 Dreamtime Guernsey), Jessica Stassi and Freda Puruntatameri will all don the sash this year to continue to strengthen the club’s deep connection to the community, and Major said the new Bombers add unique talent to the squad.

“Those three individuals, I met them at the end of last year when I went up and did some football clinics at their school. They’re exceptional football players,” Major said on The Essential Listen.

“The football that’s played up there is a little different to down here; it’s not quite as contested.

“Their skills are exceptional, their speed of play is exceptional and they read the ball better than a lot of players that have grown up playing football in Victoria.

“They bring a real x-factor, they bring something different, they bring really specialised skill and speed to the game, and a slickness that we’re really excited to harness going forward.”

Major said while women’s football may often be lacking in organisation on the islands, the Tiwi community’s affinity with the game can be a huge advantage for the gifted trio.

“I know it’s not as structured in terms of training, structures, expectations and things like that – it’s not the same up there.

“But what they do bring is they’re out kicking the footy all the time, so their skills (on their) left and right foot are just exceptional.

“That’s the strength that they bring, that they see the game and play the game differently to what players in this area do.”

The VFLW Bombers recorded just one win in their inaugural season last year, but the development of the young group was clear to see.

Major echoed his leaders in saying he has high hopes for further improvement this year as the side looks to produce an exciting brand of football.

“A lot of people have said to me that it was a tough year last year and it didn’t really feel like that, because there was a huge amount of development on and off the field,” he said.

“When you’re creating a whole new program, it’s going to take time. And yeah, we would have loved to win some more games.

“This year it feels like we’re starting off at the 100-metre mark in a 400-metre race as opposed to the start.

“The players have returned in really good nick, we’ve recruited well, they’re moving really well, moving the ball well, so we’re pretty excited about what they’re going to be able to produce this year.”

The Bombers will be aiming to kick off the year with a win against Casey Demons at Windy Hill on Saturday and Major said the clash is a good early test of how far the Dons have come.

“I’m hoping to play an exciting brand of football, we’ve focused a lot in the pre-season on ball movement and we’ve recruited some athletic and some really fast players, so we’re really hoping that that can shine through on the weekend.

“Casey, being an AFL-affiliated team, is going to have a really strong side, they’ll be really well-coached, they’ll be really well-drilled. I expect them to be strong, to be structured up really well and defensively to be really well set up.

“I’m really interested to see how we go against that level of competition.”

The first bounce is set for 11:30am.