FREMANTLE got its 2024 AFL Women’s season off to a perfect start, comfortably downing Essendon on Saturday afternoon.

Fremantle coach Lisa Webb said that her side’s performance was “really pleasing. Probably the most exciting thing is we had a lot of contributors today. We’ve been talking about that in preseason. Obviously, we don’t have Ange [Stannett] and Turbo [Kiara Bowers], but I thought that type of performance shows that when we’re all chipping in, we’re on the right track.”

Another thing that impressed the Dockers’ boss was her side’s ability keep the foot down.

“I thought they were really good in the last quarter, five to ten of each quarter,” she said. “So I kind of challenged the girls, and I think you could see in that last few minutes. Aine Tighe, Gabby Newton, there was a lot. Ash mac [McCarthy], they were just within 1:30 to go. They were just ruthless and it’s something that we pride ourselves on, consistency in four quarters. We have still got a lot to improve on, but it was a pleasing start.”

Webb also agreed that it was important to bank a win as big as they did on the weekend considering how short the season is.

“We’re playing a lot of great teams and as you can see, I think it’s going to be really tight,” she said. “Every team, it’s really difficult to pick who’s going to win, and so it is important, but we’ve got to reset after this. We love getting away and then get home to our Freo family and make sure we’re really consistent this week and getting back to work.”

Aisling McCarthy was making her club debut for the Dockers on the weekend and her efforts really impressed Webb.

“She’s pretty incredible,” Webb said.

“That girl, she’s got that fierce determination. I knew she was ready when I walked into the breakfast room this morning. She knows her role. She’s really clear on that and she can execute in big moments. So we’re really lucky to have her.”

Another club debutant who really impressed her coach was Ash Brazill.

“I thought she was exceptional today,” she said. “Jenny kept reminding me of how impressive she was down back. So yeah, just that left foot as well and we haven’t had a left footer before. We’ve really tried to work on our left foot, but she’s just so natural at it.

“She’s a great leader. I think it’s the over thirties at the back and just really proud of the way that she can stay composed and she did that consistently for four quarters.”