Lauren Arnell says her side is buoyed by the return of vice-captain Amelie Borg. Image: AFL Photos.

Yartapuulti senior coach Lauren Arnell has reflected on the opening two rounds of the AFLW season, discussing the challenges of an early injury toll and the lessons her young side has taken from the losses to Fremantle and North Melbourne. 

Speaking to the media at captain’s run ahead of the side’s Indigenous Round clash with the SUNS on Saturday, Arnell also touched on the important return of co-vice-captain Amelie Borg to the backline, the group’s focus on consistency and process, and the readiness of exciting young talent Lauren Young. 

The Power will take on the SUNS at Alberton Oval on Saturday, 30 August at Alberton Oval. Tickets are on sale now.

Arnell on the team’s injury list 
“Amelie Borg, one of our vice-captains, will come back into the team, which we’re very excited about. She has had three very strong years in Yartapuulti colours, and now as one of our vice-captains, we’re really looking forward to having her back.” 

“The injury toll certainly has been challenging, even through pre-season, so to get a couple more in Round 1 was challenging. Things are trending upwards, and we’re seeing some availability become more real for more of our list as we move into the next week or so. 

“Having several ACL returns on our list has been a challenge, and a couple of stress injuries have popped up as well. But I think for us right now, there’s optimism around the players that will be returning to the side in the next couple of weeks.” 

Amelie Borg returns after missing Round 2 through injury. Image: AFL Photos.

Arnell on reviewing the first two rounds 
“I think at this point, we’re obviously disappointed that Fremantle and North Melbourne remain teams that we’re yet to beat in this competition, and being our fourth season now, that’s something that does burn for all of us. There’s an opportunity tomorrow, which we can’t wait for, against the Gold Coast SUNS, who have had their own adversity so far this year, and a new coach in Rhyce Shaw, who I’m sure will do a fantastic job. I’m very certain there’ll be a lot of heat in tomorrow’s game, with both teams chasing their first win.” 

“There’s a burn there (for the team) that we’re yet to beat Freo and North, but there’s also a burn to learn what we need to catch up to those teams, and to perform at a consistent level. That’s going to make us far more competitive in the remaining games – which for us right now is 10 – and we’ve never had more than 10 games in a fixed season, so plenty of opportunities ahead for us.” 

“The genuine experience across the list of both Fremantle and North Melbourne is huge. We did some numbers at the back end of last year, and we found their squads average between 20 and 30 games of AFLW more than our squad – and in AFLW speak, that’s between three and four years. That’s enormous. So, there’s an urgency and a level of impatience to catch up. And in some respects, we need to learn our lessons as quickly as we can and build some maturity in a very young group – so there’s a level of patience required for that. Finding the balance across patience, impatience, urgency, and learning what we need to as we go through each game is a fine line for me to tinker with each week.” 

Arnell on her message for the group after the Round 2 loss 
“I think the message must be around consistency. If we get our processes right and keep guiding and teaching a very young group how to go about what we do every single day, the process will look after the outcome. While the results against Fremantle and North haven’t been what we’ve been after in the first two weeks, the process is the focus, and that will remain regardless of the wins and losses column. We certainly were disappointed in Round 1 with our process – we didn’t show up in a way we know we can – and that was significantly better last week against North Melbourne, despite the scoreboard. So, there’s growth in that area that I’m pleased with in the last seven to 10 days.” 

Lauren Arnell says her message to the group has been around consistency. Image: AFL Photos.

“We found we had 35 inside 50 entries, and I think they were plus-12, plus-14 against us, so it was certainly much closer in terms of opportunities ahead of the ball than what the scoreboard suggested. And then we just left a fair bit out there in front-half offence, and the way we went inside 50 meant it was hard to defend going back the other way. If North Melbourne is good at anything, it’s their turnover offence, and we put that on a platter for them far too much. There’s been some good reflection on how we can be better in our front half to create better scoring opportunities.” 

Arnell on Jasmine Evans’ potential AFLW debut 
“Jasmine Evans is not far away at all. She’s had a very interrupted pre-season, but certainly what she can do with the ball, particularly by foot, is exceptional. We would like to see a little bit more footy for her before she debuts, but I think she’s pretty close.” 

Arnell on Lauren Young’s progress 
“Lauren Young would be a week or two away from debuting. She’s been at full contact for a couple of weeks now. We’re very excited about how Lauren’s going, and she’s certainly done an enormous amount of work over far too long a period of time. Now she’s not far off playing.”