Excitement is building as the Eagles take on the Gold Coast Suns in their AFLW season opener
By westcoasteagles.com.au
The West Coast Eagles are ready to launch their 2025 AFLW campaign tomorrow night against Gold Coast Suns, with the season-opener now set for Mineral Resources Park following a late venue change.
Senior coach Daisy Pearce said the shift from Leederville Oval was a smooth transition for the group.
“We train and play here anyway, so nothing much changes,” Pearce said.
“We’ll crack in and look forward to seeing as many people here as possible. It’s only 15 minutes down the road so just make sure you come to Mineral Resources Park, and not Leederville!”
Co-captains Charlie Thomas and Bella Lewis will lead the team out together for the first time, with Lewis returning from an ankle injury that kept her sidelined throughout the pre-season.
“She’s been an absolute professional in her rehab and will be ready to attack it,” Pearce confirmed.
Thomas said it was “business as usual” heading into her first season as skipper alongside Lewis.
“It was a massive honour to be named captain alongside Bella, but we got voted in for a reason, so I don’t feel like I have to change too much,” Thomas said.
“Now that we’re in-season, we’ve played our role up until this point, now we just get to play footy.”
The 21-year-old defender said having Lewis back on field would provide an important boost.
“I love playing with Bella,” Thomas said.
“She’s had a tough pre-season, but she’s worked extremely hard to get back. From a positional point of view, it’s great to have her voice in the midfield and forward, while I’ll be down back.”
Three players will pull on the Eagles guernsey for the first time, ruck Liz McGrath, midfielder-forward Lucia Painter, and small forward Kayla Dalglish, each impressing through the pre-season.
Pearce praised their competitiveness, athleticism and football smarts, noting all three had “earned the right” to play.
Pearce said the squad had narrowed its focus over the off-season, targeting fundamentals under pressure and team defence to match the continually improving standard of the competition.
“We want to play to win, execute our game style, and give ourselves an opportunity every week,” Pearce said.
“The competition just gets better every season, and we can’t wait to see where we sit.”
Bouncedown against the Suns is 7:15pm Thursday night, watch live on 7mate, Fox Footy and Kayo.