Yartapuulti forward Gemma Houghton said the playing group remains upbeat, despite the side’s win-loss ratio.  

While there are improvements to be made, Houghton said the squad is focused on positives, and feels the group is ‘knocking on the door’ of more wins. 

Houghton spoke to the Adelaide media on Tuesday about the mood among the team, the celebration of First Nations culture throughout Indigenous Round and taking on Gold Coast this Saturday. 

Houghton on the team’s mood 
“I think naturally just a little bit disappointing coming off a few losses, but the girls are really excited (for this weekend). We're always upbeat at training and we had a really good training session today and we'll just reset and move forward to this week's game.” 

Houghton on the North Melbourne game 
“I think we always knew going into this game that North were an incredible team. We set some goals for ourselves and we were able to reach them as a team and that's what we take out of it. North were playing really well but we set some goals and targets that they were doing in the competition and we wanted to stop their transition and particular things that they were doing and we were able to do that so I think that's a tick and we take positives out of that one.” 

Houghton on the year so far 
“I know that it can seem a little bit different (to be happy) when we're still sitting with one win and that's what we were last year, but I think there are a lot of positives. Our list has changed so much, we've got some new key players and we're still trying to find our flow, and there are a lot of girls that have come off and on through injury. I think just finding that balance and to keep supporting each other and training (well), we know that we're knocking on the door and those wins will come and when they do, we'll be celebrating them.” 

Houghton on Hannah Ewings’ omission last week 
“Han's really young but an incredible player. She's got the world at her feet and I think she just needed to go away and focus on some key points for herself. She played in the scrimmage (for non-selected players) on the weekend and performed really well and she's got some amazing support around her we're wrapping our arms around her. She knows what she needs to do and no doubt she'll get back up on her feet. There's a (standard) in our game that we all want to strive for and we trust each other that we're doing the work behind closed doors and we know that Han's had some difficult times off the field with some certain areas and her family, you know she lost her grandad (earlier this year) as well. So for Han, she's very young but she has that support and for her it's just about going away and going back to her basics because her basic is above the rest. She's such a natural footballer and she's finding her feet and I noticed today she had a really good training session. She's holding up well.” 

Houghton on the First Nations guernsey she co-designed 
“Absolutely love them, I'm not biased but we looked really good on the weekend and I'm incredibly proud of our guernseys this year and I worked really closely with the artist Tjunkaya Ken. An amazing opportunity going into this weekend as well, Indigenous Round at home, it's another opportunity to showcase all the incredible work that Indigenous people do in our community and in this amazing game that we play and I'm excited to share that with our fans and supporters this weekend at Alberton.” 

Houghton on the contribution of First Nations players 
“To have five Indigenous players (in our AFLW team), and the amazing work that they do on and off the field, you see it at their workplace or wherever they are, they're massive key pillars of our group. To be able to run out and whether it's during games or training, to feel supported by them and not only that, but by the club. The amazing work you see that the club does in the community is really exciting and I can't wait for this weekend to be able to share that with everyone.” 

Houghton on this Saturday’s Gold Coast clash 
“We won't go into any game lightly, Gold Coast have been playing really well. They're a very contested, competitive side and we want to make sure we match that and play for four quarters and (we’d love to) get everyone down to support us this weekend.”