Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell said it’s an ‘honour and a privilege’ to remain at the club for another year. 

Arnell has helped build the AFLW program from the ground up, and is keen to see improvement in her group in the 2024 season. 

Fresh from her contract announcement, Arnell spoke to the Adelaide media on Thursday about expectations for the season, the improvement among the group, and how her coaching panel has supported her throughout her maternity leave. 

Arnell on her contract extension 
“Yeah, obviously, stability is good for everyone, and particularly myself, with the family situation and having moved here to coach Port Adelaide, it's obviously an honour and a privilege to have that stability and be the coach at this footy club and coach this group of girls. 

“I'm satisfied with where it's at right now (in terms of the length of the contract). Yeah, really excited with, I think, the opportunity we have this year, and then having some security going into next year and a bit more stability across our list, I think will be important.  

Arnell on the expectations for the season 
“I think last year I said it felt like the first proper pre-season, and then this year feels like the first proper off-season and pre-season. So we've had a bank of time with the majority of our list where we can build on all the things we needed to, essentially while I was on maternity leave, to be fair, so we sent the players on their break in November with a really clear message that we need to be a lot fitter, and we feel really comfortable with where that's got to. Having the draft in December was also really helpful too. Having 18 year olds, and not rushing them in off the back of a draft quickly into pre-season, they had some time and some stability with their new teammates. So yeah, a couple of new additions recently who've also been fantastic in Teagan Germech and Caitlin Wendland, a bit later to the piece. But yeah, really nice, strong additions. So I’m looking forward to the year.” 

Arnell on the group’s fitness 
“It's funny, I was on maternity leave, but as a senior coach of an AFLW team, you never really tap out too much. So I was across the progress that the girls were making, and had a lot of them over to meet (baby daughter) Marlie at my house early days, so I knew they were tracking well, essentially from day one, and then to see them find new levels to unlock that both from a GPS perspective at training and then the trial game on the weekend at Port Augusta. Yeah, we're seeing more and more from them that we've asked for.” 

Arnell on the coaching staff around her 
“Honestly, I think a big part of this announcement too is a big nod to the coaching staff that I have behind me, and while it's an extended contract for myself, I think it's a reflection of the great group that I've got around me, and any level of success that we find with this group won't be just down to myself, it's the whole coaching group and the staff as well. So yeah, I think a shout out to Anthony Gallomarino as well. He's come across from SACA and been new addition in our high performance space, and he's just done an incredible job, particularly from the start of the year. So it's exciting.” 

Arnell on being pregnant throughout the season last year 
“I think the reflection right now is I feel like much more amongst it at training. I was very removed last year, and that meant I unlocked, probably some better ability to communicate with my staff and get coaches to deliver messages better than myself all the time. And then this year, being like, refreshed and renewed and more physically able to be amongst it at training has also been really nice as well. So, yeah, I think you just learn some more efficient ways of communicating and probably stepping back a little bit and not trying to do as much for myself and handing over a bit of responsibility to others, which is healthy.” 

Arnell on win/loss as a measure of improvement 
“Yeah, very much a measure for our season this year. I think we're ready to move (forward) and more than ready to not be the new kids on the block anymore. And I think there's some KPIs and measures within games that you can take around improvement, and then the win/loss stuff will speak for itself as well. So, yeah, I think win/loss will be a key measure for us this year as well as how much more professionalism can we unlock from a young-ish group? In terms of the language we're using, it’s (about being a) 24/7 athlete, there's a bit growth there too, for what has been a young environment at this point, and we keep pushing the envelope on that.” 

Arnell on the 24/7 athlete focus 
“I think, as a young group evolves, that you learn better about more consistent training standards. But it's also being a 24/7 athlete is about what you do when you're not here, I think, more importantly, and prioritising different elements of your life when men's or women's or any level of athlete, you have friends that are not athletes, and what your friends do outside of what you do is has to be different, because you're looking for a greater outcome in life in terms of what you need to perform as an athlete. So yeah, there's little pockets of that that we learn along the way.” 

Arnell on player improvement 
“To be fair, like we've almost every player's had a PB in some element, and a big chunk of players have PBs across the gym and running, which we now expect. And that's part of what we're trying to unlock, is, how much do you push yourself and get to the next level every year? So I would say the third year players, so our first group of draftees, and you think about Sachi Syme, Amelie Borg, Ella Boag, that group now turning 20/21. We're seeing a third pre-season, or effectively a second proper pre-season into them, and that unlocks a higher standard for them, which is exciting.  

“I think Ash Saint’s one who stepped into our small leadership group this year. And yeah, you'll see is quite obviously a lot fitter this year. And you know, still only, I think, 24 herself. And so that's exciting. With depth of experience, she's got in this competition behind her, and now a key member of our leadership group is someone that we're excited about. And, yeah, I've always been hesitant to call out individuals, but I think Amelie Borg is one who, she was the second youngest player on our first ever list, and she was 17 and finishing school for the majority of her first year, and now is a real key leader in our back line, and has absolutely nailed her off-season and pre-season. She is someone who just drives standards on and off field that we're really pleased with.” 

Arnell on the practice match against Melbourne on Sunday 
“We're allowed to play 24 and I think we have one team right now amongst what I'm hearing is a big group in this competition who are going with some injury clouds. Out of 30 listed players, we're probably looking at about 24/25 available. So yeah, we'll see pockets of somewhere near our best 21. We still have a couple injuries looking to come back, probably just a week late. Our key ones would be Foley and Cuthbertson. You won't see them Sunday, and we'd expect they're pretty close.” 

Arnell on Josh Rachele’s comments about Port fans 
“I wouldn't think that anything that is said changes the level of competitiveness and dislike across the teams, but I think there's a natural level of respect as well. So no I haven't seen those comments, but you know, I'm looking forward to watching the boys this weekend. Even more so looking forward to Round 1 here at Alberton. There's a new grandstand that's already come in. I think the capacity is going to be somewhere between seven and eight thousand people. Prison Bars for a W showdown, first one here at Alberton. Yeah, just cannot wait.”