Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell says her playing group is ready to go for its third season in the AFLW. 

After a long and intense pre-season, the Power will take on its biggest rival in Round 1, while wearing the traditional Prison Bar guernsey. 

Arnell spoke ahead of Saturday night’s first Showdown at Alberton Oval about the significance of the occasion, how the debutants are feeling, and what improvement looks like in 2024. 

Arnell on the Showdown Saturday night 
“So excited. Obviously, Alberton’s looking absolutely ready for this Showdown tomorrow night. So yeah, we can't wait. And I know ticket sales are just flying. I think there's only about 1000 tickets left, so we're pumped. There's new grandstands out there. The atmosphere is going to be unreal, and our group's ready.” 

Arnell on wearing the Prison Bars 
“Yeah, so special. We had Josh Carr speak to the group last night. He actually went 10 and zero in Showdowns as a player, and so he was fantastic talking to our group last night.” 

Arnell on Josh Carr’s message to the AFLW group 
“I think the key (thing) is the atmosphere. There's no game like it, really, unless you're playing finals. And so for us to go into a Showdown, Round 1 here at home in Alberton on a Saturday night, I think the message around being calm and composed and playing the Port Adelaide way, which is what we're spending a lot of time on.” 

Arnell on Saturday’s league and club debutants 
“So we've got three club debutants and three absolute debutants. So the league debutants being our young crew, Shineah Goody, Piper Window, Molly Brooksby, who've just been incredible additions on and off field for our group. And, yeah, I think everyone that watches them play tomorrow night are going to love the way they go about it. Certainly Port Adelaide footballers. And then three club debutants. So Caitlin Wendland, Central District kid who went and played at Brisbane last year and is just thriving in our environment as a half forward and pressure forward who can finish really well. Kirsty Lamb out of the Doggies, childhood Port Adelaide supporter, she's just absolutely ready to go. And Teagan Germech, who we signed from GWS, who's been a just a great addition in the contest in our backline. So yeah, six players debuting on some level tomorrow night brings a whole other level for our group. 

“(The debutants are) excited. Like I said, the group works so hard. And I think any coach doing a press conference today or yesterday, going into this weekend is going to say the same thing, the group works really hard. They search for these opportunities. We've got some really strong athletes and footballers behind them who haven't made the team this week, and that's another sign of our growth and development as a group, because we've got some very good footballers who are not named. So the group that get that opportunity, they'll be ready to go.” 

Arnell on the improvements to come this season 
“I've been quite bullish in the previous two seasons here of really attacking our offence, and I think big part of that is you want to be a team that's exciting to watch, fun to play, and high scoring, so that when you do eventually get to that point where you’re mature enough to play in finals, you score against good teams. And so we've had that, and now we've added contest. Contest has been a massive focus, and I'm very excited for our group to show that off. I think we've shown a fair bit of it in our pre-season trial games against the Crows and the Dees, and now to do that for four points tomorrow night is something our group's very excited for.  

Arnell on contest and fitness 
“I guess every good footy team's good at scoring and good in the contest. And so those are things we're striving for. In terms of nullifying it, you've got to match them. Yeah, if you want to be a good team in this competition, you've got to be strong in the contest. You've got to win your own footy, and you've got to get on the outside too, which I think has been another focus in terms of fitness for us. Having a young group, it's taken a couple of years for us to get them to a point where we feel the fitness is at the level it needs to be. And yeah, if we're not close, we might already be there for that at the moment. So adding some strength in the contests, in a young crew and the fitness level to get to the next one, I'm excited for our people to see how far the girls have progressed in that space.” 

Arnell on the pressure to succeed 
“The pressure’s always there. We exist to win premierships. And so being a team that's played 20 games of footy, that's never lost on us, and it's something we aspire to. And what I'm talking about here is being a team that's always building to play a brand that competes with the best teams in the comp, whatever level of maturity we're at. And so if you've watched us over the last two years, you'll see elements of that building. And I'm hopeful you see another piece of that puzzle tomorrow night. 

Arnell on Shineah Goody 
“I think every player we've added to this group is going to add a significant amount to this team. And Shineah, obviously, there's going to be outside noise. She's a classy player. I think one really special thing about Shineah is she's super diligent. She's as professional as you'll see in the league, and she's a footy head, which I love. You'll see someone who under contest and under pressure tomorrow night, won't be two fazed. She'll get going about her business. And we love that. 

Arnell on Abbey Dowrick 
“Abbey's ready to go. She's at 100 per cent. If you watched training last night, you'll see her at captain's run tonight. She's looking as good as she needs to and she'll play well.” 

Arnell on the occasion of the Alberton Showdown  
“Look, honestly, one of the best things about footy is we get to play a game, and so let's enjoy that. Let's not shy away from anything. And I think if we have pressure, it's a privilege. And we know our people will turn up and support the group tomorrow night and be really loud, and the atmosphere is going to be unreal here at Alberton. So our group cannot wait. And you know, this is what we spend pre-seasons and off-seasons working away for, is to perform in front of these situations. So bring it on.” 

Arnell on how her new players have fit in 
“I think our young crew that you've just mentioned, they're quite mature, to be fair. And so you know, with any player that comes into our group, including Kirsty (Lamb), you expect the rest of them who've been here for a little while to get around them and welcome them in, regardless of age. So yeah, I think our group spent a lot of time gelling over the off season and they’re coming together really nicely. So yeah, we're excited for them.