Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell says there is ‘obvious maturity’ in her playing group, after closing the gap with three-time premiers Adelaide during the opening round of AFLW last weekend. 

Arnell was pleased to see improved fitness and contest on show and looks forward to carrying that over to Friday’s game at the MCG. 

Facing the Adelaide media on Thursday, Arnell discussed the growth in the group, where the room for improvement lies and what to expect in Round 2 against the Western Bulldogs. 

Arnell on the Showdown 
“I think there's some obvious maturity in the group, and I've been pumping up the fitness levels and telling you to look forward to that, and you would have seen it. So I'm pleased with that. The contest element was good too. I think Crows ended up plus one for the whole night, and free kicks come into contested possession. So you know, we lost the free kick count, and we lost contested possession by minus one. So yeah, I think the elements of the game that we've worked on growing are coming together, and the next piece is finding maturity in that. And there's an opportunity to show a bit more tomorrow night.  

Arnell on centre clearance 
“Yeah, obviously, Dan Merrett’s our midfield coach so largely we review it. I think we were 10 and three for center bounce. So, yeah, you have to look at that. And, you know, there's a little bit of stoppage detail. There's a little bit about, you know, you've got Marinoff and Hatchard who are multiple All-Australians and premiership players going up against what's still a young midfield. So there's good learning for our group and definite growth available.”  

Arnell on playing at the MCG on Friday 
“I think it's amazing. Our group is so excited. I'm excited. We've had number of us older girls (who have) had an opportunity to play there a few times back in the day when there was just little pockets of exhibition games and bits of pieces. So to have a fixtured AFLW match at the ground and to have us involved before an AFL final is so exciting. And I think the experience for our crew, you know, coming off a Showdown and then getting to play on the ‘G in round two, it's just what you'd want for a young crew.  

Arnell on the team approach to playing at the MCG 
“I mean, to be honest, we've had a Monday review meeting and Tuesday training session, and we're off today to Melbourne. So it's been a short week, so it's not heaps of time to sit in it. But yeah, certainly we've had a handful of players, about three that have played footy on the ground before, and one who's played cricket at the MCG before for SA. So yeah, we have a conversation and a sharing point with the group around what's the feel, what to expect. And the beauty of tomorrow is we also get a little walk around the environment before the game too. So that'll be helpful for the group. And yeah, I think our game style, assuming the weather's a bit nicer than what we had in the Showdown, I think it'll suit as well.” 

Arnell on the late change of venue 
“I think, where I sit as a senior coach at Port, I get that fixture, and I would never be in a position to pretend that I understand fixturing for anything. So that's not up to me. But the beauty is, they turn around and we're playing at the MCG, so it literally doesn't change a lot for us, except for it's a shorter bus ride. So it's a beautiful thing.” 

Arnell on a six-day break 
“Another beautiful thing about this year is we got the fixture earlier than any other year in AFLW, often it comes out pretty late in piece. So we've been planning in intricate detail the whole fixture, and so we knew exactly what we were going into with the six-day break. And again, outside of Alberton, there's probably not a better surface going around (than the MCG). So we're pumped.” 

Arnell on pressure 
“The pressure on our group at the moment is to be consistent in how we turn up. Yeah, and so how much the maturity and the elements of the game that I've been talking about that I trust our players and our whole group has grown. The challenge is to turn up and show it on game day. And so that's where the pressure comes from. We do some detail on oppo, and we prepare for opposition, but week to week right now, it's about how consistently we apply all the things we've been training for.” 

Arnell on Shineah Goody’s Rising Star nomination 
“The most exciting thing for Shineah is like, I think I said this time last week, she's an absolute footy head. She's so diligent. All she wants to do is get better. She loves our group. We love coaching her. And you know she is going to keep getting better with that attitude. So she's team first, even just having a chat with her about the whole Rising Star nomination and the kerfuffle that comes with it, in terms of media and everything for an 18 year old kid, you know, she doesn't really blink an eyelid. So I think that shows some promise going into the future that you know, first and foremost, all she's talking to me about his team and how she can better execute her role each week. So I'm very excited about that.” 

Arnell on taking on the Bulldogs 
“Without giving away too much, it's very much for us about executing the style of play that we'd like to and so, pending weather conditions, it should look a little bit different to what we tried to execute in the Showdown. I don't want to be too much of a straight bat for you. But yeah, contested footy and front half footy typically wins games in any level. So we'd look to do that. 

Arnell on Kirsty Lamb taking on her old side 
“Yeah, I think it'll be big for her. But also, Lamby gets going for every game of footy she plays. So I think it won't be anything new.”