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Fremantle defender Emma O’Driscoll backs in first-year coach Lisa Webb after Dockers miss finals
Fremantle missed finals for a second consecutive season. But Dockers players still have full faith in Lisa Webb’s vision, writes ELIZA REILLY.3 min read
November 9, 2023 - 9:00AM
Fremantle players have full faith in first-year coach Lisa Webb’s vision despite missing out on finals for a second consecutive season.
A 22-point loss to Sydney on Sunday saw the Dockers close out 2023 with a 4-6 record, one more win than last year, to finish 13th on the ladder.
Fremantle’s inability to kick a winning score proved a common issue, the Dockers fielding the second-worst attack in the league, kicking just 289 points in 10 games ahead of only West Coast (269).
Webb is contracted until the end of 2025 after replacing Trent Cooper. Defender Emma O’Driscoll said the Dockers didn’t expect Webb’s vision to come to fruition in one season, citing a slow start to the year as the reason for missing finals.
The Dockers lost to the Swans in the final round of the regular season. Picture: James Worsfold/AFL Photos/Getty Images
“I think we say a lot of the time to trust the process,” O’Driscoll said. “That’s something that we’re going to have to do when we reflect on this season.
“Lisa has a contract for three seasons for a reason and that’s so that we can gel as a group and implement a new game plan which can’t be done in one year, especially not in 10 games.
“At the start of the year, we weren’t prepared for what we had coming at us and that was a matter of us trying to implement a brand new game plan under a new coach.
“We had a fair few new players in our team as well and we missed a lot of our experienced players throughout the season. I think we expected to do a bit better but at the same time, our expectations weren’t through the roof.
“We wanted to take a lot of momentum into the 2024 season and I think the last few weeks we’ve been building and really implementing the game plan. We wanted to go out there and show everyone that we can do this and take some positivity into season 2024.
“Moving forward, we’ll go into next season with every player knowing the game plan. We’ll have a few new faces but we’ll all be eager to crack in.”
Emma O'Driscoll backflipping after an early-season win. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images
O’Driscoll predicted the biggest off-season focus would be skill execution, with the AFLW moving away from frantic football and towards methodical ball movement.
“We need to go away and put the work in,” O’Driscoll said. “Lisa just said to us that we all need to go away and get even one per cent better. If we can all do that, we’ll collectively all get better.
“We need to work on those fundamentals and skills. The AFLW is a lot more skilful now so we need to be able to execute under pressure. We’ve got to go back to the fundamentals and execute those small skills right. We didn’t do that.
“(It’s) our efficiency when it comes to that handballing and kicking … a lot of marks that we probably could’ve taken throughout the year. We all need to go away and put in the extras.”
O’Driscoll has been one of the shining lights for Fremantle this season. The defender is firmly in contention to earn her maiden All-Australian blazer following a career-best year.
The 23-year-old recorded career-high averages for disposals (17.1), intercept possessions (8.5), rebound 50s (3.4), marks (3.1), intercept marks (1.7) and tackles (3.1) just to name a few.
It resulted in a career-best outing against North Melbourne in round 6. Under the weight of 48 inside 50s, O’Driscoll stood tall with 28 disposals, 14 contested possessions, 15 intercept possessions, nine marks, eight rebound 50s and 467 metres gained.
“Previously, I’ve been a netballer playing footy and now I can call myself a footballer for the first time because I’ve played for five years now,” she said. “For me, it’s been getting that experience under my belt and building my own leadership skills.
“I want to make myself and every single other person out there better and the only way I can do that is going out there and giving 100 per cent every week.”
Even if she sometimes plays football in overdrive.
“With me, you’re going to get 100 per cent or nothing at all,” O’Driscoll said. “If I chose to go, I’m either going to run through you or commit 100 per cent to that contest.
“That’s something I want to keep as one of my trademarks. I’m going to give you the raging bull every single time.”
DRAGONS FFC 
