Lisa Webb - Fremantle Dockers AFLW Coach (07.10.2026)

Mark Duffield (0:00)

Welcome back to the SEMWA studio out here at Optus Stadium on this Wednesday morning in Perth. Massive game ahead for the Fremantle Dockers, AFLW team this weekend. They take on competition trendsetters, North Melbourne. Their coach, Lisa Webb, joins us on the show. Lisa, welcome.

Lisa Webb (0:18)

Thanks for having me.

Mark Duffield (0:20)

Challenges don't get much bigger in AFLW than North Melbourne at Arden Street. How do you go about it?

Lisa Webb (0:28)

Yeah, obviously, this is a great challenge as well, but yeah, we just got to keep stepping into them.

They're a really well-polished team, clearly, and we got some really tough lessons last year. But for us, it's more about how do we improve, show we've improved and make sure that we compete for four quarters with the best football that we can possibly play, because we've got great confidence in our group. And yeah, it's a challenge we're accepting, can't wait to get stuck in.

Mark Duffield (0:56)

So they put 100 points on you last year. What went wrong in that game, as you recall it?

Lisa Webb (1:03)

Thanks for the reminder. No, it wasn't ideal.

Yeah, we, I vividly remember, you know, they're so well-drilled as well, and we were quite raw in particular areas of the ground, and they didn't really matter where, you know, we set up. They just played, you know, the draft in the way that they could, and that is, you know, trust that they were going to win the ball in certain areas of the ground, and when they bounce, they're pretty difficult to stop. So, yeah, we're really confident that we've got, you know, things not only in place to stop them, you know, doing that like they did last year, but also how we can put some school board pressure back on them as well. So we didn't get it right last year, but yeah, we're certainly not thinking about that. We're pushing forward. We want to play the best footy we can, and we know we can, and we're going to have to this week.

Mark Duffield (1:52)

So it was a terrific AFLW derby at Lidl-Oval against West Coast last weekend. Unfortunately for you, you were 12 points on the wrong side of the scoring ledger. And just listening to some of the players talk after the game, Gabby Newton saying the other day on Scotty and Goss for Breakfast, you didn't play the way you wanted to play. What went wrong for you in that game, you think?

Lisa Webb (2:14)

Yeah, I think we just got really stagnant, especially with our ball movement. We talk about how we want to take the game on and we just kind of got stuck. You know, we went long down the line a lot more than we would have liked.

We weren't brave enough with how we wanted to move the ball and it just played into their hands. And our contest work, especially aerially, which we've been really good at, we didn't get right. So, yeah, we obviously reviewed that yesterday because there are areas of the game in which we think we're 100% better than what we performed with that. And yeah, we also need to look at a few different areas as well, just some key moments in the game, I think, especially in the first half. We just created many opportunities and didn't capitalise, so we needed to look at why that was happening, so that's, you know, the education piece or whether we, you know, were overwhelmed at different stages of the game and how we can get back. So we understand that there's problems in games and we're very solution obviously focused as to what we can do to ensure that we have growth from our group and we can go forward and learn from those mistakes because that's the important part for us.

Mark Duffield (3:24)

Yeah, there's a couple of moments where you were absolutely out and there was just someone zigged when they needed to zag, I think, and turn what was going to be an uncontested goal into a contest again, which was unfortunate in a very fiercely contested game, it must be said. Now, one of the injuries you suffered in that game obviously was Hayley Miller, who got a knock to the hip. How is she shaping up for this weekend?

Lisa Webb (3:47)

Yeah, she did. And obviously, she was disappointed. She loves a derby as well. And you can see the way that she attacks the football, especially in a couple of really big moments. But yeah, I watched her yesterday. We had a lighter session yesterday. And she was actually moving really well. So I'm really optimistic she'll be fine. I think she's going to be able to get through. Yeah, we've got to train tomorrow.