On the 27-point win:

“We’re really happy with the win. I think it’s really good reward for the girls – we felt like we were ahead in a lot of the stats but just weren’t finishing off our work, so it was nice to be able to come home in the last quarter.

“We had a lot of time in forward half and were able to capitalise on that with some girls putting it through the big sticks, which always helps.

On Elle Bennetts:

“Naughty (Elle) is amazing. She’s probably our best preparer, invests really well in her recovery and is playing some of her best football at the moment in the later stages of her career.

“We’re very lucky – she’s almost like another coach out on the field and is a really considered voice among the group.

"We’re rapt we could get the win for her because she has a really significant impact not just on the playing group, but also the staff and the coaches.

“We just adore her.”

On the last quarter:

“(It was just) hard work. That’s why the girls do pre-season – to be in that position at three-quarter time and just go to work.

“We had a really big focus on turning the ball over earlier. We felt like we were leaving a lot up to our defenders in our first three games, and we weren’t overly happy with how we were defending the ground.

“We went to work a little bit more on that higher up the ground, which allowed us to have deeper entries.

“It was just a lot of hard work and credit to the players – everyday they come into the Club wanting to get better.

On her three-quarter time message:

“We spoke about (wanting to impose ourselves) pre-game as well – it was just reiterating some of the things we wanted to go after today.

“We knew that if we were first to move, then that would give us the best look. That means even when you don’t have the footy, what are you doing next?

“It’s just simplifying the messaging and the girls followed through on that.

“I’m just really pleased. They’ve put in a mountain of work and probably externally aren’t getting, I don’t think, the kudos that they deserve.

“Becoming relevant was really big for us last year, but I think we’re more than relevant now.”

On adding layers to their game:

“We pride ourselves on contest and defence, and we knew if we were going to compete with those teams in the upper echelon of the ladder, we needed to be able to move the ball cleaner and better.

“We also knew we needed to finish off our work.

“Last year, we got a lot of looks (forward) but probably didn’t finish that. We just have to go back to the basics.

“For us to win the ball back, it’s how we can we turn the ball over earlier and that’s where we get our offensive looks.

“I’m really proud that some of the stuff that we worked hard on in the pre-season and off-season, we are getting reward for today.”

On Emma McDonald:

“She’s pretty good isn’t she?

“She had a really big off-season away from the Club, where she worked a lot on her kicking, but she does everything full throttle.

“She’s always going to get better on the training track because of the way that she trains, and she carries that into game day.

“She’s a very nice asset that we have up forward.”

On Isabelle Pritchard:

“She’s always been a pretty natural leader, so she hasn’t had to change a lot. She’s great at  ‘come with me girls’ on field, and I think that’s something that really resonates with our players.

“Her authenticity about the way she leads – she doesn’t over-lead or try and do too much. She sits in a really good spot in terms of her leadership – she’s been great.

“It hasn’t affected her game either, which sometimes as a new leader it can.

“If anything it’s probably elevated the way that she plays.”

On whether it was a ‘coming of age’ game:

“I mean potentially. I feel like during the pre-season, we showed that we were coming of age so to speak.

“For me, the reward for the players is the most important thing.

“You get the nourishment from the way that you play and putting wins on the board, so I’m just really pleased for the players.”