West Coast Eagles duo Belinda Smith and Sophie McDonald believe side can rise up the ladder in 2023 season

Great Southern duo Sophie McDonald and Belinda Smith are full of enthusiasm ahead of the West Coast Eagles’ season opener against Fremantle in round one of the AFLW. West Coast will tackle the Dockers in the final game of the opening round at Fremantle Community Bank Oval at 3.25pm on Sunday. Albany’s McDonald and Pingrup’s Smith both played in all 10 of the Eagles’ games in 2022, the young side winning just once in their third year of the competition and finishing on the bottom of the ladder. Both women were standouts in an otherwise disappointing campaign, notching top 10 finishes in the club champion award. The Eagles were impressive winners over Essendon in a preseason clash on August 20. Smith, 28, is the most experienced player on West Coast’s list and believes another year of development will do wonders in their quest to improve. “The playing group is the most driven I’ve ever seen them coming into this season,” she said. “There’s a real sense of the limitless potential with this young group and a very exciting time at the club. “Our goal is to win and then to start closing the gap with the best teams in the competition.” A quality rebounding defender, Smith believes there has been great development within the club during preseason training. “The younger players are really getting a good understanding of their roles within the team and how to consistently perform,” Smith said. “Probably the most exciting aspect is the natural talent that we can see coming through our list and I can’t wait to watch those players. “The preseason has been really hard but overall a really exciting period because you can see the development of the girls and seeing them grow each session. “We’ve pushed ourselves harder with our running and gym than we ever have and we’re coming into the season the fittest we’ve ever been.” McDonald, 23, garnered praise for her ability to play a negating role on some of the competition’s best forwards last year. “I’m looking forward to just being out on the park with the girls again,” McDonald said. “It’s been a long break between seasons and with a long pre-season as well, we’re just chomping at the bit for round one. “Also to have consistency of players and staff around the team means that we’ve been able to further develop on top of the foundations we laid last year and can start to see the plans come to fruition.” McDonald said she was looking to build further on her reputation as an emerging key defender. “It’s somewhat of a continuation of last year where I played on some of the best forwards of the competition and shut them out of the game,” she said. “Also to have more impact when we have possession of the ball. “Mostly the defensive work, it does bring a lot of satisfaction to me when done well. “Everyone has stepped it up this year, it’s been of the toughest preseasons I’ve been a part of so now it’s building towards round one and trusting all the work we’ve put in in the last 14 weeks.”