AFLW: Waalitj Marawar coach Daisy Pearce on the Chris Judd message that has Eagles fired up for strong finish

If Waalitj Marawar fall short of a maiden finals campaign this season, a message from a former club great has left with something to shoot for to finish the campaign.

After a disappointing derby defeat, finals are all but out of the question for the Eagles, given their poor percentage, but Chris Judd has told the playing group the end of the season is still a crucial time for the club’s growth.

“It was awesome to have Judd in and share his stories on elite development and his training and dedication,” Pearce said on SEN.

“But what stood out to me and the group was how he felt about the 06 flag, and that he felt it was won at the end of 2004 and how you build a flag team.

“You never know what quarter or training session will be the moment that starts to make that snowball come together, which is exciting given how early in the journey we are as a group.”

While the Eagles continue to develop Pearce still lamented a missed opportunity against Fremantle after a second-half dominance brought little reward on the scoreboard.

“We were able to win a lot of those stats and KPI’s but they were just a lot more polished at taking their opportunities and every time we left the door ajar they took it,” she said.

“Our work this week has been more creative and to not be so predictable in our forward 50 entries to make sure we’re really challenging defences.”

The derby also saw teen sensation Ella Roberts heavily tagged and though she worked through it admirably Pearce said it’s also up to the team to help her out.

“It’s a learning for Ella and our players, all through this season we’ve come away from every game with a better understanding of what our players need,” she said.

“Ella would have taken heaps out of it as well as the team on how they can help her out a bit.

“But we’ll just get better and better at that as we develop.”

During Indigenous Round, the West Coast Eagles will be referred to as Waalitj Marawar, ‘Eagles of the West’ in Noongar language.