As Richmond embarks on its inaugural AFLW season, the players will be taking Tiger fans on the journey with them as they share their experiences. Today, key forward Courtney Wakefield talks about the Tigers' first hit-out...

With less than three weeks to go, Round 1 of the AFLW is fast approaching!

We had our first competitive hit-out on Saturday, hosting the Western Bulldogs at the Swinburne Centre for a match simulation.

The session comprised of five 12-minute periods, giving us the opportunity to put our hard work over the pre-season into practice. 

I think it’s always tricky to know what to expect when it’s the first hit-out, especially considering it was our opening experience at AFLW level against an AFLW opponent.

But, I was really pleased with how we handled the session, especially how we burst out of the blocks in the opening minutes with two quick goals.

There are always opportunities for growth, practice makes perfect after all! However, there were plenty of positives to take away from Saturday and I think we can hold our heads high after our first hit-out. 

Being able to defend throughout the whole game at a high intensity is something we really pride ourselves on, and we achieved that on Saturday. Our defensive pressure from the get-go was really impressive and set the tone early.

While I thought everyone stuck to their role really well, I was impressed with how draftee Laura McClelland played in her first game at AFLW level. She thrived at the contest not only in the air but at ground level as well.

Our young girls, particularly Kodi Jacques in the midfield, as well as Ella Wood and Holly Whitford on the wings, really stood up to the challenge. Especially considering we had a number of our more experienced midfielders absent.

Ruck Alice Edmonds also performed admirably. She played that tall option around the the ground really well while also giving our mids first use at the stoppages.

Personally, I was pleased to get back into the swing of things with a couple of goals and a few tackles. 

Celebrating the little moments is something we value as a group and I loved seeing that come to life on Saturday. While we celebrate goals, we also celebrate the moments that got us those goals in the midfield and down the back. 

With the match simulation experience under our belts, we now look towards hosting West Coast in our first official practice match on Sunday.

To come up against the Eagles, a new team in exactly the same position as us, will be a really good chance for us to showcase what we’ve been working on and to see where we’re at.

We can’t wait.