Aurora Smith and Bri McFarlane will play their first AFLW games of the season against West Coast on Thursday night at Mission Whitten Oval.
The duo have been added to the line-up, replacing Cleo Buttifant (injured) and Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner (managed).
Both Smith and McFarlane will start on the bench, alongside Jorja Borg, Brooke Barwick and Brit Gutknecht – the latter who celebrates her 25th career match.
The Bulldogs will have further reason to celebrate, with skipper Deanna Berry and key defender Lauren Ahrens also notching up their 50th AFLW games.
It marks a journey of resilience for Berry, who could’ve reached the milestone earlier had it not been for injury, while Ahrens’ achievement comes after 47 games at Gold Coast across five seasons.
Kaylee Kimber, the Bulldogs’ injury replacement player signing, has been named an emergency for the clash, as has Heidi Woodley and Ellie Gavalas.
AFLW is finally back at Mission Whitten Oval for the first time in 2024, and in honour of our homecoming this Thursday night, we’ll be celebrating the best of the West in a special ‘Locals’ night’.
Check out the full list of offerings here and then head to our game-day guide to lock in all the plans for your evening at Mission Whitten Oval.
