After a baptism of fire in her first month as AFLW coach, Western Bulldogs leader Tam Hyett has hailed her team's attitude and work ethic as the Dogs recorded a 42-point win over Collingwood.
It was a near-complete turnaround for the Bulldogs, who have recorded an average losing margin of 40.7 over their past four games.
"I'm happy for everyone at the club, staff, players and coaches. We've got a really supportive group behind us, so really, really proud and happy for everyone involved," Hyett said.
"I don't know if it's pressure (released), it's probably reward for what the players have been engaging in and committing to. That's the most pleasing thing – the scoreboard looked flattering for us, but what I'm most pleased about is we stuck to our processes.
"We did the basics well – positioning at stoppage, contested layering – but then also playing what they gave us. That's building game awareness within the group, so really pleasing that we did the basics well."
It was the Western Bulldogs' second ever game without former skipper Ellie Blackburn (foot) and, after a month in defence, Jess Fitzgerald returned to a midfield-forward role made vacant by the superstar.
"We set [Fitzgerald] up in defence to get a little more ball movement, but we were happy with the players we had down there. We thought potentially forward of the ball, her skills – especially with Ellie (Blackburn) going out of the middle – it gave us an opportunity to put her back there, and she's been brilliant," Hyett said.
"First and foremost, you can't replace her, but what it does do, is it enables this group to utilise their strengths as a unit. She has a lot of strengths, but it I think it allows players like 'Pritchy' (Isabelle Pritchard), even De (Berry) to go in there. They're working really well as a group."
