FREMANTLE'S ability to overcome every challenge it has faced this year through grit and determination has the team well placed ahead of its first AFLW finals campaign in three seasons, according to veteran Gabby O'Sullivan.

The Dockers have done it the hard way in 2024, losing heart-and-soul captain Ange Stannett to a pre-season knee injury, gun forward Àine Tighe halfway through to an ACL, and forging ahead without superstar midfielder Kiara Bowers after her pregnancy was announced. 

But through adversity, the Dockers have become one of the competition's toughest teams to play against in an 8-3 campaign, with O'Sullivan tracing their hunger back to the pre-season and a focus on righting some wrongs. 

"We wanted to put it together this year I think that's just been a really strong guiding force for us," O'Sullivan told AFL.com.au. 

"It's been a long time coming and I think the last two years have been really disappointing to the group.

"We knew that we had potential to be up there with the best, but now we've been able to put it together, we've bought some really great players in, and our young kids have improved heaps. 

"We've had to overcome some obstacles too, so that's probably what I'm most proud of. Our wins have all been put together with a team that fights and goes hard for four quarters."

The Dockers' week four win against Melbourne was typical of the team's attitude this season, running down an 18-point deficit at three-quarter time and winning with a goal after the siren after trailing all game. 

It was also, however, the match that saw Tighe suffer a first-quarter knee injury that ended an individual season that started with so much promise.

O'Sullivan, who stepped up in Tighe's absence against the Demons to kick three crucial goals, said the key forward's presence had still been felt this season through her presence at training, pre-game, and shouting encouragement from the Fremantle Oval balcony on game day. 

"She's a phenomenal leader and I still rely on her for her guidance and that voice even when she's not on the field," O'Sullivan said.

"Even though she's not out there she really just helps settle us. We can't replace her, but it makes everyone step up a little bit more." 

The Dockers had more time to come to terms with Stannett's absence after the 27-year-old tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during pre-season in May, with the club champion then voted in by teammates as captain for the 2024 season. 

It was another significant hurdle for the team to overcome, but O'Sullivan said the players' ability to embrace Stannett's role as a sideline coach had been important in their success this year.  

"In order for us to be successful, we have to be all in and we have to buy into what we're trying to do and the success we're trying to achieve," O'Sullivan said.

"So when it's someone like you're captain that you're having to replace, it forces the other girls to step up because we want to do it for someone like her. 

"I don't think there's any one person that can play exactly like Ange plays, but just playing with that spirit and that passion, that's something that we really tried to do.

"And to have Ange there on the sidelines with a headset on the bench has been great for us."

Perhaps the biggest mountain for Fremantle to overcome this season was the absence of champion midfielder Bowers, who announced in April that she would sit out the season as she prepared to welcome a second child with partner Adele. 

The club has been a little quieter without Bowers' cheeky presence, O'Sullivan said, but midfielders Dana East, Gabby Newton and Orlagh Lally had stepped up on-field. 

Then there is star midfield recruit Aisling McCarthy, who has thrived at her second club after crossing from West Coast in a trade that has served the Dockers incredibly well. 

"I love that she's not wearing yellow and blue anymore because I hated playing against her, but she's just an absolute bull and another one of those girls that puts her head over the ball," O'Sullivan said. 

"She has no fear and she's another one that fills that void. She is such a great user of the ball, another leader and has smart footy IQ. So I think she can be credited for a lot of our success this year as well." 

Coach Lisa Webb has emphasised the importance of not shying away from challenges this year and O'Sullivan insisted the hurdles had "only made us stronger and brought us closer as a group". 

Finals, and an elimination clash against Essendon, now presented a clean slate for everyone and a chance to showcase the resilience the Dockers have been honing all season. 

"I've been playing obviously for a while now and this kind of reminds me of our 2020 team," O'Sullivan said.

"No matter what happens in the game we know that we've still got it within us to overcome those stronger sides.

"I think it just shows our grit and that all-in mentality."