FREMANTLE is confident important defender Ash Brazill will be available for the club's semi-final against Adelaide next week after the dual-code star was a late withdrawal for Saturday's win against Essendon.
Brazill suffered an ankle injury against Greater Western Sydney a fortnight ago and was named for Saturday's elimination final against the Bombers before failing to prove her fitness.
DOCKERS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats
The 34-year-old, who has been a vital member of the backline this season with her intercepting ability, was confident on Saturday that she would be able to return for a trip to face the Crows.
"She was really close, we try and give them until the last minute," coach Lisa Webb said after the Dockers' grinding win at Fremantle Oval.
"I know it always comes up, but we train after the teams come out, so we were always going to name her and test her.
"I just saw her then and she was saying 'I'm ready to go, coach'."
The Dockers drew on all the grit and determination they have displayed this season to come from behind at the last change on Saturday and win an armwrestle against the Bombers, with Gabby O'Sullivan sealing the win with a 50m goal on the run.
Webb was full of praise for O'Sullivan's performance, with the veteran forward regularly winning contests when outnumbered and applying relentless pressure as the Dockers won their first final since 2022.
"Nothing she does surprises me because she is so talented," Webb said of O'Sullivan.
"We've been throwing her around a bit, but her intensity in the contest and her willingness to get it, even when she looks like she's been done by 20m, she just charges down and puts great pressure on."
Ruck Mim Strom was the star for Fremantle in a record-breaking performance, finishing with 55 hitouts to set a new AFLW benchmark and surpassing her previous best of 48.
The 23-year-old also amassed a game-high 11 clearances and 26 disposals, kicking her first goal of the season on the stroke of half-time when she took possession from a ruck contest inside 50.
"Sometimes you run out of words for her, she's as humble as they come," Webb said.
"Before the game, you keep her composed but you really don't need to because she's got that look in her eye and is extremely focused on what she needs to do.
"We've just got to continue to look after her, because she obviously gets a lot of attention and she's really important for us."
Webb said the Dockers would embrace the challenge of heading to Adelaide as they look to continue an unbeaten 5-0 run on the road and reach the third preliminary final in the club's AFLW history.
Essendon was left disappointed on Saturday night with its season coming to a close after the first week of finals for the second consecutive season.
Coach Natalie Wood was proud of the group's ability to evolve through the season and adapt to late challenges after losing co-captain Bonnie Toogood (ankle) and No.1 ruck Stephanie Wales (knee) to season-ending injuries.
Star midfielder Maddy Prespakis also went down with what the club labelled a corkie early in the second quarter on Saturday, grabbing at her hip after marking and limping from the ground.
"She's in a fair bit of pain, so it was a severe knock to her upper quad if you like, a corkie," Wood said.
"We tried to get her moving, but trying to get any range of motion and any power meant she couldn't really run and that's a big part of her game.
"We obviously really missed her, but we got Maddie Gay in there for a bit and also Amy Gaylor spent a big part of the second half on the ball."
Prespakis briefly tried to return to the field but couldn't get moving, attempting to stay warm on the bench through the third quarter before a decision was made before the last change to put her on ice.
"She's a real competitor. 'Mads' was working really hard for her team on the bike and in run-throughs to try and get it going for her team, but in the end she wasn't able to," Wood said.
