WESTERN Bulldogs AFLW coach Paul Groves will be a relieved man, after his partner Sarah gave birth to a baby girl just four days before the Grand Final.
Bulldogs player Aisling Utri revealed on AFL.com.au's podcast Trail Blazers that baby Ella was born on Tuesday morning, leaving Groves free to focus on guiding his team on Saturday.
The Bulldogs had earlier given an assurance Groves would be in the coaches' box at Ikon Park on Grand Final day.
Assistant coach Andrew Shakespeare was on standby to take the reins if required during the home-and-away season.
The team still could be without captain Katie Brennan, after she was offered a one-match suspension with an early guilty plea for rough conduct against Harriet Cordner by match review official Michael Christian.
As it is Brennan's second offence this season, the incident was classified as a two-match suspension. She will challenge the finding at the tribunal on Tuesday night in an attempt to be cleared for the Grand Final.
