West Coast Eagles forward Kellie Gibson credits shrewd recruiting, Daisy Pearce for improved performances
West Coast’s last-start AFLW road victory over GWS was as good as the side has played in forward Kellie Gibson’s five-and-a-half seasons at the club.
The 24-point win, which cemented a spot two games clear in the eight ahead of Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide at Mineral Resources Park, followed a 45-point loss to Brisbane in the previous round.
“I think so. We had a lot of things to learn from (our game) against Brisbane. We just focused on a few things leading into GWS,” Gibson told ABC’s Extra Time.
“We executed pretty well from start to finish. Definitely some things that we can work on. Everyone just played their role. That’s what we expect every week.
“It was good to get the win over there and do it pretty comfortably.”
Gibson kicked two goals in the win over the Giants, while Ella Roberts booted three from 20 disposals.
Veteran Gibson, 28, played in the first AFL-sanctioned women’s exhibition match in 2013 as a 17-year-old before joining Adelaide where she was an inaugural AFLW premiership player in 2017.
Originally from Swan Districts, she spent two seasons at Fremantle before crossing to West Coast at the start of 2020.
But she has not experienced the jump in form and confidence like the Eagles under new coach Daisy Pearce in 2024.
“There are a couple of things that have changed for us. We had … some more experienced players coming across, like Ali Drennan and Jess Hosking, and we recruited really well in our draft,” Gibson said.
“It’s a combination of those things … but also having Daisy and a new game plan and her footy brain. She just knows how to get across to each and every one of us and we just know how to communicate with her in a way that we all understand.
“The education piece surrounding our footy, she has just taken us to a whole new level.
“It’s a bunch of things but we are just learning so much.
“The girls that are classed as our young guns, they have just taken another step in their footy as well. It’s been pretty evident on field with Ella Roberts and Bella Lewis. They have just taken it in their stride and they’ve just grown up heaps. Even though Ella is only 19, her footy has definitely done the talking this season.”
Gibson can remember playing against Pearce as a teen and described her as a “gun”.
“We were actually opposite sides of the field when we played AFLW, but one of my earliest memories of Daisy was in the exhibition game … within the first two minutes Daisy just crunched me in a tackle and it was like a welcome to women’s footy at the highest level,” she said.
Camera IconKellie Gibson of the Eagles celebrates a goal. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
“I don’t know if she remembers it, but it’s definitely the first memory I have of her.”
Gibson has played every one of the AFLW’s nine seasons and says she is “pretty pumped” to be a part of the Eagles rise.
“I think my game this season isn’t too much surrounded by the goals I’m trying to kick, it’s more the process I am trying to focus on,” she said.
“We have a higher calibre forward line and Jess Hosking really helps me out in this area, my defensive pressure, the small acts, just trying to work on that a bit more, further up the field, my work rate.
“Just reminding me every week that they’re the things we value as a team.”
Gibson has kicked six goals so far this season after a career-high 12 in 2023 when she was coming off an ACL injury.
“Most games (in 2023) were just get through it. I was more of a stay at home forward last season, but … we have a pretty high calibre forward line so they have asked me to get up the field a bit more,” she said.
Port Adelaide sit in 10th position, three rungs below the Eagles, after an up and down season.
Camera IconKellie Gibson of the Eagles contests the ball. Credit: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
“It’s a great opportunity to hopefully just get a win this weekend,” Gibson said.
“We haven’t had one (a home win) in a couple of weeks. It would be nice to get out there and get one on Port Adelaide, they have been a bit up and down.
“We are going to do some vision on them this week and see what their strengths and weaknesses are and see if we can see manage that and exploit it.”
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