Dan Lowther on... The return of AFLW footy

Pretty relieved to be fair. It's been nine, ten months of training and preparation so to go through 14 weeks of a preseason to get to the line finally is a relief but at the same time there is an air of excitement clearly around another AFLW season which is looking to be a really competitive one across the board. It's been an enjoyable period but challenging at the same time but here we are, which is great. 

Dan Lowther on... Expectations

I don't think there's an expectation. We've spent a lot of time building a culture around standards and I think there's a certain standard that the group measures themselves off which, if you meet those standards and work towards those areas, then there might be some positive outcomes. But nothing is guaranteed. We remind our players that we got to a finals series, we got knocked out in the first final which means we finished seventh. So what are our expectations moving forward? To be as good as last season or to keep improving?

Dan Lowther on... Western Bulldogs

I think you'd be a fool to think that tomorrow is just a regular game, we all know we talk about the AFLW being a series of 10 games, so to finish at a similar level (last year), they've got a really strong playing group, again, they've been consistent for a number of years as well, they're quality players that play through their midfield, up front, and in their defence so they're going to be a really tough game, we respect them highly. 

Dan Lowther on... Erin Hoare and Renee Garing 

Erin's been fabulous so as soon as she flagged that she'd be keen to play again it was a no-brainer for us, we want to keep making sure we're bolstering our midfield group. The work that Liv Fuller has done the last couple of seasons, she's been going against taller players every week and she's done a hell of a job but hopefully Erin can give her some support. Erin's tried from the very beginning to be prepared and she's got to the line so we've got to make sure that we don't forget that it's been four years since she's played the game, so we'll give her every chance to get better. 

The story with Renee... we're really clear on her story. 12 months, having a family and getting back to the condition to play, so she gets her chance not because of luck but off the back of absolute elite standards and the way she prepares for preparation around her game and her body.. everything basically, she's a standard setter for our team so I'm looking forward to seeing how she goes.