Toppling the Demons is at the forefront of both the AFL and AFLW players’ minds as the Pies’ two sides prepare for their upcoming clashes with Melbourne.
Captains Darcy Moore and Brianna Davey shared that sentiment at the Club’s joint press conference on Wednesday as they look ahead to a Qualifying Final and Round One blockbuster against the Dees respectively.
“With the AFLW girls taking on the Dees in their opening round, the reigning premiers, it’s a bit of a Dees theme around the club this week,” Moore said.
“That connection between our two groups is something that we’re definitely looking to grow around this place over the next few years.
“Hopefully our fans, the Magpie Army, our 19th man, can blow the proverbial lid off the MCG and give us the advantage on Thursday night for us.”
The Pies will kick off AFLW season eight at Ikon Park on Friday night, with the game set to be Davey’s first since rupturing her ACL in January last year.
The Pies skipper hasn’t played since Round One of the first 2022 season, meaning the 2021 AFLW best & fairest winner essentially missed two full seasons.
But Davey is just glad to be out the other side, saying she was elated to be able to lead her teammates once again.
“It’ll feel a bit surreal running out, it’s been almost a year and a half now since I’ve played a game and Brit Bonnici our vice-captain is in the same spot so I can’t wait to get out there,” she said.
“It feels like you’ve missed a lot more than what you have even though it’s in a way the same time frame.
“Two seasons was rough…but it almost feels like that’s in the past now, I’m just so excited for this weekend and then going forward in the season.”
Moore is coming back from his own injury after a minor hamstring strain three weeks ago against Geelong, confirming he would be 100 percent for next Thursday’s final.
While he’s missed the past two games, Moore said he always felt confident he’d be right in time for the Dees clash having commenced his recovery extremely quickly.
“To be honest it’s been pretty consistent…I started running three days post my injury,” he said.
“I’ve had a really good training block for a couple of weeks and put some work in to be ready to go next Thursday night.
“As much as you’d love to play every game and we’re competitive beings, in hindsight it’s a good chance to freshen up both mentally and physically.”
Having qualified in top spot, Moore was confident his side wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the expectations and indicated that they would use last year’s finals campaign as a learning curve.
“Obviously we were riding the wave last year of some great momentum with 11 or 12 wins in a row which was really exciting,” he said.
“This year feels like a new challenge and there’s plenty of guys in the team with experience from last year so we’ll definitely draw upon that in the next month.
“We’re confident out best footy is ahead of us and we’re going to bring it.”
The success of the Club’s AFL side has the Pies in prime position to secure the McClelland Trophy for the first time since it’s revamped criteria.
The trophy has in the past been awarded to the club who finished top of the AFL ladder but will now recognise the best performing club across both the AFL and AFLW competitions.
With the AFLW side hungry for their maiden premiership, Davey said while it wasn’t at the forefront of her mind, it would be a nice bonus to align the Pies’ two programs.
“It’s definitely something pretty exciting if you can get your hands on it,” she said.
“It sounds so cliche but for us it’s going to be focusing on each week, getting the performances in and hopefully going to the finals and going a step further than we have other years and hopefully going to a Grand Final.”
Watch the full Press Conference:
