West Coast Eagles to face Fremantle Dockers in AFLW round one western derby

Three Great Southern products are in the mix to line up for the West Coast Eagles in round one of the 2022 AFLW this week.

The Eagles will go head-to-head with the Fremantle Dockers in an opening round western derby at Fremantle Oval at 5.50pm on Saturday.

The AFLW season runs across 10 rounds.

Denmark’s Parris Laurie, Albany’s Sophie McDonald and Pingrup’s Belinda Smith all played for the Eagles last year.

Laurie was a stand-out in the ruck last season, winning the Eagles best club person award for 2021 and captaining the team in the final two rounds.

The Denmark star has been added to the leadership group for the 2022 season alongside captain Emma Swanson, Dana Hooker as vice-captain, Courtney Guard and Alicia Janz.

Smith was also a vital contributor last season while McDonald will be looking to add to her 10-game AFL career.

The Eagles won just two games in their second season last year and will be under the guidance of new coach Michael Prior this season.