Hawthorn AFLW Senior Coach Daniel Webster was thrilled with his side’s “fight and effort” following their four-point win over Brisbane in Round 1 at Brighton Homes Arena.
After trailing at the quarter-time break, the Hawks withstood one of the competition's heavyweights to beat the Lions for the first time in their AFLW history.
Speaking to media post-match, Webster spoke about the victory, Jas Fleming’s game and Lavinia Cox’s debut.
We summarised the key points from his press conference below.
On the game
“We know they’re one of the best teams in the competition. They’re in a position that we aspire to be. To come up here, Round 1, it’s always difficult. It’s a bit warmer up here as well and we were cramping at the end. It’s going to be phenomenal for us in terms of just knowing that if you can beat Brisbane in Brisbane, you can beat anyone, so it’s going to be a good confidence-booster for us. We’re excited about the end result but there’s some stuff we need to tighten up around how we manage those (close) situations but I thought overall, just the fight and the effort was phenomenal. I’m really proud of the group.”
Nice & loud, pls & thx 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YKnFDHGEsi
— Hawthorn FC AFLW (@hawthornaflw) August 17, 2025
On Jas Fleming
“It was a little hyperextension. There was obviously nothing structurally major we thought, that’s why she was able to go back on. We’ll just see how it pulls up, assess her during the week as normal and hopefully, it’s not too bad. I thought Jas was playing a really good game of footy. She’s such an exciting talent and I think she’s starting to really step into the player we think she can become.”
On Lavinia Cox’s debut
“What a first game to come into. I think I was talking to her at the end and the head was spinning a little bit for her I think. One thing we love about Liv is her energy, excitement and work rate’s phenomenal. Every week, she just gets better. She’s going to be a very exciting prospect for us and she’s going to play a lot of games for this footy club, so it’s just great to get the debut game nice and early in the season.”
Watch Webster’s full post-match press conference below
