Fremantle Dockers star Hayley Miller opens up on defeat to Adelaide Crows ahead of semifinal rematch

Fremantle star Hayley Miller says it felt like Adelaide “had three extra players out on the ground” last time they met, as the clubs prepare to go head-to-head in a highly-anticipated semifinal rematch.

Speaking to The West’s Dubya podcast, the former skipper opened up on being held goalless by the Crows in the club’s worst loss of their 2024 campaign, a 33-point drubbing at Fremantle Oval.

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“We played Adelaide early in the year and had a shocking game. We couldn’t kick a goal, we didn’t kick a goal,” Miller said.

“It honestly felt like they had three extra players out on the ground.

“Once they got the ball inside their forward half, they set up extremely well behind the ball. We weren’t able to shift it off the line and find our way through that.

“Our defenders did a great job of rebounding it off the half back but our forwards weren’t organised enough or predictable enough to the girls coming out of half back. We weren’t able to get anything going forward.”

The 28-year-old said the Dockers will review the heavy round two defeat ahead of the semifinal clash at Norwood Oval on Saturday.

Fremantle are considered rank outsiders against the three-time AFLW premiers.

But that sits just fine with Miller, with the Dockers embracing what many consider to be a free hit finals campaign, given the players they’ve lost this season in captain Ange Stannett, club great Kiara Bowers and star spearhead Aine Tighe.

“I love the underdog mentality,” she said.

“There are a lot of good players in that team. You look at it on paper and you say ‘that’s pretty hard to beat’.

“We’ve got to be at our absolute best but that’s what we’ll be looking to do, be at our best and play our best brand of footy.

“This is an opportunity to come up against a really, really solid team and anything can happen with that.”