WAFLW grand final: Captain Rachel Ortlepp says Claremont ‘won’t be satisfied with anything less than a win’

Claremont captain Rachel Ortlepp has declared the reigning premiers “won’t be satisfied with anything less than a win” ahead of the WAFLW grand final this weekend. The Tigers will face an in-form Swan Districts, who have won their past seven games, at Mineral Resources Park on Sunday in the club’s fourth consecutive appearance in the decider. Despite winning two of the past three flags, Ortlepp said she was motivated by Claremont’s sole loss in the 2023 decider against East Fremantle, which followed an undefeated season. “I was thinking about the outside noise too much and I was relieved we made the grand final because I was thinking ‘oh, now we’ve ticked off what people expect of us,” Ortlepp said. “I didn’t go into that game with the right attitude and it showed, the way I played, that we were satisfied. But we won’t be satisfied with anything less than a win this weekend.” Swan Districts last tasted defeat against the Tigers earlier this season, with coach Jason Burton acknowledging the minor premiers remain “the benchmark” in the WAFLW competition. “It’s certainly something we identified early, was we wanted to get as close to what they can produce and teams like that,” Burton said. “We put ourselves in this position and give ourselves this opportunity for it and that excites us. “We’ve watched them and had to sit out of these games (grand finals) in the past and now we want to embrace our turn and go out there and give it a crack.” Swan Districts earned their spot in the premiership decider following a hard-fought finals campaign, with a one-point win over East Fremantle followed by a two-point victory over Subiaco. Another nailbiter between the Tigers and the Lions, which ended in extra time, also saw Claremont prevail by one point. That result meant the entire finals series was decided by just four points across three games. Tigers coach Jack Schwarze said the tight matches were a reflection of the whole season. “The whole season has been the highest standard of the WAFLW that I’ve seen in my time here,” Schwarze said. “It’s been a lot more competitive across the board and that’s really played into the finals series... It’s been incredibly even all year which makes this weekend even more nerve-racking because it’s probably going to be pretty close again.” The WAFLW grand final will be live and free on 7Plus on Sunday, with bouncedown at 2.05pm at Mineral Resources Park.