The West Coast Eagles return to Mineral Resources Park on Saturday for their first home game of the 2026 AFLW campaign, following a 12-point loss to GWS in round one.

Senior coach Daisy Pearce praised the Eagles faithful and their support, and said the team is looking forward to playing on their home turf against the Gold Coast Suns this weekend.

“It’s good to be back at home and get back in front of our fans,” Pearce said.

“They have supported us a lot and I really appreciate them getting down, so I look forward to being back at home.”

While the Eagles couldn’t get over the line last round against the Giants, Pearce and the team have taken plenty of learnings out of the game and will look to make some adjustments on Saturday.

“Disappointing start but credit to the Giants, I thought they pressured really well and defensively they were really good,” Pearce said.

“We struggled to get our offence going, I thought we could have been a bit bolder with the ball on review, and that’s what we’ve got to get after in our main training session today.

“We’re always going to keep valuing our defence but also make sure we really encourage the girls to use the skills that they have worked so hard to develop and go after the game a bit more.

“We got caught up in the contest a little bit so we’re going to work on trying to free the ball up a bit more, and when we’ve got marks or free kicks, backing in our skills.”

While Gold Coast come into this contest following a 26-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, Pearce expects a real battle through the midfield this weekend.

“They’re a challenging midfield and one game doesn’t give you a good sample size,” Pearce said.

“I respect Charlie Rowbottom a lot and she’s missed some footy over the last couple of years, but she’s an absolute weapon in there.

“They add Anne Hatchard, Lucy Single, the tireless worker, and a couple of their young players, Ava Usher, Sunny Lappin, just so talented in their first season and are going to come through there as well.

“I don’t get too deep in the numbers, but I think we’re going to have a real battle in there.”

Reigning West Coast Club Champion Ella Roberts copped a heavy tag during last week’s game, and despite still managing to have an impact around the ground, Pearce said they will have a plan in place to help support Roberts going forward.

“I dare say Ella has been tagged in most games she’s played in her AFLW career, and it’s not going to get any less,” Pearce said.

“There’s three layers to it, it’s Ella working on the strategy and tactics around it, it’s her teammates identifying when they can help her, and then us from the coaches’ box going into the game with a few things up our sleeves to help her as well.

“I’m really confident in all three of those things, and we’re going to work hard to do it, and I back Ella in.

“It’s not a bad thing when you have a 15-disposal day and kick a goal and everyone is talking about how she got tagged out of it, I’m still really proud of Ella and her performances, and I back her in this weekend.”