AFLW: Bunbury’s Beth Schilling watches on for West Coast as Manjimup’s Dana East makes instant impact

Bunbury’s Beth Schilling will have to wait at least another week to make her debut for the West Coast Eagles, but another South West product had tongues wagging with an impressive first appearance in purple. Schilling was left out of the Eagles side for their round one AFLW derby defeat to Fremantle at the weekend. The hybrid ruck featured in December’s practice match between the two clubs but wasn’t selected in the final team for round one as the Eagles continued their drought against Dana East’s Dockers, losing 6.7 (43) to 2.3 (15). But East made an early statement with a typically physical midfield performance, finishing with nine disposals and five tackles, showing the effects of a pre-season working closely with Dockers star Kiara Bowers. The 20-year-old’s first touch came after what would be her only mark of the game in the first quarter. Sitting under a high-ball from new Fremantle captain Hayley Miller, East took a mark with defenders closing in, turned, and delivered a carefully weighted ball to teammate Stephanie Cain as the Dockers moved inside 50. The former basketballer, who only turned her hand to football three years ago, came to the fore in a tense final quarter, thrust into the midfield full-time. Her tackling pressure quickly became an asset for the Dockers at the coalface — easing the strain on stars Kara Antonio and Bowers. Ebony Antonio, who shared the derby’s best on ground medal with Bowers, said the side’s debutants made an instant impact. “To have six debutants, all of them had an impact today, which was awesome,” she said. “All the young girls coming through have had fantastic skills. “It gives Trent (Cooper) a little bit of a headache with the young girls coming through. “We have got 29 fit players out of 30, so it’s fantastic and I’d hate to be a coach each week picking the team.” Schilling, a former Carey Park ruck who is most likely to line-up in defence for the Eagles, will be hoping to make her debut as the club hits the road for an extended period. The Eagles don’t feature on WA soil again until February 19 against Richmond. Their road trip starts with a clash against the Gold Coast at Whitten Oval in Melbourne on Sunday. The Dockers’ next assignment is also at Whitten Oval against GWS as part of a Sunday double-header at the ground.