DESPITE her name, Spearwood’s Taylah Angel is as hard as they come.

The Fremantle Dockers midfielder works as a concreter at her old man’s business and takes her hard-grafting “non-nonsense” approach onto the field.

“I don’t go out there and look for trouble,” says the 25-year-old, ”but I’ll protect my team mates and let the opposition know I’m there.

“I’m very passionate, but I play within the rules and don’t do anything stupid.”

• Fremantle Dockers women’s team foundation player Taylah Angel. Photo by Phil Barnes

The Dockers’ debut in the AFLW last weekend didn’t go to plan and they were beaten by the Western Bulldogs 44-12 at Whitten Oval in Melbourne.

Angel says they learned a lot from the game and have been training hard in anticipation of their first home match against Brisbane Lions at Fremantle Oval on Sunday.

“Saturday was nowhere near what we can play,” she says. “We can prepare properly here and don’t have to deal with the travel, which was quite new for a lot of the girls.

Cheering

“I’m pretty confident with the home advantage, and all our supporters cheering us on, we can do a lot better.”

The AFLW got off to a flyer last weekend with bumper TV ratings and high attendances at grounds, and Sunday’s match at Freo Oval is expected to be a 10,000 sell-out.

Angel started on the bench for last Saturday’s match, and racked up just 15 minutes in the action, but is hoping to get more game time against the Lions.

“I’m really excited about playing in front of my family and friends,” she says.

Despite her job as a concreter, she says she can’t skip gym work, and still has to pump iron with her team mates.

Angel was recruited from Swan Districts, where she was vice captain and won the WAWFL title last year.

Dockers v Brisbane Lions starts at 4.05pm on Sunday and is non-ticketed, so fans are encouraged to get there early.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK