Exmouth’s Mim Strom stands tall in ruck, Dongara’s Roxy Roux battles as Dockers go down to Kangaroos in AFLW

A solid contribution in the ruck from Exmouth local Mim Strom and hard work by Dongara export Roxy Roux were not enough for Fremantle on Sunday, as the Dockers were defeated for the first time this season. North Melbourne won by 10 points, 3.8 (26) to 2.4 (16), at North Hobart Oval as Freo struggled without star midfielder Kiara Bowers. Strom battled away, winning 15 hit-outs and racking up 11 disposals and eight tackles. Roux put pressure on in marking contests, but had a relatively muted game by her usual standards and did not trouble the score sheet. She had three hit-outs and a handful of tackles and disposals. The 1.82m Strom, Freo’s only established ruck, was key for the Dockers in 2021 and has shown her worth again this season. She has notched 16 hit-outs a game compared with 11 a game last season, giving her side advantage 4.3 times a match on average. Irishwoman Aine Tighe is back in action but after significant knee injuries may not stand up to the rigours of winning centre clearances, which leaves Strom as the main option. She is backed up by Roux but she is needed elsewhere. While having “Turbo” Bowers at her feet makes Strom’s job easier the loss highlights how big an impact she has for the Dockers. “It makes it easier when she’s standing at your feet,” Strom said earlier this season. “I’ll try and get it to her as cleanly as possible but she always manages to get on the end of it anyway.” Freo battled well in their fourth match in 16 days but struggled without Bowers, who is out through suspension. The side and its pair of Mid West stars have now headed back to WA and will undergo quarantine. “It may have looked a bit easy because of the results and some of the footy we’ve been playing, but it definitely hasn’t been easy,” senior coach Trent Cooper said. “If you said we were going to be over here in those circumstances and win four out of five, we would’ve taken that every day of the week.”