Dowson back to again lead Peel in 2024

Two-time premiership player Ebony Dowson has retained Peel Thunder’s captaincy for the 2024 WAFLW season that starts on Saturday.

The Goldfields product turned 34 last month, but shows no signs of slowing down after last year playing her 150th game for Peel and earning life membership.

Dowson was set for an AFLW career after being drafted by the Fremantle Dockers in 2018 but was delisted without playing a game.

“When it (being delisted) first happened, it was a bit of a sore point,” she said.

“Those things hurt at the time and I harboured a lot of those (negative) feelings, which was probably reflected in my performances for a year or two afterwards. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve accepted that the WAFLW is still a high standard of football and I want to give as much as I can to that now.”

Peel open the season at Lane Group Stadium against West Perth.

Meanwhile, Kalgoorlie will be chasing a third consecutive women’s flag when the Goldfields Football League season opens on April 6.

Shane Coysh has coached the Roos into the grand final in each of the three seasons since the GFLW was launched, underpinned by the 2022 and 2023 premierships.

Railways were last year’s GFLW minor premiers with 14 wins from Kalgoorlie and Mines Rovers, each with 11.

Kalgoorlie sat in third place for most of the 2023 qualifiers, but they grabbed second place on percentage over Mines Rovers after winning four of their last five games.