Karratha girl Abbygail Bushby kicks goal in AFLW debut for West Coast Eagles

Karratha football star Abbygail Bushby had a dream start to her AFLW career, kicking a goal on debut in a thriller between West Coast Eagles and Fremantle.

The round five clash saw Bushby make her debut after Jessica Sedunary pulled up with a calf injury after the clubs win against Greater Western Sydney.

The 17-year-old, known for her fitness and talent to deliver possessions into forward 50 plus with her explosive speed, filled in the outside midfield position.

The young talent had eight disposals with five kicks and three handballs and also had two marks.

In a moment Bushby will remember, the 17-year-old kicked her first goal in front of 6000 people with less than two minutes left in the second term to give the Eagles the lead 17-13 at half time.

Bushby was swamped by her team as the debutant soaked in the moment and celebrated her first goal.

In the end, West Coast Eagles fell short against the Fremantle Dockers going down 3.5 (23) to 3.8 (26).

Speaking to the West Coast Eagles media after the game, Bushby said it was an awesome feeling to debut in front of a large crowd.

“It was a pretty awesome having such a large and loud crowd, knowing their behind you gives you a lot of belief,” she said.

“Plenty of nerves going through the kick. Just knew i had to mentally prepare, block out everything and got the job done.

“Pretty amazing feeling.”

“I thought Bushby was great today as a midfielder she was up against some pros in there and she held her own,” Coach Michael Prior said.

“To kick a set shot goal at Optus Stadium she would have been under a bit of pressure and had a lot of nerves, I thoughts she handled the occasion really well.”

The exciting talent was drafted to the Eagles with pick 24 and has had a great WAFLW campaign which saw her take out the Swan Districts’ top gong for a female player, the McSherry Medal.