Irish Fremantle star Aine Tighe declares she has room to improve after dominant three-goal game against Hawthorn

If Kiara Bowers is Fremantle’s best AFLW player then Aine Tighe is the Dockers’ most important. But that pecking order could be rewritten by the end of the season writes, ELIZA REILLY.

Irish star Aine Tighe may be the Dockers most important player. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

If Kiara Bowers is Fremantle’s best AFLW player then Aine Tighe is the Dockers’ most important.

But there’s every chance that the pecking order will be rewritten by the end of the season.

Tighe is making up for lost time. In any other sport, the 31-year-old would be coming into the twilight of her career. But in reality, she’s only just getting started.

Since moving to Australia from Ireland, Tighe has overcome two anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions. That was before her first game of AFLW. Now, it’s hard to imagine Fremantle’s forward line without her.

On Saturday against Hawthorn, the 185cm key forward was at her devastating best. After kicking a career-high four goals against the Hawks last year, Tighe dined out again with three majors.

Even more imposing was Tighe’s aerial presence. Before round three, she’d never taken more than six marks in a game of football. Against Hawthorn, she plucked 12, five of which were contested, only just falling short of the AFLW record.

Aine Tighe pulled down 12 marks and kicked three goals against Hawthorn. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images)

The frightening thing? Tighe believes she can get even better.

“Absolutely,” Tighe told CODE Sports. “For me, it’s trying to get that continuity now.

“I’ve worked on different things at different stages of my career. First I spent an awful amount of time on my set shots, even when I was injured back home, until I got comfortable with them.

“Marking is something I’m still working on. So for me, it’s piecing everything together and doing it week in, week out.

“Some days it comes off like that. Other days it doesn’t. It’s never going to be perfect.

“When it all comes together, someone is lucky enough to get on the end of it and it happened to be me.”

A permanent move to Australia has fast-tracked Tighe’s AFLW ambitions. Instead of commuting to and from Ireland in between seasons, Tighe now lives in Perth and works as Fremantle in the club’s community department, immersing herself in football.

A permanent move to Australia has fast-tracked Tighe’s progress. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“Absolutely (it’s helped). Even watching footy on the weekend and getting down to games, I try to spend as much time around the club as I can building my craft,” she said. “In the off-season, I can now go and have a kick with the girls and keep working on my skills.”

Remarkably, six of the eight goals scored between Fremantle and Hawthorn were kicked by Irish players. Tighe was the star of the show but teammate Orlagh Lally and Hawks Aine McDonagh and Aileen Gilroy were worthy supporting acts.

Dockers Joanne Cregg and Amy Mulholland also moved across from Ireland before pursuing AFLW careers. Despite the roaring success of cross-coders, Tighe said the transition from Gaelic football wasn’t as simple as it looked.

“People from the outside looking in probably think it’s an easy transition based on the success we seem to have,” she said. “But it is difficult and there’s so many ups and downs and frustrations with it.

Tighe is one of a growing group of Irish players having a major impact on AFLW. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“It shows the attitude of the Irish girls. We want to get down to work and master it.

“It’s unbelievable the impact that Irish girls are having across the competition. It’s something we’re proud of as well.”

One thing is for certain. Fremantle coach Lisa Webb is happy to have the luck of the Irish on her side.

“Pretty handy,” she said. ”She just goes from strength to strength. I‘m excited to see her continue to grow.

“She‘s still got elements of her game but she’s an important player for our team.

“She was (the difference).”

Originally published as Irish Fremantle star Aine Tighe declares she has room to improve after dominant three-goal game against Hawthorn