AFLW 2024: Fremantle Dockers defender Jess Low has established herself as the side’s unsung hero

Fremantle coach Lisa Webb loves to talk about the unsung heroes of her side’s charge into the AFLW semifinals.

It is not uncommon for Webb to bring them up prompted in press conferences and publicly espouse their virtues and what they bring to her side.

For every Emma O’Driscoll, there is the likes of Jess Low: a foot soldier and crucial cog in the machine who does not get the limelight afforded to some of her teammates.

Ask O’Driscoll about Low and she will tell you she is one of the toughest opponents in the league.

“If she’s got a tagging role, you bet your bottom dollar her player’s not going to get a kick easy,” O’Driscoll told The West Australian last month.

After the Dockers’ win against GWS in round nine, Webb brought up Low, the under-celebrated defender, out of the blue and said while she never stuffed the stat box, it was the intangibles she brought to the field which stood out.

“I know J Lo’s one of our most respected players within this group, and I actually wouldn’t look if she’s had 2, 4, 6 stats,” Webb said at the time.

“But she went back with the flight twice (against GWS), and she is uncompromising in what she does, so that’s something that we’re really proud of.”

Unsurprisingly, the deep level of respect between the two is mutual.

Webb was Low’s line coach in her first season as a Docker in 2022, and the defender said she never set out to play the game in pursuit of stats or higher individual honours.

“I’ve always built my game around normally having a match up and didn’t worry too much about stats, because the team has always valued my ability to defend or remain on task,” Low told The West Australian.

“Even if they get a goal, that’s fine, but as long as they don’t get too many opportunities over the course of the game, I could have impact there.”

Tagging has never been the most fashionable of roles on the field, but those who do it are usually admired and respected by coaches and teammates alike.

The West Australian columnist Danielle Laidley has suggested Low could be sent to Adelaide star Ebony Marinoff in a shut-down tagging role; a part Low has performed to some acclaim previously.

Low learnt the ropes of tagging back in her days in the WAFLW with Claremont, on one such occasion even tagging current teammate and stand-in co-captain Hayley Miller when she was in action for Subiaco.

When derby week rolled around this season, Webb had no hesitation in sending Low to West Coast’s burgeoning superstar Ella Roberts.

How did Low feel about the challenge of taking on one of the best young players in the country?

“Webby from the get go and (former coach) Trent (Cooper) have always valued that role within the team, and that’s been my role a lot of the time, which I do enjoy,” Low said.

“The Ella one was a bit more nerve wracking, though, because it was in the midfield. I didn’t want to upset balance.

“Running with her for the whole game when she’s super skilled, very fast and taller than me, I was pretty nervous.

“But I went through pretty much every scenario across the ground that could happen and my positioning, that Webby would help me through.”

Low did a dress rehearsal for her tagging role on Roberts in match simulation in the lead-up to the derby to get her bearings, and the result was a net positive for Fremantle.

Roberts had 16 disposals at just 50 per cent efficiency, but just one inside 50, with Low limiting the influence of the star as the Eagles struggled to work their way into the game.

She drew rave reviews from Webb post-game — again unprompted, as she gave kudos to Low for her stellar tagging job on Roberts.

“Probably the biggest shout out was to Jess Lowe, who went to a super impressive player...we’re really lucky to have those type of players out there for us.”” she said.

“We joked about it, I said to her during the week ‘have you got Excel spreadsheet on this one’ and she’s like ‘No, but I watched it really closely’.

“She’s meticulous. I guess that lawyer background is what she does. She takes it really seriously and we know every week, whatever role we give her, she’s just determined to execute.”