FREMANTLE will aim to make its new AFLW home at Cockburn a fortress as it prepares to play an historic first game at the club's redeveloped training base in Sunday's season-opener against Port Adelaide. 

The Dockers have shifted their home games from Fremantle Oval to Cockburn ARC Oval this season, with the move part of a long-term development that has already seen the installation of dedicated AFLW changerooms, new coaches boxes, and a spectator terrace. 

While the elite high-performance facilities are a reflection of the professionalism of the League, the Dockers' AFLW stars also hope that playing where they train will bring an increased match-day advantage as they target an improved 2026 season. 

"I think it can be [a fortress]. That's going to be up to us in the first few games," star ruck Mim Strom said on Thursday. 

"We had a strong connection down at Freo, and obviously we had that wind down at there that everyone sort of learnt to adjust to.

"(But) this is where we do all the hard yards in pre-season, where we do the 2km time trials and where we run all our drills. So I think it'll be really cool. 

"We haven't had that proper home advantage, and while we love our connection to Freo, I think it'll be really exciting."

Fremantle is coming off a 6-6 season, with its campaign ending in heartbreak after a final-round loss to Adelaide saw the team miss out on a finals spot by percentage. 

Coach Lisa Webb said the Dockers had used the end to last season as motivation, with the players "dialling up" every aspect of their game this pre-season in an effort to improve. 

"We did a bit of a video about it last week, about how we all felt in those changerooms and how we didn't want to be there again," Webb said.

"We can talk a strong game, but at the end of the day, this Sunday is an opportunity to action all that and create evidence that all the work we have been doing, we can put out on the field.

"That's what we're focused on at the moment. 

"We've left no stone unturned to make sure that we're getting everything right for not only this week but for the season, because we don't want to feel the way we did last year."

Star recruit Eden Zanker will make her club debut for the Dockers after crossing from Melbourne, with the key forward training on Wednesday after battling a foot injury. 

Webb said the All-Australian goalkicker would contribute to the Dockers' increased firepower this season, but not on her own. 

"She's primed and ready to go," Webb said. 

"But I think it's the sum of all parts as well, and we never brought Eden in to win games for us or kick five goals. 

"We want her to play a role within our forward line, so I think everyone in that forward line is going to learn a lot from her.

"She's a great leader, a natural leader, and her forward patterns are pretty incredible."

Sunday's clash against Port will be Strom's 75th game since making her debut in 2020, with Webb paying tribute to the star ruck's consistency, competitive spirit, and drive to constantly find new ways to improve. 

Strom said the milestone had put her into a new bracket with teammates, thanking the club's high performance team for allowing her to be an incredibly durable player across seven seasons.   

"The girls keep telling me I'm old now. So I'm in the more experienced group. The time just flies," the 24-year-old said. 

"You get to four or five years and then going into my 75th game is pretty exciting. 

"I've been very fortunate enough to be picked for that many games and hopefully a few more. 

"We all work really, really hard to play on game day, and I'm really fortunate to be hitting 75."