Tunisha's resilience shines as she earns AFLW footy contract with Dockers

Kikoak has been signed by the Fremantle Dockers as the replacement player for Kiara Bowers, following Bowers' pregnancy announcement last week.

A video shared by Fremantle shows Kikoak being told about the news at work as well as enjoying a family hug.

It's inspiring given the 180-centimetre athletic ruck missed out on being picked up by a club at the 2023 draft despite being highly touted.

The teenager, who has played for the Tassie Devils, Old Scotch and North Launceston, was named in expert Kevin Sheehan's top 30 draft prospects.

Fremantle list manager Darryn Fry said the Dockers had been keeping a close eye on Kikoak's early-season form.

"It was quite an emotional response from Tunisha, when speaking of her initial disappointment. There was a burn in the belly for her, after missing out in the AFLW Draft in 2023," he said.

"She continued working hard and focused on areas where she felt she needed to improve.

"Upon Turbo's (Bowers) announcement, we focused on Tunisha as a player of interest, and we watched her play a number of games during the early stages of the 2024 season."

The Dockers noted the 18-year-old's impressive form for the Tasmania Devils in the Talent League and effort for the under-23 All-Stars team in early April.

"Against the GWV Rebels a fortnight ago, Tunisha was dominant on field, playing in the ruck, with some strong aerial contests," Fry said.

"Tunisha's strong in the contest. 23 of those 26 possessions were contested, and her follow up at the ruck contest is something that also caught our eye, but we also feel she has attributes to be pretty versatile and play across all three lines.

"To bring in someone with height who has the athletic attributes that Tunisha has, we feel adds that depth to our list."

The Dockers' pre-season starts on June 3.

Born on the Gold Coast, Kikoak moved to Launceston in grade seven with sister Lelanni, mother Kelly and father Josh.

Kikoak, a former Prospect High School and Newstead College student, started footy about seven years ago and has also played netball and softball for years.

She played junior netball with Amazonz before 19-and-under state league netball with Northern Hawks. Eagles Softball Club is her home.