THERE was a different voice behind the whistle at VFLW training on Wednesday night, as AFLW senior coach Daniel Harford took the squad through its paces.

Handed the reins by VFLW senior coach Shannon McFerran for one session, Harford addressed the players in their team meeting before hitting the track.

AFLW vice-captain and foundation player Sarah Hosking said she anticipated a tough mid-week session, and she wasn’t wrong.

“It was pretty tough, it’s a Wednesday night so he did drill us a little bit,” Hosking said.

“He definitely has a cheeky side in our team meetings, so we also had a lot of fun as well which is important.

“He’s got the respect from the girls so it was great to have him fill in last night.”

Appointed Carlton’s AFLW senior coach in April this year, Harford has been heavily involved with the VFLW program throughout the season, working closely alongside McFerran.

Reviewing the team’s victory against Richmond on Saturday, Hosking said there were plenty of positives to come out of the game, as well as areas they needed to improve.

“We did a little bit of a review from the weekend and just looked back at some of our plays. We identified areas we can work on as well as some areas we did really well,” she said.

“Once we discussed them as a group, we headed out on the park and trained curtained situations and scenarios, which will help us heading into this week’s game against Casey.”

The alignment between both VFLW and AFLW programs provides important support for the players’ development, with McFerran to transition into the role of AFLW senior assistant at the conclusion of the VFLW season.

The Blues take on Casey Demons this Saturday at Casey Fields, with all the action kicking off at 10:30am.