NOW THAT the AFLW program has appointed a Senior Coach in Mathew Buck, skipper Kerryn Peterson admits it feels the Blues can start to build momentum towards the 2023 campaign.
Whilst the last piece of the puzzle is yet to fall into place - with the Club looking to appoint a General Manager of Women’s Football - Peterson says the excitement within the group is at an all-time high.
“It’s been a long journey from the backend of last year and the disappointment in performance that we all feel a collective responsibility to carry,” Peterson said.
“To get over that period of time - and the thorough process it’s been through - the sense of excitement is at fever-pitch.
“The girls are raring to go and have already started that process of getting in here and working with ‘Bucky’ – it’s a great time to be a Carlton footballer.”
Used to change within the program, Peterson noted that ‘controlling what they can control’ has been more important than ever when looking to the future of the playing group.
Trusting in the Club to choose the right people to lead the way, it’s now about strengthening the connection between the players that have both stayed and joined the Blues.
“The player movement and the instability hasn’t been anything we haven’t faced in the past,” she said.
“There’s a lot of things at the moment that are out of our control and I think we focused on the things we were able to do – we’ve seen that with the players that are prepared to show up with the optional training sessions, the commitment is well and truly there.
“We’ve got a group of players who have been around for a long period of time and have earned that trust and have built that respect around each other – it was just a matter of getting through the process and trusting the people to make decisions on our behalf.”
With four new players joining the Blues through the 2023 NAB AFLW Supplementary Draft earlier this week, Peterson hopes that any new players coming into the Club will be as driven as the group currently is.
Adamant that the group will be setting standards from the minute they walk in the door, she is looking forward to what the program can achieve this year in a new-look Carlton team.
“I would expect that the players coming through the door tonight who have been drafted will be hungry for success,” she said.
“The expectation will be set from day one that that is the expectation: to come in here with a great attitude and a willingness to work together and get better.”
