STARTING her sporting career in athletics, Maddy Hendrie made the switch to footy. 

Now standing at 180cm at 19 years old, Hendrie is preparing for her first season in the AFLW.

After being drafted by Carlton as pick No.9 in the 2023 AFLW supplementary draft, the key position tall is learning a new craft in the ruck. 

Hailing originally from New South Wales, Hendrie spent some time training with the Sydney Swans Academy and Greater Western Sydney Giants, before packing her bags and making the move down to Victoria to be a part of the Western Bulldogs VFLW side.

Speaking with Hendrie after Carlton’s VFLW clash with Williamstown, she is keen to kick things off at the elite level with her teammates.

“I’m really looking forward to spending whole days with the girls, getting the educational side of things, and learning the structure of the game,” Hendrie said. 

“I've played in a lot of positions because I grew quite late, so I've only recently just been in the ruck so kind of learning the structure how to use my body how to ruck  – getting stronger is exciting.”

Hendrie’s role in the AFLW side will be vital - as a strong overhead marker, she is dynamic - and can play anywhere on the ground. Having a high jump background, Hendrie said she is keen to use her athletics expertise to her advantage when the season starts.

“It has helped me gain experience with different rucks, because I'm used to even around the ground, I would always only jump because of my leap,” she said. 

“I wouldn't use my body but now you know going up against other rucks, just jumping isn't going to cut it.
 
“Being exposed to different rucks and a higher level you know it is going up a notch in terms of physicality, skills, and structure.”

Although limited with her AFLW prep due to her time currently spent playing in the VFLW side, Hendrie says that playing in the reserves side during the off-season has given her and her game an advantage. 

“I've been personally doing a bit of VFLW so I've been limited with the AFLW prep that the girls have been doing,” she said. 

“Everything is optional because it is technically off-season but we have skills sessions and you can pick however many you can go to.

“I can only pick two or three, then we've got a lot of running and gym work trying to make your gains early and get fit for pre-season.”

A highlight of this AFLW season for Hendrie has been working and training with her teammates in an evening setting, giving her teammates credit for their knowledge of the game.

“I’ve only done training with the Swans and Giants at night, so I think doing day training all day has taken up another level of professionalism, which I wasn't expecting coming in.”