EYES in front. 

Midfield assistant coach Tom Couch has been working with his group on keeping focused as the eighth AFLW season approaches.

Having been appointed to his role as a senior assistant and midfield coach in the off-season, Couch - who previously played at the AFL level for Melbourne - has been thriving at IKON Park, lauding the facilities and culture the Club is providing the AFLW program. 

“I’m absolutely loving it: it’s been great to be back involved in footy and being involved at Carlton,” Couch said.

“[IKON Park] is a great facility, and for us to be able to train during the day and utilise that the best we can - working well with the men's program as well - it’s given our players the best opportunity to perform when the season starts in a few weeks.”

Carlton’s midfield has been a strong point of their game over recent seasons, with the likes of Mimi Hill and Abbie McKay starring in season seven while Breann Moody enjoyed a second All-Australian berth.

Couch has been impressed with not only individual efforts, but the thirst for knowledge the team has and how they've implemented changes with determination and understanding. 

“We’ve got some great players in there - players that have had some really good individual seasons - but we’re working on their craft: they’re all pretty young, and there’s a lot of room for improvement with a lot of the players,” he said. 

“To be able to have time to identify areas they needed to work on and they’ve been like sponges, they’ve taken it on and once they hear the feedback, they are able to execute it pretty quickly.” 

Couch’s no-nonsense approach seems to be a hallmark of the midfield training, ensuring that his group are as defensively minded as they are offensively. 

Not wanting to settle for less, Couch was adamant that the focus was to win clearances and start things from the source.

“We’ve been working on a lot of individual craft: how to use the body, watching the ball but also identifying where the opponents are standing and how we can increase our chances of winning the clearances without being too aggressive,” he said.

“We don’t want to flip a coin where we win some and they win some. We want to be a bit more defensive-minded but also try and get as many clearances as we can.” 

From first impressions to eight weeks of pre-season gone, what has stood out to Couch is the work ethic of the players and the dedication they have to improve their game. 

Naming a particular few standouts, Couch praised their ability to adapt to circumstances and take what's been thrown at them, giving them a flexible mindset when it comes to game time. 

“Harriet Cordner has come over from Richmond and she’s the ultimate professional, she’s been great for the group,” he said. 

“Erone Fitzpatrick came over from Ireland and has shown a lot on ball. She knows how to find the footy and is really good on the outside too. 

“Keeley Sherar is really impressive: her craft around the stoppage, tremendous pressure, tackling and on the outside, she’s a really good runner. 

“Forward of the ball, Mia Austin continues to improve and she’s going to be really good going forward.”

With a new-look coaching group and a revamped high-performance structure, the aim of the 2023 season is to start strong and improve from there.

Couch noted the day sessions that they have been able to put in has elevated the professionalism of the whole program. Now, with the release of the fixture, all eyes are firmly on Round 1 and beyond.

“Round 1 comes and goes pretty quickly, 10 games can go pretty quickly. We’re really looking forward to continuing to improve, starting well and hopefully give ourselves a chance in the backend to make finals,” he said.  

“With a new group and a new coaching staff, I feel like we’re going to be a team that continues to improve every week. If we can start well, we give ourselves a really good chance.”