Carlton AFLW coach Mathew Buck speaks ahead of Round 1 against Collingwood on Thursday night at IKON Park.

Excitement for upcoming season: 

"Everyone's really excited for the upcoming season. You do the longest pre-season, so to actually get to your first game, everyone feels the excitement, all the work you've put in you want to perform. I'm excited and I know the playing group's ready to get out there and to do it in the opening game for the AFLW here at IKON Park is super exciting, we can't wait to see the Carlton fans here."

Looking back on the first ever AFLW game:

"It's a great throwback, we're really fortunate to have three foundation players that are still in our squad at the moment and unfortunately Gab won't be able to play, but Breann and Darcy will play.

"We've spent some time reflecting on what it was all those years ago and what that felt like. It was such a social change as much as a football change, but to see the AFLW grow and to be where it is right now and to see the young girls across the country in footy clubs, it's just fantastic to see. A lot of credit goes to the people that played in that game and it's fantastic to be able to open the season here on Thursday night."

Continuing rivalry with the Pies: 

"You always like to beat Collingwood, there's no doubt about that. Across the whole football club, men's and women's programs, whether it's VFL or AFL, so we want to make sure that we put our best foot forward.

"It was a nice close game last year, with a kick from Dayna Finn that put us back in front to ultimately win the game. So, they've been close in the past and I think it might be close again, we want to beat the Pies."

On Jess Dal Poss transitioning from player to coach: 

"Jess obviously had a remarkable AFLW playing career and has transitioned to coaching this year. She started in the AFL men's program and the VFL men's program as well, and when AFLW started she put all her focus into that as a line coach. She's been remarkable in the way she's got after her coaching and has a really good understanding of the game.

"She obviously has a great connection with our playing group and an understanding of what it is to live as an AFLW player and the requirements of that. She always held her teammates to high account and continues to do that as a coach as well. She's been a great addition to our entire coaching group with always bringing ideas, always with a strong opinion as well."

On three confirmed debutants: 

"Tara Bohanna is a great story for us, she moved down from Queensland to join us this year and the day she stepped in she fit in seamlessly. She was a leader at the Gold Coast, their captain and has joined our leadership group right away and she's that kind of person who just brings people together. I'm so excited to watch her play and be able to implement some progressions that we've made in her game, what I know about Tara is she'll make everyone better as well.

"Excited to pick Poppy (Scholz) up in the draft and someone we tracked for a long time. Now at the point where we can actually put her out there and watch her play. We've told her just go and enjoy your game, get after it and bring your weapons that you always do. We'll see little glimpses of what Poppy can do, she'll build every game and get better every week.

"Sophie McKay, she's everywhere at the moment, she's had a terrific pre-season, has come in and has been a professional right away on the back of a shoulder reconstruction last year. She's put an incredible pre-season together, where she's applied herself to her high performance habits and we're starting to see the results of that now.

"She's had two great practice matches where her ability to compete in the contest has really stood out for us and she's also hit the scoreboard. We will see some dynamic stuff from Sophie along the way, but we shouldn't shy away from how good her defensive acts are as well."

Kerryn Peterson handing the torch to Abbie McKay and Mimi Hill: 

"Kerryn just had baby Max join us now and that's one of the great stories, I just showed a video to the team of Karen and Max wishing us all the best for Round 1."

"She's been getting Mimi and Abbie ready to take over for a little while now and to see those two do it so seamlessly has been fantastic and they haven't changed a bit, which is the best thing about their leadership style at the moment. They understand about being themselves and helping each individual to get better in their own way is what leadership is for them, so they'll handle the pressure of game really well.

"Abbie's a terrific leader on field and people will turn to her and look to her and Mimi the same, so they haven't changed the way they behave too much and I think that's a massive tick for them as well... Credit to those two they've been fantastic."

On senior players paving the way:

"We've got a nice balance across our playing list at the moment with Darcy and Breann who have been with us since the start. We've got Jess Good and Harriet Cordner who've played a lot of footy as well, those four in particular really understand what it takes now to be an elite AFLW player. The lessons that they've been able to put onto our young players that we mentioned, throw Lou Lou Field into that mix, Meg Robertson, Lila Keck, they've helped advance those people's games and what they are as professional athletes around the football club and when they're at home as well.

"Leadership density across our entire list has been really strong and really fortunate to have Belinda Clarke who comes in once every few weeks to kind of meet with our leaders and help our leaders grow and we're starting to see the product of that now."

Who to look out for in the 2025 season:

"I'm really excited to see Erone Fitzpatrick play. She had a knee reconstruction last year, so missed the entire season, but the way she's gone after her rehab and her running in particular has been the best. She's now a brand new athlete and we've seen great evidence of that in training. We got a glimpse of that in our practice matches as well, I'm really excited to see where Erone can take her footy this year."

How the team has come together over pre-season: 

"I can't fault the team's desire to get better and grow. Every training session, every day we come in and there's a thirst to get better and our job is to surround them with staff and education that can support them to do that. We've chased some fundamentals early in our pre-season, we want to improve our skills all the time. We executed our game plan in our pre-season and made sure we're really clear on what our roles and responsibilities are in games.

"All of our players, every single one in our playing list has gone after that really strongly and the support and care that they show each other has been fantastic as well."

Goals for the season ahead:

"I want to see what we've put in place in our pre-season to be actioned on field now. We've gone after our offence and we want to make sure we can improve in things like how we score off turnover. We're a good stoppage side and we know that, but we want to add some layers to our game. You'll see us play a bit more of an exciting brand this year and look to take the game on a little bit more and hopefully we see that turn into scores and and growth from there."