THERE’S BEEN a lot of hard work in the last three years to get Carlton to this point, but AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck knows it’s about to go up a gear.

The AFLW Blues will play in their first final in five years this Saturday afternoon - and their first final in front of a crowd since 2019 AFLW Grand Final day.

Only Brea Harrington, Gab Pound and Darcy Vescio have represented Carlton in finals from their active list, with Kerryn Peterson sitting out season 2025. The only other players are leaders Harriet Cordner and Tara Bohanna, who represented Melbourne and Gold Coast respectively.

With at least 16 players getting their first taste of finals football, that represents the excitement of this time of year for Buck - and also signifies what’s been put into the program over recent times.

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"We want to play our best footy": Buck on finals return

Mathew Buck spoke to the media about how the playing group is feeling ahead of Saturday's Elimination Final.

“You understand that things will pick up during the week: there’ll be more media to do, there’ll be stories and people talking about you. Embrace that part of the week, and understand there’ll be an intensity lift once we get into the games.

“I’m really proud of the work we’ve done. We’ve had to make some tough decisions along the way… let’s try and create an environment where people can thrive.

“Honesty has been a big part of that, that’s what the players have demanded from me. The combination of setting the environment, educating your players and they step in and get to work.

“I’m really proud of where we’re at right now - but with an understanding that there’s still a lot of growth to come.”

The AFLW Senior Coach was understanding of the expectation that comes with finals football, speaking to the “groundswell” that has come in recent weeks from all corners of the Carlton community.

Despite the rain forecast for Saturday, Buck said that there is a responsibility to the whole club from this weekend.

“We want to make sure we play our best footy here on the weekend and put on a great show for our fans.

“It speaks to the whole Club when Carlton makes finals… that permeates to the players who are walking around with big smiles on their faces, but understanding that there’s work to do.

“It’s the first time since 2019 we have finals footy [with a crowd] at IKON Park: we’re looking forward to hopefully filling the stadium and getting a few fans here.”