INCREDIBLY proud.
AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck couldn’t have been higher in his praise for his side on the back of a second straight finals victory on Saturday night.
Producing one of the most complete performance in its 10 seasons of AFLW competition, Carlton produced a 46-point win over Hawthorn at IKON Park, with a first-quarter blitz setting the tone for a team win.
With a preliminary final next week against Brisbane in the offing, this is what Buck had to say.
On his immediate thoughts following the win:
“I feel really good and proud. The team was incredible out there tonight: from the very first centre bounce, they turned up and played an exciting brand of footy that our whole footy club would be proud of.”
On the team’s start to the game:
“We’ve spoken a little bit around finals and the intensity shift you need to make. It’s really important that that comes from us: we wanted to ensure that was the case.
“We didn’t expect to roll out and for that to be the scoreline at quarter time. We had some non-negotiables about how we stack the contest, but it’s been true to our whole year which has given us these opportunities. To see it come through on the big stage was really great.”
On the balance between fun and high performance:
“We don’t listen to the noise so much around how other people view us - our group is really focused on what we want to achieve and how we do that. There’s a fun element to it, but there’s also a high standard and a culture that the players have built from early in pre-season.
“It’s a credit to the work they’ve put in. Right now they get to enjoy the spoils of that, it was great to see that tonight.”
On the investment across the board:
“I’m not sure about comparisons to other clubs, but what I do know is our whole club is really proud of our team and the footy we played tonight. The investment that our club has put into the AFLW program over the last few years has been amazing, the support we have from Board to men’s program to VFL programs to all the coaching, it’s been really great.
“The men are back training now, they were with us on Friday for an open training and they feel the energy that our program is giving at the moment which is great.”
On the youthful energy injected into the side:
“The new generation of athletes and players, they want to have some fun. What they’re really great at is balancing that fun with hard work they bring during the week. It’s do the work and have the fun: we’re seeing if you’re relaxed and enjoy that, you’re playing really great footy as well. We’re leaning into it really hard and we’re riding that wave.
“Up the front are Poppy and Soph and that’s fantastic, but in and under the packs are Lily Goss and Maddy Guerin doing some really great grunt work. It’s a whole team focus, but it’s certainly fun seeing those girls lead the way.”
On Sophie McKay’s fake injury celebration… again:
“How do we ever know if she’s injured? Soph is going to keep doing Soph. We love talking about Soph and she plays in such an exciting way.
“She’s a real professional during the week: when she first turned up at our footy club, she was coming in off a shoulder reconstruction. She had to be a professional from day one.
“She wants to get better and be one of the great players in the competition. To see her play that way, kicking three goals tonight, she’s well on her way.”
On Lily Goss’ performance:
“She understands our role compliance really well, and what we want to see from our shape at the stoppage and at contest around the ground. She executes that to no end.
“’Gossy’ would never look at her stats, it’s not something she prides her game on. When she sees Abbie and Mimi thrive, I’m sure that’s when she’s at her best and most proud of how she’s played. Whether it’s a tagging role or giving us balance at stoppage, she’s been an incredible player for us all year.
“For someone who was picked out of the VFL competition, she’s one of the great stories.”
On what next week’s preliminary final presents:
“Brisbane has been one of the great teams in the competition since day one. To go up there and have to beat them in a really big game is no mean feat.
“What we’ve done across this year is look to the oppo and see what we can take off them, as long as it doesn’t hurt our game too much. We’ll continue to lean into how we want to play. Our best footy stacked up earlier in the year up there, but this will be a completely different game.”
On the energy provided by the 5,645 in attendance at IKON Park:
“We’re incredibly lucky here at Carlton - our fans are the best in the competition by a long way. The noise they bring here at IKON Park is incredible.
“To see the Carlton Cheersquad be really loud, it was a really nice moment as the players walked over to hear everyone cheering. I even think Abbie got a ‘happy birthday’ sung to her as well which was a nice touch.
“I always want our players to soak that time up and be late getting into the change rooms: give back to the fans who give so much to us. We feel their support, we love their support and we can’t wait to do it again next week.”
