TWO down, three to go.

In a new-look pre-season across the AFLW competition, Carlton has now ticked off two of their five pre-season commitments leading into the season opener against St Kilda.

A joint training session with Essendon kicked things off 11 days ago, while the Blues took on the Pies in match simulation last Friday.

Now, they’re preparing for another hitout with the Bombers this Friday, before a fully fledged practice match against Gold Coast up north next Saturday. Pre-season will then conclude with match simulation against Geelong on Friday 31 July.

Sitting down with Carlton Media, Blues assistant coach Jess Dal Pos ran through how everything has played out so far, providing some details on how the first two hitouts have transpired and who has caught the eye so far ahead of hopefully a big 2026 in Navy Blue.

How did you find the joint training sessions/match simulations of the last fortnight?

“They were weird and they weren’t. Usually we get full practice matches and it’s normally the full experience: I have enjoyed that they’ve been more relaxed. It’s nice to slowly ease them through it, we can change their game time and change positions.

“If we want to practice kick ins, we can practice kick ins on repeat - they’re just some examples, which has been nice from a coaching point of view. I think the players like the chance to be able to play more footy, they’ll always ask to play more footy.”

How did the day at Essendon play out?

“It was good in the sense that we could see some of the things we’ve been working on against people that aren’t on the team and know exactly what we’re doing. A lot of the players came off at the breaks and were cooked, forgetting how hard a game is. It was nice for them to blow themselves out and remind everyone what match intensity looks and feels like.

“For us, it was nice to see them play and connect and try and implement some of the things we’ve been working on for a long time. It was more about getting our structures right. Even though our players know them and we’ve done it heaps of time at training, it was about doing it against an opposition that’s challenging our decisions.”

What about match simulation against Collingwood?

“It was probably more intense, we approached it as if it was a game. We saw people rolling through multiple positions, with a bit of chaos caused within that. We saw players take on a match-type of intensity and workload as well. We got more minutes into players, and it was good to see them hit some bodies.

“The Essendon one was blowing the cobwebs out and reminding themselves that they’re footballers, and then the Collingwood hitout was here we go, let’s see what we’ve got.”

What are some of those things the team has been working on so far this pre-season?

“We’re trying to build on our offence, we’re always trying to build on that. We’ve introduced some new drills and new methods to see what we can explore going forward.

“With more games in the lead-up to the season, it means we can see players in their second position, giving them the chance to grow their skills and show their versatility. It’s seeing what mix looks right or looks dangerous, and seeing if there’s a lever we can pull later in the year.”

How will things ramp up from here?

“The full dress rehearsal looks more like the Gold Coast game. We have to travel, it’s a great opportunity to treat it like a real game and give people the chance to approach it like a real match.

“This week, we’ve got Essendon again. As far as we’ve discussed, it’s the third time now, so let’s really dial in on our stock setups. From there, can we add a little bit of speed and a little bit of flair and creativity?”

Pre-season is always a great time to report on who’s flying. We’ll start with the back line… who has caught the eye?

“She’s going to hate that I’ve said this, but I don’t care. It’s Síofra O’Connell. Everyone is putting in a mountain of work, and she’s included in that. Recently, it’s looking like it’s all clicking for her.

“She’s balancing her defence really nicely with getting more dangerous in our offence. It’s been a real lift for the whole group to see her going after her stuff and nailing it. She had some big contests in the Collingwood game where she stood up. We love her."

What about in the midfield group?

“On Tuesday, Lauren Bella almost took Mark of the Year in training. We’ve seen that in her two games as well: she nearly flew and took one against Collingwood out of the goal square.

“We’re seeing some really aggressive moments from her, and you can’t help but think when she plays more time with us and when she’s really feeling confident, it’s so exciting. It’s been really nice to roll in as a new person, fit right in and be at a point now where she’s honing in on being her best.”

As forward line coach, who’s been the standout in attack?

“If I pick one forward, they’re all going to come after me for picking favourites - so I won’t do that. We’ve had a huge mix of people roll through there, it’s been like a revolving door in the best possible way.

“The pleasure for me is seeing them play a different role inside the forward line that they haven’t usually played, being really good at it and being able to transfer that knowledge to someone else. What’s standing out is their connectedness and willingness to adapt.”

Can we expect to see Poppy Scholz play forward or back this year?

“’Pop’ has been training up forward, but as we know, she’s a bit of a unicorn. She can play forward and back. I’d anticipate we’ll see her more up forward this year, she’s going really well. We know wherever she plays, she’ll be an asset for us.”

We saw a few players rotate through the VFLW team on the weekend - what was the thinking behind that, and how did they perform?

“We’ve got a healthy list, and a lot of players that are available to play. Being able to play some of them in the VFLW means they can get maximum minutes, rather than having to rotate and manage everyone off the bench in match sims. That’s going to help them get better.

“We saw that at Box Hill: Gab Pound and Kiara Bischa held down the back line, and it allowed us to look at Lily Baxter who’s a new player and she flourished.

“Then we saw Lila Keck, who played mid-forward and finished with 30 disposals and two goals: in match sim, she probably wouldn’t have got those midfield minutes, so for her to step in and be a leader and get going, the stats tell us she was great but it was also just a really mature performance from her.”