“THIS TEAM flips any adversity into a positive, which is a great environment to be in.”

In the breakthrough year of 2025 which led to a preliminary final, Carlton’s AFLW team concedes that they entered most games as the underdogs. They were, by and large, ‘the hunters’.

While having the belief that the jump was possible, being the surprise packets of the AFLW competition meant that they could surprise a few teams along the way.

Heading into 2026, they knew that wasn’t going to fly. From the hunters, they became the hunted.

That can be a daunting proposition, particularly when considering how young this group of Blues still is. The Blues had 13 players aged 25 or under in Round 5, with 10 teams across the competition fielding more experienced sides for games played last weekend.

For defender Maddy Hendrie, who has typified the Blues’ improvement in the last 18 months, the whole team is taking it all in their stride.

“If there’s selection pressure, it’s good pressure. If there’s frustration with getting close last week, it’s uplifting frustration… anything negative, we flip it! It’s definitely a mindset of the group,” Hendrie said.

“We were probably the hunters last year whereas now we’re probably the hunted. That’s a whole different can of worms in terms of pressure and how people think: if you get your motivation from being the underdog, you might have to get that motivation elsewhere.”

Adamant to ensure that last year’s run to the preliminary final wasn’t just a ‘one and done’, the Blues have stayed hungry.

Beginning this campaign with their best ever record to start the season (4-0), last week’s first blemish of the year brought with it frustration, but also the comfort that the team remains on the right track.

“It was a good challenge. We were still off the mark 12 months ago when we played North Melbourne, last week alludes to where this team can go.

“You’re there to win every time you cross the line, leaving it all out there on the field is a given. That’s what we expect of one another. You probably saw that post-game last week, we felt that frustration.

“In those moments, you go towards looking for the positives and lifting people up... we all measure success by the progression of others, rather than just ourselves.”

Hendrie has played every game since the beginning of last year, with the 24-year-old taking on some key roles at the heart of Carlton’s defence.

“Last year, it was almost like I was just happy to get a game regardless of performance. Not having selection pressure was a whole different mindset than I’d been used to - the pressure this year has shifted from selection to performance, in a good way.

“I’ve gone about that in a different way this year. How can I see things up the ground and help others be better? How I can challenge the opposition more?”

She has relished not only the chance to get after her own game, but also seeing the development of her teammates. The way she speaks about her teammates says it all when it comes to the connection of this Carlton core.

On Amelia Velardo: ”When is she not thriving? She’s unreal, such a natural leader. When she speaks, people listen and really value what she has to say and she leads with vulnerability. It gives you the safe space to be able to speak to your mind. She’s so great off-field, and then on-field, you see the way she’s playing with so much confidence. She has such a cool, calm head out there that you feel so safe whenever she has the ball.”

On Harriet Cordner: ”She’s amazing. She’s getting better and better. I don’t know how that’s possible, but she is - and I’m so glad she’s on my team. She reads the play so well, she leads from the front and my gosh, how many intercepts each week? She makes my life so much easier, I’ve got the best view in the stadium watching her. She leads by example with the way she prepares for games, her recovery and her professionalism off-field. I’ve learned what it takes off-field to be the player she is on-field.”

On Síofra O’Connell: ”’Chief’-fence! I can’t wait for the day where she realises how good she is. She’s so brave and so selfless, it lifts everyone around her when she plays like that. Her performances this year versus last year are incomparable, and she’s so great for our culture off-field with her energy and presence in a room. She took a huge leap of faith by leaving her family and friends, and she’s gotten the reward with a contract extension for how she’s performing.”

On Dayna Finn: “I ask her all the time how she got so good… she doesn’t tell me! Her development as a player is all credit to her: she works so hard in the off-season, she connects with the coaches when she's in Ireland for the four months when she heads back home. She’s so professional and such a natural competitor, her own biggest motivator and her own biggest critic. A lot of things which are conscious efforts for others are just natural habits for her. It was only a matter of time for her to become the player she is now.”

On the impact of the non-playing players: ”The best thing about having our home games is connecting with our home fans, being in close quarters with your family and friends and hearing the chants and shenanigans from the non-playing players up on the balcony. They bring us so much joy and remind us of how privileged we are to play. You’re playing for yourself, you’re playing for them, you’re playing for the next generation, you’re playing for the generation who never got the chance. They remind you of that.”