DAYNA Finn has previously spoken about her biggest challenge in her football career to date.
It was an early “love hate” relationship with Australian Rules Football, having made the switch to a new code in a new country when she made the move across from Ireland.
With a background in basketball and Gaelic football back in County Mayo, the first year was challenging for Finn. But instead of folding to difficulties, she embraced everything that came with it in the only way she knew how.
She got to work.
From five games in her first season, Finn missed just one game in her second year, with her winning goal against Collingwood in Round 9 at Victoria Park lighting the spark and serving as a prelude for what was to come in 2025.
With an All-Australian blazer and a Carlton AFLW Best and Fairest win, Finn went from a recruit to a revelation in Navy Blue.
She does all that while balancing being on the other side of the world, heading home for months at a time in the off-season - but always with her football development front of mind.
“I go home for four or five months. I’m a teacher by trade, I do that in the off-season… I’ve found a balance in it, and it allows me to feel less homesick when I’m here,” Finn told media on Friday.
“I train, I have a strength and conditioning plan, I have a running plan and I have the footy in my hands most days. It’s kind of second nature to me.
“I enjoy my family and friends at home, but then when I come back here, I crack in for six or seven months. I get that little pinch of home and then I’m all in when I’m here. It’s good… besides the weather. I get so many winters at this rate.”
Just watching Finn play makes it clear that she’s not only “all in”, but she’s brilliant at what she does.
From her last 18 games, 13 have seen her amass 20 disposals or more, while each of her last four games has seen her produce 11 marks. She even kicked multiple goals in each of Carlton’s three finals last year.
She’s as reliable and important as they come for Mathew Buck’s side, as those who watch Carlton each and every week will tell you. According to Maddy Hendrie, who lived with Finn in their respective first seasons back in 2023, this version of the Navy Blue No.17 was “only a matter of time”.
“She’s so professional. Dayna is such a natural competitor: she’s her own biggest motivator and her own biggest critic,” Hendrie said.
“A lot of things which are conscious efforts for others are just natural habits for her. Her development as a player is all credit to her - she works so hard in the off-season, like how she connects with the coaches back here from Ireland for the four months she’s home.
“It was only a matter of time for her to become the player she is now.”
What’s clear with Finn is she’ll continue to go about her business just as she always has done since working through the doors of IKON Park. She’ll continue to make Carlton a better team and a better place for her presence.
And she’ll continue to bring the class on the ground just as she brings the craic off it, particularly leading into an Irish celebration next Friday in an IKON Park AFLW double header.
“It’s so great to have so many Irish in the competition, and playing alongside three other Irish is so good.
“When myself and Erone moved here in our first year together, it was great to have another person to lean on, to go through the same challenges and speak your mind openly. She’s Irish, she knows the craic.
“It’s great to lean on people in the Club. Bringing Síof and Ais on the journey, we can relate a lot to the challenges they experience. To have the four of us, we have a bit of a laugh and bring a bit of craic to the change rooms.”
