Opinion
The Blues suffered a big loss in the offseason when their captain Bri Davey committed the ultimate treason and moved to Collingwood.
But happily for the Blues, there was another player in the draft who is just as physically strong, just as good in the midfield (where Davey played her best football last season) and is just as much a born leader. And unlike Collingwood, the Blues only needed one draft pick to acquire her.
Enter Lucy McEvoy, who’d been assumed by most to be playing for her native Geelong Cats, but chose the Melbourne zone instead to be closer to university.
McEvoy won All Australian nods at NAB League level three years running playing backline, then forward, then midfield. The Blues could play her anywhere, but their need of the hour is midfield, where she ought to make a great combination with one of the AFLW’s best midfielders and cleverest players, fellow teenager Maddy Prespakis.
The Blues also lost the speedy Millie Mullane to retirement, but grabbed Grace Egan from Richmond’s talent academy in the draft after strong VFLW form.
But the impressive thing about Carlton is the amount of upside built into their existing line-up — Chloe Dalton was amazingly good in the midfield for a first-year former rugby player, is lightning fast and was given a whole heap of playing time for Carlton’s VFLW team, so obviously the Blues will be looking for big improvements from her this year.
Similarly they’ve got Abbie McKay in her second year, and the speedy Emerson Woods, the skilful Georgia Gee plus some experience with various Hoskings twins and a good ruck in Alison Downey.
The Blues also have another rugby player this year in Katie Harrison, and if she makes as big an impression this year as Dalton did last, Carlton’s line-up is going to get seriously fast.
Tayla Harris was the subject of one of 2019’s most memorable sports photos. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media)
Down back their main addition is Brooke Vernon, a strong running defender from the NAB League, and they should get further improvement from young tall Charlotte Wilson and second-year AFLW player Jade Van Dyk.
Then there’s Nicola Stevens and Kerryn Harrington, two of the best running defenders in the comp off halfback — Harrington in particular was superb last season, and provides Carlton’s backline with that all-important springboard back up the ground.
Up forward their main addition looks to be Irishwoman Joanne Doonan, who can also be expected to make a strong transition to a new sport, plus there should be big improvement from the other ex-rugby player Brooke Walker, who was huge for the Blues in the second half of last season.
Darcy Vescio probably needs to lift, being capable of more than she’s shown the last few seasons, but Tayla Harris’s reputation has only been confirmed.
Last season was her best yet, she’s one of the very best forwards right now and still has a huge upside ahead of her. If all the pieces start to click, Carlton’s forward line looks like one of the better ones. If all the players who could improve, do, then it could be one of the very best.
The other reason this team improved so much last season was Dan Harford’s coaching. Last year was all about fast ball movement to his excellent one-on-one forwards.
As more teams start playing the same way this season (all fans hope) it’s going to be interesting what he, and other coaches of a similar style, start doing next.
I maintain that the first AFLW team to successfully and confidently switch the ball to the openside of the ground (a rare thing in women’s football thus far) will dominate the competition — Adelaide did it better than anyone last year, but Carlton looks like one of the few that could swing it this year.
Prediction: Third
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