PACEY Carlton midfielder Chloe Dalton will put her AFLW career on hold in 2021, returning to rugby sevens to pursue an Olympic berth. 

The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 27-year-old needs to be based in Sydney until then for training. 

Dalton, who finished second in the club's best and fairest this year, will return to the Blues after her Olympic bid, and has signed a contract for 2022.

She previously represented the country at the Rio Games in 2016. 

"Chloe is an elite athlete who has given everything she has to our program over the last two seasons," Carlton head of women's football Ash Brown said.

"The Olympics is obviously an opportunity that very few people will ever get to experience so we are fully supportive of Chloe setting herself the goal of winning back-to-back Olympic gold for Australia."

She's not the only player with her eye on gold, with GWS defender Ellie Brush announcing she was stepping away from AFLW on Monday to focus on her Tokyo ambitions with the Matildas.

Brush has played 20 games for the Giants over four seasons, often trying to combine AFLW and W-League commitments at the same time.

"I’d like to pay tribute to Ellie, who was a breakout star of our first few seasons in the AFLW," Giants head of AFLW Briana Harvey said. 

"She’s achieved an enormous amount in her elite sporting career across two codes and we wish her only the best in her next sporting pursuit."

Clubs have until Monday evening to finalise the re-signing of players, while delisted free agents can be signed up until Friday.