CARLTON coach Daniel Harford believes patience is necessary in future AFLW expansion off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney do not have AFLW sides, with opposition teams keen for at least the Power to enter the competition, given the growing talent pool in South Australia.
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"I would think it would be prudent to just sit back and watch for a bit, see what happens over the next 12-24 months, whatever the timeline might be," Harford told womens.afl.
"I just think close to 10 months (mostly in Victoria) taken out of a five-year embryonic competition is a big chunk to lose. We need to be wary of pulling the trigger too early, despite the fact we all know the more opportunities there are, eventually the better the whole thing will be.
"Just sit on our hands and see where it goes, not be too rushed with what the future holds. We all want 18 teams and to play each other once, that's a given, but I think there is still a matter of time before that does eventuate."
Harford said the cancellation of the 2020 VFLW and NAB League seasons, affecting more than half of the playing group, means it is difficult to predict how the competition will evolve this year.
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"I'm not expecting there to be dramatic improvement in what we do as a competition, but that being said, we've got better athletes who understand themselves, the AFLW and what's required a whole lot more. We'll get more complete athletes on the back of that," he said.
"What that translates to in terms of the product, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't expect it to be any worse than last year. But it's a bit of a 'watch this space' as to where it goes, on the back of the last 12 months."
After a slowish start in 2020, Carlton was one of the form sides of the competition by the time the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, qualifying for a preliminary final.
But there's still plenty of room for development.
"Balls going inside our forward half is still an area we'd like to improve, so that's decision-making, execution, dealing with pressure, but it's also personnel, so we'll try and improve that," Harford said.
"Rebounding and our defence was pretty good, but when we get scored against, it's from the same area, so we'd like to stop that happening. And then it's just the evolution of the style of play, how we defend as a team but also how we attack, how we get the ball moving a little bit more efficiently.
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"There's still plenty to learn, we're the youngest team in the comp. We were going okay last year, but you don't get to start where you finished, unfortunately."
The Blues landed one of the coups of the Trade Period, bringing across 29-year-old midfield star Elise O'Dea from Melbourne.
"You go through our midfield, there's not too much experience – Maddy Prespakis (20), Lucy McEvoy (19), Mimi Hill (18), Grace Egan (20), Georgia Gee (21) if you want to throw her in there, they're all kids," Harford said.
"It was important we were able to bolster that area with experience, and Elise was the perfect choice. She's been a great mentor, she's not overpowering, not a dictator, she's very encouraging and I think they've all fallen in love with her for that.
"She's so supportive of what they do and is so energetic towards their growth in the game. And do you know what she does? She smiles. Elise smiles a lot. And I like seeing my players smile. She's been great to have around."
