IT HAS been a whirlwind year for Dom Carbone.
The Northern Territory star began the season with high hopes and ended it as the Western Bulldogs’ first Lambert-Pearce medallist after leading her team from 11th on the 2023 ladder to the rebel VFLW Grand Final.
Still just 23, Carbone impressed enough in the Bulldogs’ three-win 2023 season to be called upon as a top-up player for the club’s AFLW team, but she took it to a new level this year.
The inside midfielder, who never takes a backward step, led the surging Bulldogs through her actions.
Carbone polled 17 votes to wrap up the Lambert-Pearce medal with one round still to play – even if she still didn’t believe it at that stage.
“It’s an incredible honour and I’m extremely humbled to be the recipient of this award, especially given it was such a great season and a great competition this year,” Carbone said.
“I've been extremely grateful for the support I've had around me. Lots of senior players and a year of growth, and I’m extremely grateful for the experience and the support I’ve had from the club but also from my family.
“I wasn’t expecting to get up there just purely because of the calibre of the competition this year. It was so great and that’s a massive credit to women’s footy.
“I really hope the competition keeps growing and we’re making more people want to watch and more people want to come and be a part of the sport. ”
“You take a step back and see just how far the competition has grown from me coming back in 2022, how the standard has grown in such a small amount of years is just exceptional.”
Carbone is a humble star who doesn’t try to be something she is not, simply focusing on being the best player she can be to help her team achieve what it is capable of.
“For me it’s just putting one foot in front of the other and just trying to get better one day at a time and trying to be the best version of myself,” she said.
“The Bulldogs have been really great in pouring that experience into me, that development and showing that belief in me. I’ve been fortunate to have them to continue to grow me and continue to support me to become a better player.
“Obviously being involved in the train on program among the VFLW girls and being alongside the likes of Ellie Blackburn and Deanna Berry, those senior players as well, has helped me add another element to my game.”
Carbone also spared plenty of praise for her fellow hero of Monday night in J. J Liston Trophy winner Dom Brew, who she got to know in 2022-23 when they both played for the Darwin Buffaloes and Buffettes in the NTFL.
She had admired watching him win that league’s 2020-21 Nichols Medal for Nightcliff.
“I have nothing but great praise for Dom Brew and I’m extremely proud of him for reaching the achievements that he has,” she said.
“We actually played for the same local club back home in the NTFL and spoke at this same awards night about 12 months ago about how we were tracking and our experiences in coming to Melbourne.
“Dom actually instilled a bit of encouragement and a bit of guidance around how I can keep going about the next 12 months.
“He’s always someone I can look at from afar to model my game around and somebody I can look at how hard he’s working and how he’s persisting and how he’s leading his team. ”
Carbone, who played two AFLW games as a top-up for the Bulldogs last year after six as a member of Hawthorn’s inaugural AFLW team in 2022, dreams of making it back to the top level, and believes she would be a much better player if she did get another chance.
“I think that’s always an overriding goal, but for me it’s more prioritising the goal of how I can be the best version of myself, put my best foot forward and just really enjoying my football,” she said.
LAMBERT-PEARCE MEDAL
17: Dom Carbone (Western Bulldogs)
14: Tamara Luke (Box Hill Hawks)
14: El Chaston (Essendon)
13: Ange Gogos (Darebin)
12: Ava Seton (Port Melbourne)
12: Emily Eaves (Williamstown)
11: Alana Barba (North Melbourne)
10: Monique DeMatteo (Darebin)
10: Keeley Hardingham (Western Bulldogs)
10: Eliza Straford (Williamstown)
10: Ash Thorneycroft (Williamstown)
CLUB-BY-CLUB
Box Hill Hawks: T. Luke 14, R. Dillon, E. West 5, C. Baskaran, D. Spamer, C. Thorne 4, E. Bates, B. Hipwell, T. Lucas-Rodd 3, T. Smith, N. von Bertouch, L. Wales 2, M. Kendall, G. Matser 1. Total: 53
Carlton: E. Wood 6, M. Hill 4, M. Austin, O. Di Donato, L. Goss, G. Tait 3, I. Baldwin, K. Skepper, D. Vescio 2, I. Khoury, K. Sherar 1. Total: 33
Casey Demons: S. Lampard, N. O’Neill 6, S. Fairchild, M. Macdonald 4, S. Johnson, Z. Mitchell 3, G. Campbell, S. Casey, T. Gillard, A. Kirkwood, J. Lin 2, C. Brewer, T. Burn, S. D’Arcy, L. Jatczak 1. Total: 40
Collingwood: C. Remmos 6, A. Peterson 5, K. Day 4, L. Cronin, E. Fowler 3, H. Fosbrooke, S. Ingram, S. Sansonetti 2, J. Ivey, L. Pearce 1. Total: 29
Darebin Falcoms: A. Gogos 13, M. DeMatteo 10, C. Bunker 6, A. Mifsud 3, N. Callinan 2, S. Baisis, G. Wake 1. Total: 36
Essendon: E. Chaston 14, B. Hunt, G. Nancaswen 6, M. Dyke 5, A. Gaylor, R. Mahony, O. Manfre 4, E. Tassiopoulos 3, M. Busch, J. Richardson 2, M. Ford, K. Jacques, A. Jordan, A. Melnikas 1. Total: 54
Geelong Cats: Abbey McDonald 7, B. O’Rourke 4, O. Cicolini 3, D. Taylor 2, A. Favell, L. Jordan, A. McKeegan, B. Plummer 1. Total: 20
GWS GIANTS: F. Davies 6, Z. Goldsworthy 5, M. Brazendale 4, C. McCormick 3, T. Evans, T. Germech 2, M. Pauga 1. Total: 23
North Melbourne: A. Barba 11, N. Dojiok 8, T. Meier, R. Tierney 6, A. Ling, M. Zander 3, M. Di Cosmo, E. Jackson, M. McSweeney, K. Reynolds, A. Rhodes 2. Total: 47
Port Melbourne: A. Seton 12, L. Caruso 5, E. Ashley-Cooper, E. Harley 4, E. Sheerin 3, B. Clarke, M. Denahy-Maloney, F. Frew, K. O’Keefe, G. Seymour 2, C. Bromage, S. Reid, M. Shevlin 1. Total: 41
Southern Saints: M. Torpey 9, T. Boyd, W. Laing 6, S. Phillips 3, G. De Angelis, G. Foran, C. Hunt, C. Ryan 1. Total: 28
Sydney Swans: M. Ham, B. Smith 5, A. Hamilton 4, L. Gardiner, S. Hurley, C. Molloy, A. Morphett 3, C. Hamilton 2. Total: 28
Western Bulldogs: D. Carbone 17 (winner), K. Hardingham 10, E. Blackburn 8, J. Tabb 7, M. Clifford 3, A. Klingbeil, S. Skinner 2, M. McLeod, I. Milford, C. Ugle 1. Total: 52
Williamstown: E. Eaves 12, E. Straford 10, A. Thorneycroft 10, S. Whiting 6, T. Brett, M. Simpson 3, L. Stepnell, M. Williams 2, G. Biedenweg-Webster, C. O’Bryan 1. Total: 50