From the ‘Bool to the Blues: the rise of Carlton VFL speedster Will White

Carlton VFL senior assistant coach Tom Langford says Will White’s football is much like his personality – full of energy. And the Blues may have a need for the speed of the Warrnambool dasher, writes PAUL AMY.

Will White gets busy for the VFL Blues last year.

Last September, Will White ran water for his local club’s grand final sides.

Given he had played more than 12 games for Carlton’s VFL team, he was ineligible to go back to the Hampden league and turn out for South Warrnambool.

To stay involved, he ran out water bottles to the Under 18s, who were defeated, and to the seniors, who won by a point.

Five months on, White is running with Carlton’s AFL squad, officially as a VFL player but perhaps also as a roughie for an SSP rookie listing.

Keep it quiet, but he could be the bolter from the Blues.

White’s pre-season with the AFL team represents a startling rise for the 20-year-old.

He was on Carlton’s VFL list in 2023, but did not get a game.

Going into Round 1 last year, he was no guarantee of selection.

But Ned Cahill pulled out with injury, he was chosen as the 23rd player and he went on to play all 18 matches, kicking 21 goals as a speedy small forward.

Will White takes a kick against the Gold Coast Suns at IKON Park last season. Photo: Rob Lawson/AFL Photos

“He didn’t look back after that first game,’’ Blues VFL senior assistant Tom Langford says of White, who had a stint with the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in 2021.

“He was one of the first players on the team sheet. The way he plays is very similar to his personality. He’s full of energy. He has absolute A-plus ability to display repeat speed. He makes the transition into offence and the transition into defence very quickly and he can put pressure on with his closing speed and he finishes well. He’s developed clean hands too. He’s a really well-rounded player as a forward pushing up to a wing.’’

White moved to Melbourne ahead of the 2024 season, as his coach at South Warrnambool, Matt Battistello, urged him to do.

He had been making the long drive from the ‘Bool, often after 5.30am starts at the local aquatic centre. There were early mornings and late nights too as he returned home from Carlton training.

Although the Blues overlooked him in 2023, White played a season of senior football at South Warrnambool, kicking 39 goals and figuring in its premiership team.

“It was good to play against those bigger bodies,’’ he says.

He had made his senior debut with the Roosters while still in the Under 18s.

South is “everything’’ to him. “I just love South Warrnambool. My local club. To play in a premiership with them was pretty cool,’’ White says.

But Battistello encouraged him to look beyond the Hampden league.

“He said, ‘Give yourself a chance to elevate your football, give it everything you’ve got’,’’ White says. “He thought I had to stop thinking about the South Warrnambool aspect and start thinking about me as a VFL player.’’

Will White on the training track at South Warrnambool. Picture: Nicole Cleary

He moved into a house at Heidelberg West and threw himself into pre-season.

Spending more time at Royal Parade rather than on the Princes Highway was beneficial to his football, he says.

“I was able to use more resources and be at the club more and get good feedback from the coaches about my weaknesses and what I was good at,’’ White says. It showed on the field: he finished third in the best and fairest and was judged Carlton’s best young VFL player.

He says the conversation with Battistello opened his eyes to his possibilities in football, as did contact from player manager Brett Munro, from Elevation Sports.

Others have bolstered his confidence, including Langford and Carlton VFL coach Luke Power.

“Luke’s been massive for me,’’ he says. “He believes in me. He picked me and stuck with me. He’s an amazing coach in that he always has your back.’’

White is relishing every bit of his time with the AFL squad, “learning from the best, learning little things, developing my craft’’. He’s more or less been a full-time footballer since the start of the pre-season.

“If you’re getting feedback off people … Jordan Russell, the forwards coach, or Ash Hansen … you’re continually evolving,’’ he says. “I’ve loved it. Every day is an opportunity to learn.’’

There’s teaching for him too: he’s studying it at La Trobe University.

South Warrnambool senior coach Matt Battistello. Picture: Nicole Cleary

From Warrnambool, Battistello is tracking White’s progress with the Blues, hearing he is going “pretty well’’.

He says White’s “footy smarts, especially centre-forward, are as good as any young kid coming through’’.

“He’s probably improved 30 to 40 percent from one year to the next. If he keeps that trajectory going, you wouldn’t want to put a ceiling on what he’s capable of,’’ Battistello says.

The Roosters have another player at Carlton VFL, Archie Stevens, who has kept a watchful eye on White.

“There’s no doubt in my mind Archie has helped fast-track him to be where he is right now,’’ Battistello says. “But Lukey Power and the rest of the Carlton crew have supported him too.’’

The coach well remembers White running water for the club last season and watching his senior teammates make it successive premierships.

“He couldn’t play because of the rules but he still wanted to make a contribution and get around his mates. That pretty make sums the kid up. The kid is full of character.’’

Originally published as From the ‘Bool to the Blues: the rise of Carlton VFL speedster Will White