Carlton sacks AFLW coach Daniel Harford

Daniel Harford has spoken about his sacking as Carlton’s AFLW coach on his breakfast radio program where he called on the the Blues to get serious about AFLW and stop the neglect.

Sacked Carlton coach Daniel Harford says Carlton focused too much on the men’s program to the neglect of AFLW - and paid the price.

Harford, speaking for the first time since an internal club review cost him his AFLW coaching position, despite having 15 months still to run on his contract, said the time has come for the Blues to “get serious” with AFLW, and said the league could also do with some introspection.

“I’m really fortunate. I’ve got other opportunities,” he said on his RSN radio show.

“The time is now for the footy club to get serious with the program and catch up to the rest of the competition.”

The club’s review identified that it required a full-time coach for the AFLW team, which Harford said was indicative of the growth of the competition.

Daniel Harford has used the platform of his breakfast radio program to call on the AFLW’s Blues to get serious. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images

But he said it wasn’t just the senior coach that needs to be a full-time employee of the club, saying judging a part-time program on full-time standards was a skewed position.

“I’m still not 100 per cent convinced of what high performance in a part time program actually is,” he said.

“If you’re measuring from the men’s program perspective, well, you’re in the wrong room.

“If you’ve got part time people … trying to develop and initiate this high performance program, after working their other jobs for the day, that’s a real challenge, I reckon.

“The club needs to invest and the game needs to have people in the different silos (like development, fitness, coaching)… they almost all need to be full time employees of the footy club.”

A review of the men’s program was conducted at the end of 2021 and led to the departure of then-senior coach David Teague.

Harford said implementing the findings from that review and its “really aggressive mandate” had potentially been at the expense of AFLW.

“There’s clearly been a real focus on the boys program,” he said.

“I think perhaps there was an eye taken off the AFLW program. They give themselves a bit of a clip in the release, as well, where they say that the review found a clear vision for AFLW was required.

“They’ve admitted they took their eye off the ball with the AFLW program and left us to run our own race a bit, without the support that perhaps we needed off the smell of an oily rag.”

He also said a review of the entire competition would be worthwhile.

“The competition could have a bit of a review of itself and what the AFLW competition is,” Harford said.

“I think they do get left. If they’re serious about it … there’s an opportunity for them to reflect on the competition, how it’s managed, how it’s run. How it’s operated week to week with the ground facilities as well.”

Carlton’s AFLW team Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He said having “part-time athletes who have other lives who are trying to squeeze” AFLW into their schedule was a factor in professionalism, which was also identified in the review as a key area that needed to improve.

“Absolutely, but it’s a bit of chicken and egg stuff. If you can pay them so it’s more of a full-time situation, then those things will rise along with it.”

The review found there was “confusion” with the team’s game plan, which Harford put largely down to player turnover.

“If you watched us play last season … there were times where you’re thinking ‘what the hell is going on?’. I was,” he said.

“The group changed and the understanding of what we’re doing would take some time.”

Harford - who has coached in the Eastern Football League, the VAFA and AFLW since he left playing - said he would not be pursuing any coaching opportunities in 2023.

“I’m going to have weekends in the footy season for the first time in 30 years. It’s going to be fantastic,” he said.

“I’ve been very blessed ... (AFLW) has been truly a life changing experience for me in footy and life.”

AFLW COACH, RADIO STAR SACKED AFTER DAMNING REVIEW

Daniel Harford has been sacked by Carlton.

In the wake of its internal review into its AFL Women’s program that was launched in December, the Blues determined that a full-time coach was required for its womens outfit.

Given Harford’s media commitments as host on RSN’s breakfast show, continuing in the role was deemed untenable.

And players have been put on notice that their professionalism needs to lift, with the review also identifying improving players’ “elite behaviours” as a key area that needs to improve.

Harford, a former Hawthorn and Carlton player led the Blues to the 2019 AFLW grand final and had signed on for another two years just eight months ago.

Contracted for at least another season, the Herald Sun understands that termination details are still being worked through.

Daniel Harford has been sacked as Carlton AFLW coach.

The review found that the team had “insufficient leadership to support and drive professionalism and elite behaviours”, and that there had been “confusion with the game plan and lack of alignment and consistency with its implementation.

“As a club, we have a responsibility to our members to ensure we are constantly identifying pathways and drivers to high performance that lead to on and off-field success. We each have a role to play in being accountable for delivering this, and it starts from the board down,” club president Luke Sayers said on Tuesday night.

“That is why we commissioned this review, to ultimately improve performance across our entire AFLW program.”

Carlton won just two games last season.

Harford

“As a result, the board instigated an independent review of the club’s AFLW program, with the main intent to identify barriers to on-field success, ensure we are set up to not only improve the overall performance of the team but establish ourselves for the long-term as the competition evolves, and to develop and implement recommendations to help create the foundations for future success,” Sayers said.

“Having met with our board ... and receiving a full briefing of the report, it was evident through the findings that in order for us as a club to achieve our objective of this review, changes within the AFLW football program were required, including the senior coach position.”

Sayers said the responsibility sat with everyone - including players - to now lift in key areas.

The review found that “opportunity exists ... for players to improve the professional standards and elite behaviours to build and maintain an effective high-performance culture”.