Carlton’s list needs and trade targets after AFLW preliminary final exit
Smart recruiting has catapulted Carlton from AFLW wilderness into the premiership window – but will critical missteps threaten it all? Get the inside word on a crucial off-season.
After spending four years in the AFLW wilderness, Carlton has returned with a swagger built on youth, smart recruiting and an exciting game style.
Having worked at the Blues as a recruiter in 2022 and 2023, I know this list very well and have seen the team’s trajectory first-hand.
During my time working alongside then-General Manager of Women’s Football Brett Munro and then-Recruiting Manager Josh Hare, critical moves were made to bring in players who now form the nucleus of this impressive team.
Vice-captain Mimi Hill and best and fairest winner Keeley Sherar were drafted in consecutive years, midfielder Maddy Guerin was traded in from Melbourne and Jess Good was signed as a free agent. When Lauren Brazzale defected to Collingwood, Amelia Velardo was poached out of the Magpies rather than settling for a draft pick.
Munro and Hare were also responsible for recruiting powerhouse Irish duo Dayna Finn and Erone Fitzpatrick who have transformed the way this team plays and moves the footy, adding speed and a dynamic edge.
We brought in Harriet Cordner from Richmond despite coming off an ACL, valuing her leadership and ability to read the play and intercept. She has been an outstanding role model for the young group, showing them the way with her elite professionalism in preparation and recovery.
We also drafted emerging key forward Mia Austin, elite left-footer Keeley Skepper and competitive beast Lily Goss.
Following Munro’s departure, we drafted Maddie Hendrie who looks every bit a 10-year key defender after a brilliant season this year. In these moves we were looking for players with attributes suited to the future of AFLW, prioritising a blend of athleticism, speed, skill and developmental upside. Hendrie, in particular, was a very raw prospect who I watched playing in a VFLW practice match for the Bulldogs on a Saturday morning in Braybrook, where her athletic attributes stood out.
Since I left the club there have been some big recruiting hits but also major blunders. The recruitment of ex-Bulldog Celine Moody, who has since retired, and ex-Magpie Tarni Brown were big misses, and compounded by the loss of key defender Paige Trudgeon who staggeringly wasn’t offered a contract at the end of 2023. Trudgeon, who came fourth in the club’s best and fairest the year before, has continued her rapid rise into one of the game’s best one-on-one defenders at St Kilda and should have been in the All-Australian squad this year. She was traded for a draft pick Carlton didn’t use.
Spiritual leader Mua Laloifi was also moved on in a straight swap for Moody, a move that also drew the ire of legendary Sydney recruiter Kinnear Beatson. A backline featuring Cordner, Trudgeon, Laloifi and Hendrie would have been a nightmare for opposition teams to score against.
But last year’s trade and draft period provided a big step forward. Rising stars Poppy Scholz (pick No. 6), Sophie McKay (No. 17), who was always coming as a father-daughter selection, have been great additions by new Head of AFLW Ash Naulty and Recruiting Manager Matt Burton, as was the acquisition of Tara Bohanna.
The trio, in addition to coach Mathew Buck’s new attacking game plan, have transformed the team’s scoring power. Carlton went from the second-worst scoring team in the league last year, averaging only 24.1 points per game, to the fourth-best this year, averaging 46.1 points during the home-and-away season.
Defender Ciara Fitzgerald was also a big hit as an injury-replacement and bargain-basement recruit.
Credit also must go to Buck and his coaching group for preparing both Scholz and McKay for impressive debut seasons, as well as the continued development of Finn and Fitzpatrick, who were exceptional this season, and Goss.
But lifelong Blues fan Sunny Lappin’s decision to turn her back on the club has raised eyebrows. Lappin, the daughter of Matthew Lappin, was eligible as a father-daughter at Carlton, but has opted to stay at Gold Coast where she’s a member of their Academy. Lappin is considered the No. 1 draft pick this year. It’s a massive miss.
But despite some missteps along the way, the Blues’ resurgence this season is proof the future finally feels full of possibility.
LIST NEEDS
Exposed for speed against Brisbane in the preliminary final, there’s a glaring need for pace on the wing and across halfback. Finn is electric on one side, but Yasmin Duursma and Brooke Vickers aren’t the answer on the other as they just don’t get enough of the ball. They need another power runner with speed to link between back and mid, while Darcy Vescio and Gab Pound aren’t doing enough, lack pace and are at the back end of their careers. Fitzgerald and Velardo had good seasons, but they don’t bring the chaos needed to supercharge their ball movement.
The Blues also need another key defender. Cordner will be 34 by Round 1 next year and aside from Hendrie, there is no other key back on the list if Buck plans to play Scholz as a forward.
TRADE TARGETS
There are whispers GWS’s Cambridge McCormick is interested in a move to Carlton and I love this. An All-Australian this year, the 180cm defender would shore up their key stocks alongside Cordner and Hendrie and brings a good blend of athleticism, clean hands, ball use and footy IQ. Her agility and willingness to change angles with the ball will help bring more of that dynamic edge they need off halfback.
Buck, Naulty and Burton have long been fans of Adelaide’s Brooke Boileau, rating her very highly in her draft year, and will finally have her in navy blue if they can satisfy the Crows in a trade after she requested a move to Ikon Park last week. A first-round pick for the utility should get it done.
Brisbane winger Orla O’Dwyer would be an ideal target to form a dynamic partnership with fellow Irishwoman Finn on the wing. Her speed and two-way running suit the Blues’ game plan perfectly, but can she be enticed out of the Lions?
Lauren Bella was in and out of Gold Coast’s team this year but has previously shown she’s a more than capable ruck at AFLW level. With Good, 31, and Moody 29 in March, she would add depth to the ruck stocks.
TRADE BAIT
Skepper has elite skills and footy IQ but has been played out of position, including on the wing, where she’s struggled to show her talent. A move away from Carlton could be the circuit-breaker she needs to get back to her best. Clubs looking for excellent ball use forward of centre should be interested because her talent is real. West Coast, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, Essendon, Richmond and Fremantle would all be great fits.
Lila Keck hasn’t adjusted to the speed and physicality of AFLW yet. She has goal sense and tidy skills but does need to work on her pace and agility, and is likely surplus to needs.
Pound has been a stalwart, but with Carlton needing more run and carry in the back half, her value may sit at another club. Could a team like Hawthorn, who might lose Tilly Lucas-Rodd, be interested? Pound thrives as the go-to ball user but hasn’t been used in that role this year and could be a good option.
UNTOUCHABLES
A. McKay, Scholz, Finn, Fitzpatrick, Cordner, S. McKay, Hendrie, Austin.
CRYSTAL BALL
The future is bright at Carlton. With a stacked midfield led by Abbie McKay, Hill, Finn, Guerin, Fitzpatrick, Keeley Sherar and the potential for Sophie McKay to add another layer in there next year, the forward line will be dining out on the quality of supply.
The challenge in 2026 will be sustaining this momentum and backing up their breakout season. If they can add more speed to their back half and shore up their key defensive stocks, this season shouldn’t be a one-off, but the beginning of a three-to-five-year window where finals aren’t an aspiration, they’re an expectation.
Originally published as Carlton’s list needs and trade targets after AFLW preliminary final exit
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