CARLTON will ramp up its preparations for the 2019 AFL Women’s season with a two-day camp at Queenscliff.
The Blues will arrive in the Borough on Friday afternoon before what first-year coach Daniel Harford has described a “jam-packed” weekend.
“There’s a fair bit happening. We’ve got leadership discussions, we’ve got a lot of physical requirements through our strength and conditioning guys – in the water and out of the water – and on the ovals with gameplay,” he said.
“We’ll have footy craft sessions and some match practice.
It’s going to be a busy day-and-a-half for the girls.
“We want to get as much information and activity into them as possible before we head to our (Christmas) break next week.”
Carlton fans will get a chance to see the players in action at Queenscliff Recreation Reserve from 10-11.30 on Sunday morning.
Among them will be No.3 draft pick Maddi Prespakis, who Harford says has adapted well to life as an AFLW player.
“Mads is like any new draftee; she’s trying to work out where she fits in the bigger picture,” he said.
“We won’t really know what we’ve got until we see her in gametime.
“But, she’s clearly a very talented young lady, and she’s got the footballing world at her feet if she wants it bad enough.
“And from what I’ve seen so far, she does.”
The Blues meet Geelong in their lone practice match at IKON Park on January 19 before taking on AFLW newcomers North Melbourne at North Hobart Oval to open the 2019 season on February 3.
“It’s a great opportunity to see them in action; we play them later in the AFLW season. It gives us a bit of a heads up,” Harford said of the Cats.
“More importantly for us, it’s about how we go about our business. It’s not really about who our opposition is on that day; it’s about how quickly we put the pieces of the puzzle together and see how it jells.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
