WITH the sixth AFLW season just around the corner, captain Kerryn Harrington is raring to go. 

Grateful to be back at IKON Park after a delayed start, Harrington has been impressed with the effort the whole side has put into training. 

With COVID-19 interrupting the last few seasons, Harrington believes that they are now in a position to adapt strongly to change and know what to expect. 

“It’s been completely out of our control and as someone who likes to have my ducks in a row, relinquishing that control on the outcome of things is a bit of challenge,” Harrington said. 

“To the girls' credit, going through the experience of last year which was a lot of trial and error, we learnt our lessons from the previous year and we improved a lot of things and it’s led us to being back out here and raring to go.” 

The pre-season didn’t kick off exactly how Harrington would’ve liked, finding herself in isolation on the first day. 

“I was put into isolation after being exposed to COVID-19 at work and the fact that pre-season started the day that I went into isolation meant that I wasn’t able to be here on the first couple of days,” she said. 

“Working in healthcare, it’s one of the challenges us AFLW players have at the moment because it’s only a part-time program at the Club, it means that we have to have professions outside of it.” 

With the Game Changers farewelling a bunch of experience in the off-season, including Harrington's former counterpart Katie Loynes, the defender believes she has a wealth of leadership experience around her in her senior teammates.

Rather than trying to take charge, Harrington is trying to uncover emerging leaders in the Club's younger players.

“The best thing that I’ve got going for me is the leaders we have around, ‘Darce’ (Vescio) and Nic (Stevens), Elise O’Dea, we’ve brought Jess Dal Pos down from the Giants who has an enormous amount of experience in leadership positions as well,” she said. 

“For me, the conversation with myself is not trying to take on too much: it’s to try and bring the other girls up and have them support me.”

Harrington is relishing her chance to lead by example and is hoping to lead a very strong 2022 campaign with the team.

“It means a great deal to me to be in the position that I’m in and I’m really privileged, particularly as a captain, trying to integrate the new players as best we can,” she said. 

“The goal for us is trying to be an improved team and that’s on ‘Harf’ and that’s on us as leaders and on us as a playing group, to continue to drive this program forward and integrate the younger players in.”