“WE’VE HAD eight debutants this year: that’s exciting for the future of the football club.
“There’s been a lot of positives that have come from the year, and those eight debutants - plus the return of Mimi Hill - have certainly been at the forefront of that.”
Carlton’s inspirational captain is continuing to remain upbeat about the side’s future prospects following the weekend’s return to winning form.
As stoic as ever in defence, Kerryn Harrington was instead insistent on passing on the praise to some of the Club’s younger chargers who have contributed throughout the 2022 season, including in Saturday’s win over St Kilda.
The Blues have blooded eight debutants this year, placing them behind this week’s opponents Greater Western Sydney as well as Fremantle for the most new blood over the course of the campaign.
Joining RSN’s Breakfast Club with Adam White and a certain Daniel Harford on Monday morning, here’s what Harrington had to say on just a few in that emerging talent crop.
Courtney Jones
The Game Changers’ leading goalkicker after seven rounds, Courtney Jones returned to the line-up and was once again amongst the scorers on the weekend.
Back in the side after missing the trip to Perth due to AFL Health and Safety Protocols, the 2022 campaign has been a significant one for Jones, who was made to bide her time after being selected by the Blues in the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft.
“It’s not a surprise that Courtney Jones has popped up,” Harrington said.
“She spent three years on the list and had to work very, very hard — she has earned every one of the games she’s been given this year.
“She’s been awesome for us.”
Paige Trudgeon
It was no surprise that Harrington started speaking a bit more hurriedly once Paige Trudgeon’s name got mentioned.
Breaking through into the senior line-up this season, it’s been a year to remember for Trudgeon, who has played every game alongside Harrington under the watchful eye of assistant coach Nic Newman.
As the captain put it, Trudgeon was very much one of “my defenders”,
“I do call them ‘my defenders’ because I feel like it’s a team within a team back there: we’re very supportive of each other,” she said.
“Paige has been one that [Harford] described as ‘fallen from the clouds one day’. She’s a great story, she has done things the hard way in terms of earning her position on the list and put in a really great pre-season.
“Her form made it hard not to pick her and the way she attacked the pre-season, she earned her spot in her own right.”
Keeley Sherar
A dream recognised for her childhood club in game one. A NAB AFLW Rising Star nomination with a broken hand in game two.
Right back in the swing of things in game three.
It says a lot about Keeley Sherar’s talent that she was welcomed straight back into the Carlton line-up this week, kicking the first goal of the game and setting the tone with a chasedown tackle in the process.
“To have players like Keeley Sherar come in… she broke her hand and continued to play, and the way she’s come back [has been incredible],” she said.
“The toughness of that kid isn’t something that’d been underestimated in the group.”
Mimi Hill
She may not be one of the eight official new Game Changers in 2022, but Harrington believes you can regard Mimi Hill as a new recruit.
After bursting onto the scene with four impressive games last year, the kind of form which Hill has produced immediately since her return has surprised even the most optimistic of supporters watching the Carlton No.10 in action.
“I can’t speak more highly of Mimi Hill and the way that she has gone about her ACL rehab,” she said.
“You may as well count her as a debutant: she was a NAB AFLW Rising Star [nominee] and she’s been every bit of that.”
