CARLTON have seen plenty of change so far this season, with the side blooding plenty of new faces alongside a rotating list of AFLW listed players.
However, for captain Ally Bild it has been a different type of change that she has been made to adjust to.
The unselfish leader has played multiple roles this season, having been sent up forward, played through the midfield and sent down back at various stages this season.
Bild says that while the adjustments are something she still has to get used to, she understands that it is a part of her role as a leader in a young side.
“It’s hard, I think I’ve got to understand what’s best for the team and sometimes me being on the wing isn’t best during that time,” Bild said.
“It would be very easy for me to get frustrated or be annoyed being flipped down back or up forward, but I understand, and this has probably come with experience, that’s what’s best for the team.”
It seems abundantly clear that Bild’s perspective on football is seen through the prism of leading Carlton, with the captain always keeping in mind what is best for her team.
Bild tries not to get caught up in the emotion of a bad loss such as the one the Blues had on Sunday, believing that she needs to try and keep a level head.
“I can get caught up in the game alone, but I do understand that we have got a really immature and young group of girls playing footy,” she says.
“The way I approach the outcome of games like [Hawthorn’s loss] is to not be blindsided by our performance, but also be really straightforward with the fact that we are young, and we are learning.”
This week contrasts largely for Carlton with their previous one as the side came from the heights of beating Collingwood, a team they had never beaten before in the competition’s history.
Bild believes that being captain after the game against the Magpies wasn’t necessarily easier, instead it was a different challenge.
“On reflection of every game you look at positives and negatives and based off the Collingwood game we played very confidently, but we also had lapses in concentration,” she said.
In terms of how her leadership looks, Bild believes that that it is important for her to not just say what needs to be done, but to also show it on game day.
“I’m one of the more experienced girls out there, so I most certainly know I need to lead by example,” she said.
“I definitely want to be one of those captains that everyone can look up to and talk to and that is something I hope to fulfil.”
In terms of her own goals as a player, Bild seemed reluctant to talk about herself as she admitted that it hasn’t even crossed her mind what she wants to achieve as a player this season, with her thoughts solely focused on her team.
As for what she wants the Blues to achieve this year, Bild says she has been using last season as a comparison to understand the progress of development for their youthful squad.
“We’re really new, upcoming and young, and to finish above where we finished last year and to perform better on game day than we did last year is a tick for us,” she said.
With a second 2022 AFLW season now just around the corner and the inclusion of four new teams in the competition, even the most team-focused person cannot deny the opportunity laid out in front of them and Carlton’s skipper certainly has all the traits to be a success at the highest level of football.
