TESTING, character-building and providing a whole lot of lessons.

Reflecting on a second AFLW season in the space of under just a year, captain Kerryn Peterson was proud of her group and the resilience they displayed throughout a challenging season seven campaign.

“Coming in, having two AFLW seasons in a calendar year was always going to be a challenge,” Peterson said.

“Now that we've got to the end of it, I guess on reflection, there's been a lot of work that's gone in over the last 12 months in particular, and whilst we didn't get the results that we wanted this year, there's certainly some positives that we can take going into next season.”

Despite the ledger not sitting in the Blues’ favour, Peterson was buoyed by the development of a number of young players, and the foundations they were setting for the AFLW program’s future.

“The debuts of Mia Austin and Keeley Skepper [were highlights], both those two girls had really short pre-seasons coming in off the draft.

“Unfortunately, Mia got injured but the glimpses that she showed were really exciting as a teammate and what her future looks like at this club is going to be really exciting.

“Keeley Skepper was absolutely phenomenal this year. Her skills are elite and she fit right in with our team culture and team environment. She's going to have a fire-cracking season next year.”

On an individual note, Peterson squared up to a new challenge in season seven, straying from her customary position marshalling the backline and playing further up the ground.

She thrived in the midfield, averaging 14.4 disposals and 216.3 metres gained (the third-highest Blue in both categories), as well as 3.2 marks, ranked No.1 at Carlton.

“I enjoyed the challenge of a new position. Obviously playing back line for the last four or five seasons, I felt pretty comfortable back there with what we had going on and I guess it was probably through opportunity with other players going out of the squad, there were some positions that needed to be filled,” she said.

“I certainly welcomed the opportunity and I really enjoyed the difference in the pre-season and working with a new group.

“You come to school every day trying to learn something that I was able to do on the weekends during the game. I really enjoyed the challenge for sure.”

In her second season as sole captain, Peterson continued to lead from the front – but this time, was supported by a fresh leadership group around her.

Again, it was the development of Carlton’s youth that impressed her most.

“It's certainly a new-look group, with ‘Darce’ and ‘Dal’ coming on as vice captains, but I think for me it was probably the development of the emerging leaders that was probably the most exciting,” she said.

“It was something that we hadn't done before, bringing some of the younger players along for the ride and each of them in their own right had a huge amount of leadership potential.

“It was great to be able to work so closely with those guys and we worked with Belinda Clark as well, an external leadership consultant who came in and just threw some different ideas at us and challenged us in different ways.”

For the first time in as long as she can remember, Peterson is now looking toward the end of the year without any elite sport in sight – and it’s a break that’s been well earned.

“I’m just looking forward to spending some Christmas time back home in Bendigo with our friends and family. This is the first Christmas I think I've had in probably close to 15 years where I haven't had elite sport around, so I'm going to certainly enjoy my time and maybe get to the beach.

“We're going to move into our new house fairly soon, so I'm sure there'll be a lot of landscaping and gardening and hopefully not too much painting.”

Ever the competitor, there’s already one eye to the challenge ahead.

“I guess this time we've got a lot of time to sit back and digest what's been a really busy 12 months, really review where things didn't go so well for us as well as what went right and put some new things in place over the off-season,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to what's going to be a big season next year. Having a full pre-season and some time off, I think is going to certainly suit everyone very well."