PROUD. 

That’s how Mathew Buck feels after being appointed as the new AFLW Senior Coach. 

Informed that he was successful in his application for the role on Monday night, Buck couldn't be more thrilled and humbled to reach the top level of coaching, having embarked on an extensive journey with his previous coaching experience. 

To coach at a club like Carlton - he said - was a dream come true. 

“I’m just really proud to be honest – it’s been a bit of a coaching journey, it’s a great club and it means a lot to me and my family to be a part of it,” Buck said. 

“I can’t wait to get my hands dirty and get into it.” 

Starting out at Warrnambool before being a development coach since 2018 at both talent league and VFL level, Buck said that his foray into women’s football came by chance, but one which he has thoroughly enjoyed in recent months.

It was when he was given the opportunity to work with the AFLW players on skill development that he never looked back. 

“I’ve been so hellbent on my path of coaching on wanting to improve all the time, I never turned my head sideways to the women's game,” he said.  

“I had the opportunity earlier this year to work with the players around improving their skills and what I found was a really driven group who had some great skills and just needed a bit more guidance on some method – that really inspired me.

“It was a really thorough process I went through and I’m excited, I’m well supported by the Club, the Board and the players.” 

Having worked with many coaches in his time around football, Buck said he has one main focus and non-negotiable around any level of the game: the fundamentals. 

While he’s not entirely set on what his coaching will look like, he knows he will be driving the basics of the game and won’t be accepting anything less. 

“We have to be really great at the fundamentals of the game, so that’s what I’m going to teach,” he said. 

“I’m really fortunate to have worked under some great coaches – I spent some time with Mark Williams at Werribee and Daniel O’Keefe and now Luke Power, who drive fundamental football really strongly and that’s what I see this game as.” 

Noting the experience of the review and the impact it’s had on the AFLW program, Buck said his first task is to meet with the players one on one and get a grasp of the journey they have been on – both as footballers and as people. 

“We’ll just spend some time together one on one, because I need to know what they’re been through and how it’s been for them and get a really clear understanding of where they’re at and where the possibilities are for growth,” he said. 

“Once we’ve done that, we look at what elite behaviours are, elite standards and highlight those – we make some promises to ourselves, then it’s up to me to make sure I drive the standards for the players.”