DAYNA Finn and Maddy Guerin have both had different journeys to IKON Park, but one thing was clear in 2024: they were the beneficiaries of their own hard work.

In just her second season of AFLW, Finn found herself a new home on the wing after initially starting her career at half-back. Her new role on the wing showed just how promising the 24-year-old Irish recruit is.

Managing just five games in her debut year, Finn went back home to Ireland for an extended off-season to finish her university degree. Her studies didn’t hinder her training however, with Finn setting the goal for herself to come back to Carlton fitter than she’s ever been.

With a Sherrin in hand, Finn focused on her running and her strength training to ensure she was prepared for her second season playing Australian rules football. Her increased fitness had AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck approaching Finn with a new role in mind.

“Bucky approached me with the wing role and I kind of took it with open arms,” Finn said.

“I suppose it is kind of similar to a midfield role at home, where you have a bit more freedom to go up and down the ground. I embraced it, I really enjoyed the role: I like the idea of supporting, helping out at offence and defence.”

The winger was able to establish herself early in the season, with an ankle injury keeping her from playing all but one game in 2024.

Getting better and better each week, Finn’s 13-disposal, five tackle performance against Collingwood in Week 9 - which was capped off by a late goal to seal the victory for the Blues - showed just how dangerous she could become on the wing.

Finn admits that she had challenges adjusting to the new role but found reward in the “selfless” position.

“The wing role is probably the most selfless role on the team,” Finn said.

“You’re making the hard runs – you mightn’t touch the ball or might impact – but it’s knowing when to impact and not impact.

“I might open 'Mads' up to get a goal for example, or I might help spoil the ball to get it out of our defensive 50. Little things like that, they really motivate me and get me up and about. It’s selfless, but it’s also a really rewarding job at the same time.”

Also having a career-best season was Guerin, who played every game for the first time in her six-year career.

Her fitness and resilience in overcoming an ACL injury that kept her out of the 2023 season played a key role in Guerin becoming a stalwart of the Carlton midfield alongside Keeley Sherar and Abbie McKay.

“I had a bit of an interrupted start to my career, not just injury but selection-wise both here and at Melbourne,” Guerin said.

“To be able to get through a whole season was really exciting, I’m really proud of that. A lot of work went into it: I probably started pre-season back in November, so it was a really long run in.

“But I feel like my body was ready to take the hits and I was probably the fittest I’d ever been, which definitely helps you to be out there longer and stay out on the park. That consistency that I finally got in was really good.”

Guerin wasted no time starting her 2024 pre-season, playing two games with North Adelaide in the SANFLW before coming back to Melbourne to join the Carlton VFLW squad over the summer pre-season.

Hardly missing a session with the VFLW squad - coached by AFLW Senior Assistant Coach Glenn Strachan - Guerin also suited up for six games, helping her to refine her touch ahead of her eventual AFLW return.

The hard work over the AFLW off-season paid dividends for Guerin, who averaged 18.5 disposals and seven tackles in 2024. Guerin produced a career-best performance in Carlton’s Week 3 win over Geelong, racking up 31 disposals, five tackles and a goal in the team's most complete performance of the season.

With the pair crediting their years to their off-season work, both Guerin and Finn have already turned their attention to how they can replicate that success ahead of the 2025 pre-season.

“I think it’s about habits, and not letting those habits you need as an elite athlete 12 months of the year to slip away. Yeah, you can have a holiday here or there, but if you’re on holiday you’re still training, you’re still fuelling up,” Guerin said.

“You may schedule a few times where you can have a bit of a break, but it’s scheduling them at the right times, and not just switching off and not be an athlete for the next three months.

“We actually need to keep growing in that period.”