IT seems fitting that after leading Carlton into its maiden AFLW Grand Final, Daniel Harford was named the inaugural AFLW Senior Coach of the Year.

After finishing bottom in 2018, Harford took over the senior coaching position and orchestrated a turnaround that now sees Carlton competing against Adelaide for a shot at premiership glory on Sunday.

The respect between both senior coaches at Carlton is evident, with Brendon Bolton expressing his admiration of what the first-year coach has achieved in such a short time at the club.

“The AFLW going from where they were last year to now is a direct reflection on his positivity, and he should be really proud,” Bolton told RSN’s The Breakfast Club.

“I just want to wish ‘Harf’ all the best and we are really proud of all the women at Carlton.”

Harford made the move to Ikon Park from arch-enemy Collingwood at the end of last season and made an immediate impact on the playing group.

That included star forward Darcy Vescio, who was full of praise for the senior coach.

“I personally didn’t know him at all - I don’t think we had met - but when he came, we embraced him with open arms,” Vescio said.

“We weren’t in a great state, and he was able to assure us that he was here to try and get us on a different path.

“There has been a lot of talk about trust and belief, but I think he just wanted us to enjoy playing footy.

“He has always spoken about how players who are happy are better players, and I think he has been able to achieve that.”

Determined by his fellow AFLW coaches, Harford polled the most votes to be named the 2019 AFL Coaches Association AFLW Senior Coach of the Year.

Blues captain Bri Davey delivered the news in front of the playing group on Wednesday night.

Davey was eager to begin a new era under Harford after he was announced as senior coach for the 2019 season.

“I didn’t know too much about Harf, so I was going a lot off what I had heard, which were all really good things,” she said.

“I have really good mates at Collingwood and as soon as [his appointment] was announced, I had a bunch of text messages from players saying that we have got a ripper.”

“I was really pumped to meet him knowing all of those things.”