“IT’S the one you want to win.”

“When Bec Harford acknowledges you and your performance, it’s a pretty special thing.”

“This is an opportunity for excellence to be acknowledged through a different channel. That channel is a frog — a chocolate frog.”

It has captivated the masses at Ikon Park. It’s quite literally changing the game for the Game Changers.

In 2019, Senior Coach Daniel Harford was credited for the turnaround in Carlton’s AFLW fortunes. In 2020, it’s Rebecca Harford who is keeping the players on their toes.

How, you ask? The answer is quite simple.

It comes in the form of a 35-gram chocolate frog.

The origin story

It can be traced back to before Mr. Harford returned to Royal Parade as the Senior Coach.

The coach-in-waiting was earning his stripes in the Eastern Football League and VAFA, achieving success at Balwyn and St Kevin’s Old Boys.

It was at the latter where the frog manifested into what it is today.

“It was a concept initiated by the world champ, Rebecca,” Harford told Carlton Media.

“It started at SKOBs. We went through the Balwyn years and Bec felt a bit left out.

“She thought that perhaps there needed to be some feedback given from other avenues through the football club — that being her.

“She decided she needed to have some impact on where I was spending all of my time, which makes a bit of sense.”

Described by Mr. Harford consistently as “a reward for excellence”, the importance grew by the week.

As someone who knows the award well, it’s something which has raised the standard throughout the group.

Kerryn Harrington is well aware of its merit, considering she was the recipient in Round 5.

“It was my first on the weekend: it was something that I went into the game thinking about,” Harrington said.

“It was something I really wanted to win. I was quite jealous of the chocolate handed out previously.

“You can’t share a chocolate frog: when you win it, it’s yours. You can’t divide it 30 ways.”

Is it a distraction?

Both coach and co-captain believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives — if there are any.

However, they’re both realistic about the sense of competition it creates.

Harford admitted that it frames his thinking in the cut and thrust of game day, while Harrington believes it’s a point of motivation for the 21 players on the ground.

“It makes me think a bit more roundly about what excellence is and what success is. What frog worthy is,” he said.

“It’s what I ask myself throughout the game: who is frog-worthy today? It catches my attention.

“I probably should focus more on coaching at times instead of who’s going to get the frog. I keep talking in the box about who’s been frog worthy and they tell me to shut up because they’re trying to coach.”

Meanwhile, Harrington said it’d be foolish to suggest that the prospect of the win didn’t motivate her teammates.

“It is a fine line, there’s a lot at stake,” she said.

“I’d like to think that people don’t go out there trying to win the chocolate frog, but I’m realistic.

“As long as the team gets the right result and the right person gets the frog, everyone goes home a winner.”

The astute football judge

“The right person.” It’s a key part of this whole operation.

When things started out, Mr. Harford concedes that there was some conjecture over who deserved the chocolate frog each week.

Now, however, he feels as though it’s a well-oiled machine.

“It has caused disputes at home. But often - very often, as it has been this year - we’ve found common ground and we see the same thing,” he said.

On quite a few occasions this year, the chocolate frog has served as a precursor to future awards.

In Round 4, Charlotte Wilson received the accolades: she was crowned as the NAB AFLW Rising Star nominee the following week.

Then, in Round 5, Harrington’s chocolate frog resulted in a perfect 10 in the coaches’ votes two days later.

“Clearly, she’s got a keen eye for footy as she picks the right person each week,” she said.

“We completely respect her judgement as players.

“If it’s going to take a big tackle or something similar to win a chocolate frog, there’s going to be plenty of girls going out there to have their moment.”

The defenders’ award?

There’s been a significant trend developing in the last two weeks.

With Wilson and Harrington doubling up, there seems to be a movement happening. Could the chocolate frog become the team’s (or even the League’s) first true defenders' award?

Harrington is all over it.

“I think it’s a defenders’ award now. I’m claiming it,” she said.

“I feel as though she can see the heart and soul of the team. I’m all for the fact that defenders are finally getting recognised for the hard work they do.

“As defenders, we’re grossly unrewarded with the big accolades at the end of the year. I’m not going to be upset about this becoming our award.”

The Senior Coach was quick to remove any doubt: the stats sheet plays no part in the decision-making process.

Put simply, “she doesn’t care about disposals”.

“It’s not just for midfielders, it’s not just high-flying forwards: this is an award for excellence by the way Rebecca sees it,” he said.

“This is an award where defenders get a look in.”

Good riddance, we say.

The crisis

The complications started early. One week, a second frog was handed out without a moment’s notice.

As Mr. Harford put it, “it threw a real spanner in the choccy frog works”.

However, nothing could prepare the Game Changers for what happened weeks later.

As a crisis grips the nation and its supermarkets, Harford is keen for action.

“I was aghast at the crisis which hit Australia last week: the chocolate frog shortage, not the toilet paper,” he said.

“We had an issue where we had a run on the larger frog, and I had to get three smaller ones to equal the big one. I purchased them with a heavy heart.

“I’ve put in a request to Cadbury to make sure there is a direct delivery to the Carlton Football Club to ensure there are the larger 35g frogs to go around. It’s very important.”

However, if you ask Harrington, it made the moment all the more special.

After all, the three 12g frogs accounted for 36 grams of chocolate: one more than usual.

“If it was just one chocolate frog, it would rank alongside the All Australian spot last year,” she said.

“To actually get three of them, though… that was big. I feel like it pipped a few of the other awards.”

The way forward

She was described as being “like Batman: you don’t see her a lot of the time but you know she’s there”.

While she hasn’t been on hand to present chocolate frog yet, Harrington believes it’ll be a special occasion when Bec Harford does the honours.

Whether it’s for a big win potentially come finals, it remains a mystery.

However, a cause for concern at the moment is how the chocolate frog will stack up in the Northern Territory.

“The Alice Springs situation is a bit concerning. I hear ice vests are required,” she said.

“People don’t mind their chocolate a bit melted but when it’s liquid, we’re in trouble. I feel like it needs to be on ice pre-game.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Harford made no secret of what his reaction will be if either the chocolate frog doesn’t get the recognition it deserves or the idea is implemented by other coaches.

“Absolutely there will be a presentation on best-and-fairest night. I can’t say too much, it’s under wraps — but if there’s not time allocated for the frog, I won’t be there,” he said.

“The concept is ours, there’s no doubt about it. It’s new to the game and there’s no doubt there’ll be copy cats out there, but it’ll never be the same as what we’ve got.

“David Teague? We’ll see. He’s pinched a lot of my ideas throughout the journey, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the next one.”

N.B. Please note: quotes in this story are not to be taken seriously. Maybe. We're not actually sure.