“TIME flies when you’re having fun.”

You’d forgive Charlotte Wilson for enjoying the AFLW season so far.

After a debut season which included a Grand Final, Wilson has lifted her game to another level in 2020.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed by the wider AFLW community, receiving a nomination for the NAB AFLW Rising Star in Round 5 after a stellar performance in Carlton’s win against the St Kilda.

It has been a reward for effort for the 19-year-old who put in the hard yards following the conclusion of last year, ensuring she made the most of the VFLW season to cement her position in Carlton’s backline.

“Throughout the VFL season and in pre-season, my main focus has been that I just have to improve to prove that I should be here,” Wilson said on the Behind the Game Changers podcast.

“That was definitely my main kind of mindset coming into the season.

“Last year I didn’t think I had that much of an impact. I was still learning, finding my feet — this year, I thought that I really had to show that I deserved to be here.

“Playing VFL really helped me understand the game a bit better and then I guess that’s helped me coming into this season.”

The work has definitely paid off for the athletic Wilson who has played an important role in Carlton’s solid backline.

Working alongside the likes of co-captain Kerryn Harrington, Gab Pound, Mua Laloifi and Jess Hosking, Wilson has averaged 11.5 disposals and five marks from her four games this year.

Wilson has also not wavered under the pressure on playing on some of the marquee players of the game, allowing only one goal while playing on Richmond forward Sabrina Frederick in Round 1.

However, the humble Wilson was quick to pass on the praise to her teammates, acknowledging their role in her own personal development.

“We’ve got a really deep list, which is good,” Wilson said.

“Back in the first couple of seasons you had four or five players who really carried the team and everyone else was kind of just out there, but I think this year we’ve got a really deep list.

“Everyone, the whole squad of 30 deserves to be on the field every time.”

While it would be easy to dwell on the disappointment of last year’s Grand Final loss to Adelaide, Wilson is buoyed by the team’s performance so far this year.

It may be the age-old cliché of taking it ‘week-by-week’, but the Round 4 chocolate frog recipient believed that it was crucial the team remained focus on the present to maximise their chances of going one step further in 2020.

“‘Harf’ has been speaking to us a lot about how we just have to take everything one game at a time: moment-by-moment, step-by-step,” Wilson said.

“It’s really good that we don’t dwell too much on the past because that leads to us making more mistakes. We don’t think about the future too far ahead because we don’t get to where we want to get to.”