The Carlton Football Club is today delighted to welcome former Greater Western Sydney Giant Jessica Dal Pos to IKON Park as part of a three-way trade with the Giants and Melbourne on the eighth day of the 2021 AFLW Sign and Trade Period.

As part of the deal, the Blues also receive three draft picks inside the top 20 of the Victorian pool – No.6, No.16 and No.19 (National picks 10, 27 and 32 respectively) – in addition to the Victorian picks No.8 and No.17 the Club already held.

With the Blues welcoming Dal Pos and now holding five picks inside the top 20 of the Victorian pool, the trade also saw Tayla Harris join Melbourne along with the Blues’ National pick No.44, while the Giants acquired inaugural Game Changer Katie Loynes and Chloe Dalton, who has made the decision to remain home in Sydney, where she had returned last year to pursue her Olympic dream. 

Dal Pos was initially recruited to the Giants in 2016 as one of the Club’s five priority selections ahead of the League’s inaugural season.

She has earned a reputation as a skilful, hard-running player with outstanding ball-winning ability.

A member of GWS’s leadership group since day one, and having achieved All-Australian selection in 2017, the 27-year-old and former Darebin Falcon is set to be a welcome addition to the Game Changers’ outfit in 2022. 

Carlton General Manger of Women’s Football Brett Munro said the Club was delighted to have secured the services of the versatile midfielder and half back.

"Over the past five years Jess has made a tremendous contribution to GWS as one of its inaugural players, and we’re now thrilled to have her join us at IKON Park and add another exciting chapter to her football career," Munro said.

“Being a member of the Giants’ leadership group since the very beginning says a lot about Jess’ character and the quality player and leader that she is, and we are excited to have her impart her wealth of knowledge and expertise onto our playing group from this point on.  

“Having played an integral part in the Darebin Falcons’ multiple premierships before entering the AFLW competition, Jess is extremely eager to experience that at the elite level, and we’re excited to have her join us to drive that desire and belief among our Game Changers in 2022.

“Our discussion with Tayla since the end of the season have always been in good faith and when it became clear we both needed to explore other options, this was always done with the intention of finding a suitable resolution for all parties and we feel that has been the case here. We thank her for her contribution to our club over the last four seasons and wish her the best for the future.

“After spending the past 12 months in Sydney, Chloe’s aspirations since leaving Melbourne had changed, and as a club, we fully respect her decision. While we are disappointed to lose Chloe, we now have an extremely strong hand in the upcoming draft, with two picks inside the Top 10, and five inside 20, in the Victorian pool.

“We’re confident that these selections will allow us to bring in even more talent that will bolster our playing group next season.

“We would also like to once again take the time to thank Katie for her incredible contribution to our football club. She played a pivotal role in laying a really solid foundation for our program and for that we will always be grateful, she will always have a home at IKON Park.”

JESSICA DAL POS BIO:

DOB: 20/09/1993
Position: Midfield / Defender
Height: 160cm
Club: Greater Western Sydney