ELITE standards and the motivation to succeed.

For Carlton skipper Kerryn Harrington, the opportunity to jump straight back into training ahead of an AFLW season commencing in December is one her side is relishing.

Speaking to Carlton Media following the AFLW Trade Period with the Blues having re-signed or extended the contracts of 15 players, Harrington outlined the road ahead.

“I think it’s a really exciting time for the group, I mean the amount of younger players – particularly high draft picks – that see their future at the Carlton Football Club with our AFLW side on the path that it’s on is a really strong showing from the group,” Harrington said.

“As a senior player amongst the group, I’m delighted that so many younger players have the same vision that we’ve already created in the group over the last few years and those girls want to be part of it.

“It’s a super exciting time for us as a group and I’m really confident with the group that we’ve signed and ready to go to work with the girls that have re-signed.”

Welcoming former Darebin Falcon Jess Dal Pos into the fold over trade period, Harrington was pleased with the Club’s move to add versatility and leadership to the side.

“The reputation that Jess has got is that she’s just the ultimate competitor,” she said.

“She’s come from a really successful Darebin Falcons program, so anyone who comes from a program of sustained success knows what it’s about and knows what it takes to work hard to achieve success at the top level.

“What I’m really excited about her coming into the team is the leadership and the ability for her to show some of our younger midfielders the way to go and the way to work together.”

Having missed out on a finals berth in April, the Blues quickly bounced back into a period of reflection ahead of what will be an earlier commencement to pre-season than previous years.

Acknowledging deficiencies in their 2021 campaign, Harrington believes the Blues have the opportunity to implement those learnings quickly with a start date at the end of this year.

“It’s an interesting time for the group, obviously the season past was quite disappointing as far as results were concerned,” she said.

“It’s something that as a playing group we’ve sat down and I guess gone over with a fine tooth comb about what it is that we did well, what it is that we didn’t do well and I guess how we can rectify some of the issues that led us to ultimately not playing in finals.

“For us there’s been a lot reflection, there’s been a huge amount of motivation within the playing group and to enjoy some of the success that we have expectations on ourselves to produce for us and for the Club as well going forward.”