Carlton in AFLW 2021: An Analysis

[crashlander]

I thought part of the long term was for O'Dea to eventually move into coaching / mentoring, and this year she was a sort of on field player coach for our kids, but in the new environment she found her playing mojo again?

Did those plans change or have I got it wrong,............again?

I don't know, but with her on-field leadership I'd say she has probably started her coaching career.

I like O'Dea, she offers a lot of intangibles that are hard to quantify. But I do consider her recruitment a big risk. So far, it has paid off. If she can get through 2022 unscathed, then we might be considered winners of the trade. But her longevity as a player is probably not high.
I like the fact that she is an experienced head in such a young list: we NEED that sort of experience on the field. But it is a trick I would not like to repeat for some years to come.

I think the best time that O'Dea showed her worth was a game we had this year in the wind. She always played at the end the wind was going to, as a defender and as a forward. She got into the right spot a lot and really showed what she can do.

When we signed her, I was hoping she could move into the midfield more and take some of the pressure of Maddy P. That didn't happen. Maybe I was expecting too much, as I had not followed her career at Melbourne that closely. I just don't want us to get carried away with this sort of practice as we reach for a premiership.

We have 12 of our 30 players who are 20 years old or less, but with  couple of 21 year olds on top of that.