Sacked Carlton coach Daniel Harford says the membership has been far too centered on the lads’s program, to the detriment of the ladies.
Harford, talking on his breakfast radio present on RSN, known as for the Blues to “get critical with this system and catch as much as the remainder of the competitors.”
An unbiased assessment into Carlton’s AFLW program, discovered that the AFLW senior coach place wanted to be full-time, and that there was “at instances confusion with the sport plan and lack of alignment and consistency with its implementation.”
Watch each match of each spherical of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports activities. New to Kayo? Begin your free trial now >
The assessment additionally criticised professionalism on the a part of the gamers, saying “alternative exists within the present AFLW atmosphere for gamers to enhance skilled requirements and elite behaviours, to construct and keep an efficient, high-performance tradition.”
Harford led the Blues to a grand last in 2019, and a semi-final victory in 2020, however had missed the finals within the final three tears, successful solely two video games in season 7.
An analogous assessment of the lads’s program noticed the departure of David Teague in 2021.
Carlton president Luke Sayers mentioned Harford, who performed 153 video games for Hawthorn, wasn’t in a position to “service the position in a full-time capability”, and subsequently had parted methods with the membership.
Harford was contracted within the position for an extra 15 months, however when requested on air whether or not the parting of how was mutual, he was lower than diplomatic.
“Effectively, if you’re contracted for one more 12 months then it’s a sacking, isn’t it,” he mentioned.
He mentioned judging a part-time program on full-time requirements was a skewed place and that gamers likewise couldn’t be judged on part-time schedules.
“I’m nonetheless not 100 per cent satisfied of what excessive efficiency in an element time program truly is,” he mentioned.
“If you happen to’ve acquired half time individuals, attempting to develop and provoke this excessive efficiency program, after working their different jobs for the day, that’s an actual problem, I reckon.
“The membership wants to take a position and the sport must have individuals within the completely different silos (like growth, health, teaching)…they nearly all have to be full time staff of the footy membership.”
He mentioned having “part-time athletes who produce other lives who’re attempting to squeeze” AFLW into their schedules was a consider professionalism, recognized within the assessment as an essential space of enchancment.
“If you happen to will pay them so it’s extra of a full-time scenario, then these issues will rise together with it,” he mentioned.
Being concerned in an athletic restoration enterprise in addition to with media commitments, Harford says he gained’t be teaching in 2023, and says he’s wanting ahead to “(having) weekends in footy season for the primary time in 30 years.
“It’s going to be unbelievable.
“I’ve been very blessed…(AFLW has been actually a life altering expertise for me in footy and in life.”
