MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 06: Daniel Harford the coach of the Blues talks to his players during the round nine AFLW match between the Carlton Blues and the Gold Coast Suns at Ikon Park on March 06, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Carlton's AFLW coach Daniel Harford has blasted the lack of information surrounding the beginning of the AFLW pre-season, calling the current situation "a very bad outcome".
The AFLW have indicated an August start for the next season, hoping to give the women's competition a time-slot without competition from cricket and tennis while also shifting games the heat of high summer.
But Harford, who hosts RSN's Breakfast Club program, said on Thursday that even he was unsure who would be fronting up for the Blues, with the start date of the season still unconfirmed.
“If it’s going to start in August, we’ll be starting training in June. We’re (in) early May. We’d start training in five weeks if we’re going to start the August timeline," explained Harford.
“(If it’s not August), well just tell us ... I’m not sure too many competitions would be running like this across the globe.”
Conversations around the new AFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) have taken some of the blame for the dearth of information, as the CBA must be completed before the sign and trade period can begin.
Harford admitted the AFLW "probably can’t do too much without (the CBA)," but told listeners that, at the very least, clubs want "more detail and some finite number and timeline".
Harford has coached Carlton since the 2019 season, and in April signed a two-year extension of his contract at the helm of the Blues.
Carlton will lose Madison Prespakis and Georgia Gee to Essendon this off-season, while Grace Egan looks to join Richmond.