Follow scores, results, odds, squads; teams named for all-or-nothing Friday night clash between Carlton and West Coast

Maddy Hendrie notices the little things.

Whether she’s analysing her opponents’ movements milliseconds before a contest or pouring over spreadsheets in a corporate office – the Carlton AFLW star values attention to detail.

As fifth-placed Carlton enter the final round of the home-and-away season it’s an exciting time for Hendrie, who thrives in two separate roles. On-field she’s the Blues’ ruck and off-field she’s a part-time analyst for NAB’s strategy team.

“I think it’s quite common for your identity to get wrapped up into being a football player, particularly because it is such a dream career,” she told this masthead.

“But it’s a slippery slope, thinking that that’s all you’re worth, and particularly when you’re not getting selected, and then you get injured.”

Hendrie fractured her left foot in round six last year and was ruled out of the remainder of the 2024 season.

“I suppose my value and worth decreased in those moments, but having an outlet such as working, I think, enabled me to continue to grow. Even if my football career was at a temporary halt with injury, I could still grow outside of it,” she said.

Born and raised in Sydney, Hendrie was part of the Swans’ academy but was not selected by the Swans in the draft. She had to wait until the supplementary draft of 2023 to be selected by the Blues.

For her first couple of seasons Hendrie alternated between a number of roles, and struggled to get selected, but she has finally settled deep in defence this year.

The change proved successful and the 23-year-old produced a career-best season for the Blues and signed a two-year contract extension.

Loading

“As much as I’ve gone after my kicking and skill execution in the off-season, I’ve also gone hard on the mental side of things,” Hendrie said.

“I have a lot of techniques pre-game and during the game to calm the nerves, whether that be positive self-talk or a few keywords that bring me back to centre or communicating to the other players.”

Hendrie said she’d noticed a huge shift in her confidence this year and spent less time lingering over mistakes.

“If I’d make mistake in the past, I would then be really quiet because I wouldn’t want to draw attention to myself,” she said.

“So just getting out of that mindset and just forcing myself to connect with the line and connect with the team, that’s been beneficial and also gets me out of my own head.”

Carlton face Daisy Pearce’s Eagles in Perth on Friday night as both team race for a coveted finals berth.

Hendrie said the prospect of making finals was “an elephant in the room” at the start of the season, but said the team had spoken about it a few weeks ago.

“We’ve addressed that pressure and kind of lent more into embracing it – what a privilege to be in this position where these last few games really mean something.”