It’s been a turbulent year for Dom Carbone.

The Northern Territory star started the season with high hopes and ended it as the Western Bulldogs’ first Lambert-Pearce Medal winner, leading her side from 11th in the competition.^t on the ladder to the 2023 Rebel VFLW Grand Final.

Still just 23, Carbone impressed enough in the Bulldogs’ three-game winning 2023 season to be called up as a reserve player for the AFLW side, but this year she has taken it to a new level.

The central midfielder, who never backs down, led the way for the Bulldogs.

Carbone won 17 votes to secure the Lambert-Pearce Medal with one round still to play – even if she didn’t quite believe it at that stage.

“It’s an incredible honor for me and I’m incredibly humbled to receive this award, especially considering what has been a great season and competition this year,” said Carbone.

“I am extremely grateful for the support I have had around me. Many experienced players and a year of development, I am extremely grateful for the experience and support I have received from the club, but also from my family.

“I didn’t expect to get there, just because of the level of competition this year. It was great and that’s a big credit to women’s football.

“I hope the competition will grow and that more people will want to watch us and more people will come and want to take part in this sport.”

“Stop for a moment and look at how much the competition has grown since I returned in 2022. The high standard it has reached in such a short space of time is simply extraordinary.”

Carbone is a humble star who doesn’t try to pretend to be something she’s not, she just focuses on being the best player she can be to help her team achieve what they are capable of.

“For me, it just means constantly striving to improve every day and striving to be the best version of myself,” she said.

“The Bulldogs have been really great at giving me that experience, that growth and showing me that they believe in me. I was lucky that they were able to continue to develop me and continue to support me to become a better player.

“It goes without saying that being involved in the Train on program with the VFLW girls and being around players like Ellie Blackburn and Deanna Berry, who are also senior players, has helped me add another element to my game.”

Carbone was also full of praise for her Monday night teammate, J.J Liston Trophy winner Dom Brew, who she met during the 2022-23 season when they both played for the Darwin Buffaloes and Buffettes in the NTFL.

She admired him as he won the 2020-21 Nichols Medal for Nightcliff.

“I have nothing but high praise for Dom Brew and I am incredibly proud of him for achieving such success,” she said.

“We actually played for the same local club in the NTFL and we were talking at the same awards ceremony about 12 months ago about how we were tracking our progress and what our experiences were like when we came to Melbourne.

“The house actually gave me a bit of encouragement and some guidance on how to cope over the next 12 months.

“I can always look at him from a distance to model my game on him, see how hard he works, how persistently he pursues his goals and how he leads his team.”

Carbone, who played in two AFLW games last year as a Bulldogs replacement after six games as a member of Hawthorn’s inaugural AFLW squad in 2022, is keen to return to the top level and believes she would be a much better player if given a second chance.

“I think that’s always the most important goal, but for me it’s more important to become the best version of myself, to show my best side and just enjoy playing football,” she said.

LAMBERT-PEARCE MEDAL

17: Dom Carbone (Western Bulldogs)
14: Tamara Luke (Box Hill Hawks)
14: El Chaston (Essendon)
13: Ange Gogos (Darebin)
12: Ava Seton (Port Melbourne)
12: Emily Eaves (Williamstown)
11: Alana Barba (North Melbourne)
10: Monique DeMatteo (Darebin)
10: Keeley Hardingham (Western Bulldogs)
10: Eliza Straford (Williamstown)
10: Ash Thorneycroft (Williamstown)

CLUB-BY-CLUB

The Hawks of Box Hill: T. Luke 14, R. Dillon, E. West 5, C. Baskaran, D. Spamer, C. Thorne 4, E. Bates, B. Hipwell, T. Lucas-Rodd 3, T. Smith, N. von Bertouch , L. Walia 2, M. Kendall, G. Matser 1. Total: 53

Carlton: E. Wood 6, M. Hill 4, M. Austin, O. Di Donato, L. Goss, G. Tait 3, I. Baldwin, K. Skepper, D. Vescio 2, I. Khoury, K. Sherar 1. Total: 33

Casey’s Demons: S. Lampard, N. O’Neill 6, S. Fairchild, M. Macdonald 4, S. Johnson, Z. Mitchell 3, G. Campbell, S. Casey, T. Gillard, A. Kirkwood, J. Lin 2, C. Brewer, T. Burn, S. D’Arcy, L. Jatczak 1. Total: 40

Collingwood: C. Remmos 6, A. Peterson 5, K. Day 4, L. Cronin, E. Fowler 3, H. Fosbrooke, S. Ingram, S. Sansonetti 2, J. Ivey, L. Pearce 1. Total: 29

Darebin Falcoms: A. Gogos 13, M. DeMatteo 10, C. Bunker 6, A. Mifsud 3, N. Callinan 2, S. Baisis, G. Wake 1. Total: 36

Essence: E. Chaston 14, B. Hunt, G. Nancaswen 6, M. Dyke 5, A. Gaylor, R. Mahony, O. Manfre 4, E. Tassiopoulos 3, M. Busch, J. Richardson 2, M. Ford, K. Jacques, A. Jordan, A. Melnikas 1. Total: 54

Geelong Cats: McDonald Abbey 7, B. O’Rourke 4, O. Cicolini 3, D. Taylor 2, A. Favell, L. Jordan, A. McKeegan, B. Plummer 1. Total: 20

GWS GIANTS: F. Davies 6, Z. Goldsworthy 5, M. Brazendale 4, C. McCormick 3, T. Evans, T. Germech 2, M. Pauga 1. Total: 23

North Melbourne: A. Barba 11, N. Dojiok 8, T. Meier, R. Tierney 6, A. Ling, M. Zander 3, M. Di Cosmo, E. Jackson, M. McSweeney, K. Reynolds, A. Rhodes 2. Total: 47

Port Melbourne: A. Seton 12, L. Caruso 5, E. Ashley-Cooper, E. Harley 4, E. Sheerin 3, B. Clarke, M. Denahy-Maloney, F. Frew, K. O’Keefe, G. Seymour 2 , C. Bromage, S. Reid, M. Shevlin 1. Total: 41

Southern Saints: M. Torpey 9, T. Boyd, W. Laing 6, S. Phillips 3, G. De Angelis, G. Foran, C. Hunt, C. Ryan 1. Total: 28

Swans in Sydney: M. Ham, B. Smith 5, A. Hamilton 4, L. Gardiner, S. Hurley, C. Molloy, A. Morphett 3, C. Hamilton 2. Total: 28

Western Bulldogs: D. Carbone 17 (winner), K. Hardingham 10, E. Blackburn 8, J. Tabb 7, M. Clifford 3, A. Klingbeil, S. Skinner 2, M. McLeod, I. Milford, C. Ugle 1. Total: 52

Williamstown: E. Eaves 12, E. Straford 10, A. Thorneycroft 10, S. Whiting 6, T. Brett, M. Simpson 3, L. Stepnell, M. Williams 2, G. Biedenweg-Webster, C. O’Bryan 1 . Total: 50