CARLTON appears to have won the battle to hold on to its captain and star defender Brianna Davey.

Although no contract has been signed, the 23-year-old is understood to be on the verge of putting pen to paper to remain in navy Blue.

Davey had been weighing up a lucrative contract offer from Collingwood following a season in which Carlton won two games and she tore her ACL.

As tempting as the Magpies’ $120,000 per year offer was, the general sentiment in AFLW circles is Davey — who is the backline coach for Carlton’s VFLW side — will soon commit to the club for next season.

Finals Week 1

Whether she remains as captain or not is yet to be determined, but her impending signature is a significant boost to a club that was on its knees when it lost its coach and list manager in the space of a month.

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Rumours of player unrest are not uncommon in the AFLW competition, which has had its teething problems across the first two years of existence, and Carlton has not been immune.

But Collingwood, which lost assistant coach Daniel Harford to Carlton recently, is now facing its own mini-player retention crisis.

The Pies will lose Jess Duffin and Jasmine Garner to North Melbourne, while Emma King is also likely to join the Roos.

Millie Barden has curiously been lured to Richmond for the VFLW season, as has Lauren Tesoriero. Mek Keys (Hawthorn) and Darcy Guttridge (Casey) will also not play VFLW for Collingwood, but the former was always at the Hawks and the latter is from Cranbourne area.

Carlton will appoint its general manager of women’s football in the coming weeks, while a new-look coaching panel will also take shape over the winter.