Carlton coach Josh Fraser admitted that there times where he and his assistants were tearing their hair out in the box, but ultimately he was immensely proud of the way his Blues fought and scrapped to come from behind and defeat Melbourne by 19 points in their wildcard final at the MCG on Saturday night.
The higher-ranked Demons kicked the first four goals of the game, but Fraser said his side were not “spooked” when they had their backs against the wall in front of more than 91,000 fans.
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Carlton found themselves in a similar position in the first term against minor premiers Fremantle a week earlier, but the stakes were not as high at Marvel Stadium that day.
Although, the Blues were able to lean on the habits that have underpinned their stunning surge into the finals, having won 12 of their last 15 games.
“It didn’t feel like we got spooked. It was another sign of the growth in this group, where momentum’s against you. Stay connected, trust the system,” Fraser said post-match.
“It felt like a really mature performance, particularly in that first quarter. They’re just growing, our players. They’re just growing in different scenarios and finding different ways to win, and I think they embrace everything that’s thrown at them from the coaches’ box. We didn’t feel flustered; there were parts of our game early which we thought were the right way to play.
“We weren’t connecting with some fundamentals, made some errors. You have to embrace that in a final, and our boys did a good job of that.”
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One of the keys in turning their fortunes around was Carlton’s ability to take some of the heat out of the game with ball in hand.
In the first quarter, the Blues appeared rushed and made several mistakes by foot with the Demons picking off multiple low, short passes into the middle ground.
But from quarter-time onwards, Carlton regained their composure and happily built up their attacks with uncontested marks and shifting the Melbourne defence from side-to-side.
That has been a staple of the Fraser era, but it was even more important on Saturday night given the presence of Melbourne’s 209cm nine-time All-Australian, who has the ability to dominate the airwaves.
“Ideally, we weren’t kicking it to (Max Gawn) often, because of how good he is in the air,” Fraser said.
“So we had to find another way, and sometimes that presented to us, other times it didn’t.
“When we had to go down the line, I thought we got a pretty good contest.
“The players’ ability to keep working to provide that option to keep the ball offline and try to go around Max where we could … again, it wasn’t perfect.
“There were times in the game where it frustrated myself and the other coaches, but the ability for our players to embrace the imperfection of that … and persist.”
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Sam Walsh (39 disposals) and Jagga Smith (29 disposals and two goals) were outstanding in the middle of the ground.
Jacob Weitering, Nick Haynes and Harry Dean were brick wall-like down back, while Ben Ainsworth was superb up forward with a game-high three goals.
It was not a performance like in the past where it has all fallen on the shoulders of inspirational skipper Patrick Cripps.
There were contributors all across the ground and Fraser was very pleased with the way his team shared the load.
“Historically there’s been certain players who have felt like they’ve had to do everything, and the intent’s fine, but it’s misguided, and actual fact, you’ve just got to be so reliable in your role and trust the guy next to you to get his job done,” he said.
“I thought we had a really even spread of contributors tonight, and I think that’s been our story for large parts of the last 14, 15 weeks. We’re not reliant on one or two. Absolutely, guys will stand up and have very good games, but the load’s shared and spread. So is the ownership.”
NCA. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. August 29th 2026. Wildcard Final 1. Melbourne vs Carlton at the MCG. Josh Fraser , senior coach of Carlton . Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
One of those players who did their part was Oliver Hollands, who kicked a goal and had 18 disposals.
The wingman has found himself out of the team at times this year, but impressed on Saturday night as he maniacally charged up and down the Shane Warne Stand wing in a good battle with Melbourne running machine Ed Langdon.
“This year in a football sense has provided a lot of challenges for Ollie, and I can speak to his character, he turns up wanting to grow his game,” Fraser said.
“Maybe the disappointment of not being in the team and going back to VFL, turns up with the right mindset and attitude and gets to work on his game. So we’ve had a high level of confidence to bring him in at the right time to play a role.”
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The Blues are not done yet as they face Geelong on Friday night, but after a stirring victory in front of a bumper MCG crowd, Fraser implored his players to take a moment before casting their mind forward to the Cats.
“(We were) probably presented an opportunity, just with the players and some staff, to not so much take a breath, but just enjoy it for a minute. The rooms felt incredible with our family and friends, and so many people connected to the club. Incredible support from the crowd,” Fraser said.
“They kept turning up and giving us great energy. But we, I just said to the players, they should understand what performances like this do to so many people and for so many people connected to the club. They’re important and just that moment to enjoy it for a minute was important.”