WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n Because after a disappointing nine-win campaign capped by the departures of stars Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni, it\u2019d take the most optimistic of diehards to project a big bounce-back into contention. <\/p>\n The expanded finals format will have fans dreaming of a September return after forays in 2023 \u2014 which produced a preliminary final berth \u2014 and 2024, but most believe this isn\u2019t a side that\u2019ll contend for the silverware in the short term. <\/p>\n However, after cashing in on the departures of the aforementioned trio, the blueprint for the future is crystallising. <\/p>\n Top draft picks from the past two years, Jagga Smith and Harry Dean, plus impending father-son gem Cody Walker, are set to buoy the Blues for the next decade-plus. <\/p>\n For now, Smith partners with star Sam Walsh \u2014 who\u2019s recommitted for another eight years \u2014 in the midfield, Dean will combine with gun stopper Jacob Weitering, and off-season additions Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth bring forward-half variance in a unit now spearheaded by Harry McKay. <\/p>\n Get all the latest news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports AFL Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n And at the helm, entering his fifth season at Carlton, remains Michael Voss, who was allowed to coach into the final year of his contract \u2014 but could quickly come under fire if things go awry in the early stages of the season. <\/p>\n The 50-year-old, who holds a 46-43 record as Blues\u2019 boss, is evidently working with an overhauled list, with Ollie Florent, Liam Reidy and Campbell Chesser also among the new recruits. <\/p>\n It comes after a campaign that didn\u2019t come close to meeting expectations, and, speaking at the club\u2019s best-and-fairest awards night late last year, Voss was sharply critical of his ability to cultivate a winning formula at Princes Park. <\/p>\n The two-time senior coach said the club culturally defeated itself in 2025, with Voss putting himself at the forefront of that brutal reality in a candid explanation. <\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, our job as coaches is to provide the environment that gets the best out of everyone, and I clearly didn\u2019t do that,\u201d a reflective Voss told Fox Footy\u2019s Garry Lyon in a pre-season sitdown<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a multitude of ways (why that didn\u2019t happen) \u2014 there\u2019s a bit about playing group, maybe there\u2019s some things around how we enjoy our environment more as we\u2019re demanding more from each other. There\u2019s a lot about that. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are some things around our pre-season \u2014 we thought we had a really robust pre-season (last year), I look back at that now on reflection and think \u2018we had a really strong pre-season, but obviously we missed a key part of some things we needed to get better at\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, as a leader, you always feel like you\u2019re the first point of call. If change is going to happen, it has to happen from you, down. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was an important statement to make. And then the culturally defeated ourselves (part) was just more around the heaviness we all felt. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were all feeling this weight of responsibility, maybe a weight of history, the need to want to be good now, and not fulfilling what those expectations were.\u201d<\/p>\n FULL CHAT HERE: Voss explains why Blues were \u2018culturally defeated\u2019 in 2025 \u2014 Fox Footy Face to Face<\/a><\/p>\n Dillon pays tribute to Dennis Cometti | 00:48<\/p>\n Curnow\u2019s high-profile exit certainly leaves a void in the forward half, but it also creates a great opportunity for a more diverse contribution at the Blues. <\/p>\n Voss explained that his side will have more options at its disposal this year, not only because of those that have arrived at the club, but also names that weren\u2019t always readily available in 2025. <\/p>\n \u201cHarry (McKay) played half the year last year, Brodie Kemp played five games, Elijah (Hollands) played five games, (Matt) Cottrell played six games,\u201d Voss said. <\/p>\n \u201cThen we add Hayward and Ainsworth into that mix with a young Hudson O\u2019Keeffe and a (Ashton) Moir \u2026 so it\u2019s very, very new. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we hope we\u2019ve got is a very dynamic group, a few different attributes, and we\u2019ve got a few different ways we can score. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, if we\u2019ve had some criticism about the way we\u2019ve played \u2026 (that) it\u2019s being channelled through a couple of people – that won\u2019t be the case this year, we\u2019ll be looking for different avenues to be able to score, and we feel like we\u2019ve got the scoring power to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jagga Smith set for Carlton debut | 02:10<\/p>\n While the dangerous Swans await first up in Opening Round, the Blues can get off to a positive start with ensuing clashes with Richmond, Melbourne and North Melbourne. <\/p>\n Nobody knows more than Voss that scrutiny is headed his way if Carlton starts the season poorly, especially with the shrewd Graham Wright now at the wheel. <\/p>\n But despite the merciless nature of the job, the former champion player still loves coaching. <\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely love it. At times, I don\u2019t, so it\u2019s like a love-hate relationship at times,\u201d laughed Voss to Lyon. <\/p>\n \u201cBut, look, I think when you step into coaching \u2026 is that when you walk into a game, there\u2019s this feeling that you have before a game \u2014 you can\u2019t describe it \u2014 you could win, you could lose. I love that feeling. <\/p>\n \u201cThat sort of gets me back, as well as trying to win games and trying to make players better. That feeling I have before a game that I guess is anxiety, a little bit of stress, maybe some nerves \u2014 but whether you win or you lose, and being on that edge, I don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s just \u2026 it\u2019s an addiction that keeps bringing you back.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawthorn get perfect result at tribunal | 04:14<\/p>\n STRENGTH<\/p>\n Contest. Under Michael Voss, the Blues have established a long-term brand predicated on contested ball, and they were at the very top end last year. Led by Patrick Cripps and George Hewett, Carlton topped the competition for contested possessions per game with 137.7. The Blues were also fourth for pre-clearance equity points, according to renowned model Wheelo Ratings \u2014 which implements AFL Player Ratings \u2014 behind the Bulldogs, Gold Coast and Brisbane. They were also a top-five clearance side in 2025 and third for clearance differential, notching a league-best first possession rate. <\/p>\n WEAKNESS<\/p>\n Ball movement. Carlton was hard-pressed last year trying to string together offensive chains. In particular, the Blues struggled moving the ball from the backline, ranking in the bottom five for defensive-half scores \u2014 better than only Port Adelaide, Richmond, Essendon and West Coast. Instead, the majority of their scoring came from the forward half source. \u201cIf you want to play fast, and you haven\u2019t got players who can run fast, you\u2019ve got a bit of a problem,\u201d Voss said. \u201cI think it\u2019d be fair criticism to say that we\u2019ve played too safe at times. And I don\u2019t suppose that we\u2019re not going to make mistakes in that, but you\u2019ve got to have humility in your offence as well.\u201d The Blues will regain precise ball-user Nic Newman after his 2025 season was cruelled by a ruptured patella tendon, while rebounder Florent crosses over from the Swans. \u201cKnow the moments to take it on through the middle, (and) the licence of certain players to be able to do so. So, we\u2019ve spent a fair bit of time on that throughout the pre-season \u2014 that\u2019s certainly where we\u2019ve spent a lot of our minutes,\u201d Voss continued. \u201cUnderstanding each other, what we bring to the table, how we\u2019re different to others \u2026 that\u2019s the education, but the system has to match the personnel, and I feel like we\u2019ve spent a lot of energy in that space, getting that right.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller: ‘I don’t know about nightmares’ | 00:47<\/p>\n PREMIERSHIP CLOCK<\/p>\n 6pm: The backwards step the Blues took last year was undeniable and concerning, and the loss of three star contributors doesn\u2019t help their list stature. However, there is justified excitement around the names they\u2019ve brought in to offset that, plus Smith\u2019s highly likely emergence as one of the game\u2019s premier young midfield talents. And while times have changed, 16 players from that 2023 preliminary final side remain at the club. Voss goes into this season as the coach under the most pressure in the competition<\/a>, so we\u2019ll soon find out just how much this group is invested in the Brisbane Lions champion as their leader. <\/p>\n PREDICTED LADDER RANGE<\/p>\n 10th-13th<\/p>\n OPENING RD TEAM<\/p>\n B: O.Florent, J.Weitering, L.Young![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n
HB: H.Dean, M.McGovern, A.Saad
C: O.Hollands, P.Cripps – C, W.Hayward
HF: L.Fogarty, H.McKay, B.Ainsworth
F: J.Smith, B.Kemp, A.Moir
Foll: M.Pittonet, G.Hewett, S.Walsh
Int: Z.Williams, L.Reidy, E.Hollands, C.Chesser, C.Lord
Emg: T.Byrne, H.O\u2019Keeffe, J.Boyd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For three decades, the ultimate success has eluded Carlton. But while fans grow exponentially frustrated about its stagnancy,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,12259,64,63,689,55,639,16716,259067,25877,259051,3237,34710,3239,94284,1129,28967,1653,259054,259050,259059,259058,107302,17982,61,2105,2485,25532,2536,259052,3231,6179,19100,259060,647,259057,7198,17986,677,259053,49673,7800,6082,164472,259064,259066,19095,77298,63398,259063,23998,701,259061,1138,259056,199190,1124,85,1117,259062,39223,259065,660,259055],"class_list":{"0":"post-518773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-andrew-dillon","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-australian-football-league","14":"tag-australianfootballleague","15":"tag-ball-movement","16":"tag-beloved-commentator","17":"tag-ben-ainsworth","18":"tag-best-and-fairest-awards-night","19":"tag-brisbane-lions","20":"tag-campbell-chesser","21":"tag-carlton-blues","22":"tag-champion-player","23":"tag-charlie-curnow","24":"tag-clearance-differential","25":"tag-cody-walker","26":"tag-dennus-cometti","27":"tag-disappointing-nine-win-campaign","28":"tag-expanded-finals-format","29":"tag-father-son-gem","30":"tag-gary-lyon","31":"tag-george-hewett","32":"tag-gerard-whateley","33":"tag-getty-images-inc","34":"tag-gold-coast","35":"tag-graham-wright","36":"tag-harry-dean","37":"tag-hungry-supporter-base","38":"tag-jack-jovanovski","39":"tag-jack-silvagni","40":"tag-jai-newcombe","41":"tag-list-stature","42":"tag-melbourne","43":"tag-michael-voss-fox-footy","44":"tag-michael-willson","45":"tag-nic-newman","46":"tag-oceania","47":"tag-offensive-chains","48":"tag-ollie-florent","49":"tag-patrick-cripps","50":"tag-port-adelaide","51":"tag-positive-start","52":"tag-possession-rate","53":"tag-pre-clearance-equity-points","54":"tag-preliminary-final","55":"tag-preliminary-final-berth","56":"tag-preliminary-final-side","57":"tag-premier-young-midfield","58":"tag-premiership-chances","59":"tag-queensland","60":"tag-ruptured-patella-tendon","61":"tag-sam-walsh","62":"tag-scoring-power","63":"tag-season-preview","64":"tag-south-australia","65":"tag-sports","66":"tag-tom-de-koning","67":"tag-top-five-clearance-side","68":"tag-touk-miller","69":"tag-two-time-senior-coach","70":"tag-victoria","71":"tag-young-midfield-talents"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}