By Marc McGowan and Jon Pierik
Carlton vice captain Jacob Weitering has revealed a series of direct and “tough” conversations between coach Michael Voss and the leadership group during the mid-season break has helped transform the Blues into a finals contender.
Friday night’s upset defeat of Collingwood – the exclamation mark on a remarkable mid-season uprising – is evidence of the transformation the Blues have undergone as a club.
Voss’ team started the season with top-four hype and was unbeaten through the first month before a horror patch saw them slump into the bottom four as critics questioned whether he was the right coach.
Blues coach Michael Voss celebrates with Patrick Cripps after his side’s win over Collingwood on Friday.Credit: Getty Images
But a 10-goal lashing of Gold Coast in round 14 was ground zero for Carlton’s resurrection that has delivered six straight wins, including the scalps of competition pacesetters Port Adelaide and the Magpies. They are up to sixth on the ladder, with St Kilda to come at Marvel Stadium next Sunday, and as few as two wins away from ending a decade-long finals drought.
Weitering, a star defender who was one of the Blues’ best on Friday, said Voss’ message to him during the mid-season break had been tough to stomach, but was spot on.
“I wasn’t leading and playing to the best of my ability. I was probably more worried about my opponent, and it’s very easy to get into that mindset as a defender when things aren’t going well,” Weitering told SEN.
“There’s a quote from Aaron Hamill, my backline coach: ‘It’s not your man, it’s our man’.
“It’s simply about supporting each other. It’s more about me focusing my attention on them and making them a better teammate and a better player, than focusing on my game, and that has definitely helped me personally. I think the leaders, by focusing on other things, and focusing on the team, has really helped our game. We can lead the system, we can lead the actions and behaviours that we want out on the field, and they just become consistent, and they just become habits.
“Vossy, he certainly led the way with those conversations. Some of them were tough, I didn’t like some of them, but they were true. You have got to praise his leadership and the way he has gone about it.”
Voss, the three-time Brisbane premiership captain, said the Blues had remained resolute.
He conceded he was riddled with doubt when the Blues slipped to 15th place with a miserable 4-8-1 record, but that the way everyone at the club responded to that adversity was vital to where they are now.
“There were some tough days, and a lot of really tough conversations,” he said.
“There were tough conversations from the leaders to the players, and among us as coaches about what clarity we needed to be able to provide the players and what we were going to value moving forward.
“This movement doesn’t happen on the back of just the players – this comes on the back of a football club, and there were plenty of those moments through there that could have gone a different way, but we didn’t. We stuck together. I think that says a lot about our club now.”
The only blight on a banner night for Carlton was a right hamstring setback for midfielder Adam Cerra, who was outstanding with 20 disposals, nine contested possessions and six clearances in less than a half before being subbed out.
Nic Newman of the Blues attempts to mark the ball during the round 20 AFL match between Collingwood Magpies and Carlton Blues.Credit: Getty Images
Cerra also missed last week’s win over West Coast with a hamstring issue, but Voss could not confirm whether the latest injury was related to the other. The Blues will have a clearer picture early in the week.
Voss also dismissed suggestions the Blues’ forward line was better without injured Coleman medallist Harry McKay, pointing out their midfield performed well without Sam Walsh (hamstring) but that he, too, remained a valued player. The Blues say he will miss at least another week. Jack Silvagni (knee) is a week-to-week proposition.
It was an unfamiliar feeling for Magpies coach Craig McRae, whose side tasted defeat for just the third time all season, and he said they had to find a way to “get better”.
“Clearly, they’ve been playing great. They’re in great form, and they’ve turned their game around in certain parts, and their pressure’s high, and they’re defending well,” McRae said.
“I think credit to what Michael’s done, and I’m really happy for him – I’m just not that happy tonight ... we’re in the business of getting better. This is a marathon, and you have to just keep improving.
“We’ve had a great season to date, but it’s not finished. There’s still so much work to do. There are lessons along the way ... and tonight’s an example of it, but it’s not just tonight. You can’t stand still in this game because teams take things away from you really quickly, so we’re going to have to improve.”
The Magpies face Hawthorn at the MCG next Saturday.
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