Source : the age
Under Josh Fraser, Carlton have learnt to seize the moment. It’s time their interim coach did the same.
Fraser will decide this week if he puts his hat in the ring for the top job. He’d be mad not to.
“I haven’t put my hand up for the job yet,” Fraser said with a chuckle after the Blues marked the 250th games of Patrick Cripps and Nick Haynes with a 76-point obliteration of the Brisbane Lions, 24.10 (154) to 11.12 (78).
“I spoke about this in the press conference during the week that I’ll take a little bit of time [to decide].
“I’m mindful that I’ve said that previously and that decision’s getting closer, but, post that press conference, my sole focus has been on tonight.”
Unless you’re David Parkin (or Alex Jesaulenko and a couple of others from before the Great Depression), you only get one chance to coach Carlton – and Fraser may never get a better opportunity to realise his aspiration of landing a senior role.
Perhaps Fraser would like more time to be the finished article, but not many coaches go into a selection process having been at the helm of four clubs at state league level, and put together a 9-2 run as an interim senior AFL coach.
He has put the Blues in the driver’s seat to claim what three months ago seemed the unlikeliest of wildcard slots.
“I’m almost convinced that you’re never a finished produced in terms of being ready [for a senior role], but I’m open-minded to how I keep getting better,” Fraser said.
The Blues job would have to be one of the most sought after posts in recent times. New coaches tend to take over a club at or near disrepair, in need of a rebuild.
Carlton bosses may not believe their list is ready to regularly beat the best, but nor is it in need of an overhaul like Essendon, the other club searching for a coach.
The Blues’ side against the Lions had six players aged 21 or under, all of whom played important roles. Smith will likely win the Rising Star award, and cult figure defender Harry Dean, who had the crowd in raptures with his first goal, will finish on the podium.
Cody Walker will join them after the draft, and with North Melbourne’s and Gold Coast’s second-round picks to come, plus another two first-round selections next year, they have the means to acquire further top-end talent.
The Carlton community were all aboard the ill-fated Teague train seven years ago. It’s standing room only on the Fraser freight train.
The near 41,000 fans in a partisan Blues crowd roared as one on Saturday night when Fraser emerged on the big screen congratulating his players.
The warmth with which his men embraced him brought back memories of the player power behind Paul Roos’s promotion in 2002.
Blues players, of course, will not have a say in who will coach them next year, but Fraser is building a compelling case.
It has been a long time since Carlton played as complete a home-and-away game as this turbocharged performance.
The Blues’ calling card is contest and clearance but seldom has it been accompanied by the electrifying ball movement, ferocious pressure and clean skills shown against the Lions. No wonder Marvel Stadium was rocking.
“It felt like we had 19 out there tonight,” Mitch McGovern said.
Headed by an equal career-best of five goals from Brodie Kemp, Carlton had a joint league record 16 goalkickers for their tally of 24, a sign of how Fraser has taught his men to spread the load after the departure of Charlie Curnow.
It was fitting that in Cripps’ milestone game, the Blues strapped the captain on their backs rather than have their leader carry them to victory. Despite Cripps being shaded by old foe Josh Dunkley, who held him to 18 possessions, the Blues dominated the midfield.
The Lions could not stop Jagga Smith, who finished with 29 possessions and two goals. His capacity to win the ball inside and get it moving was a key factor in the game.
The first-season star, whose 2025 was wiped out by a knee injury, claimed the Robert Walls Medal, though either of his running mates Sam Walsh or George Hewett would have been worthy winners of the award struck in honour of the Carlton great and former Brisbane Bears coach.
“I think we’re at a stage where we don’t need him to be our best player each week,” Fraser said of Cripps.
“Not to say that he’s not going to have games where he’s influential, and he’s had those games for us, but part of where we’re going in terms of leaving his club in a better place is making sure that other players assume responsibility, and ‘Crippa’ doesn’t feel like he has to do everything.”
Under former coach Michael Voss, particularly as they slid to a 1-8 record, the Blues could not identify key points in games to manage momentum swings. This has changed under Fraser, who is bedding down a style at 10-10 which values control of the game through the retention of possession.
The Lions’ three late goals before half-time after a powerful 20 minutes may have unravelled Carlton earlier this year, but not now.
“It’s just understanding the moments and the time of the game,” Fraser said.
As D-Day for Fraser looms, those words could just as easily apply to him.
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