For their semi-final matchup against the Demons, the Blues will be required to make at least one change.
Due to an incident that occurred early in the six-point victory against Sydney at the MCG, CARLTON will be without crucial forward Harry McKay for the semi-final matchup against Melbourne the following week. Livewire forward Jack Martin may also be suspended.
In the third quarter, McKay was removed from the elimination final when Sydney’s star defender Tom McCartin backed into him and seemed to make contact with the 2021 Coleman Medalist’s sternum and chin before being helped to his feet by trainers.
Martin had a significant impact in his first final, but Michael Christian, the match review officer, is likely to question the former Gold Coast Sun player after he made contact with Nick Blakey’s jaw with a swinging arm during a first-quarter tackle that forced the Sydney defender off the ground for a concussion test.
Harry won’t be ready for next week since he is in concussion procedures, according to Blues coach Michael Voss.
He wasn’t feeling well at the end of the game, so concussion measures have been initiated. He is therefore unavailable for the coming week. We’ll need to assess the composition of our forward line.
Jack Silvagni has participated in one VFL match after being substituted out of the round 19 victory against West Coast due to a knee sprain, but the nimble forward might be available to take on Simon Goodwin’s team if he shows his fitness the following week.
Sam Docherty scored the game’s first goal for Carlton within of two minutes, but the Blues faithful had to face a tense second half as Sydney scored seven goals to four after halftime to finish with a wet sail.
“The last minute and a bit was interesting, wasn’t it?” Says Voss. It had significant moments and a lot of errors, but we managed to hang on. I suppose that’s the main focus of finals football.
Prior to Friday night, Voss had only ever won one final as a coach, leading the Lions to victory over Carlton in the 2009 elimination final at the Gabba in his first season in charge. During his illustrious playing career at Brisbane, Voss won 15 finals, including three premierships.
Voss’ historic victory on Friday night came after a difficult exit at Brisbane and eight years away from senior coaching, during which time he primarily served as Ken Hinkley’s right-hand man at Port Adelaide. However, the second-year Carlton coach is unlikely to take the time to consider his own path to this point.
“The road has been long. We’ve all been on a journey together. This has got to do with our people, our club, and that’s what I’m really proud of, absolutely nothing to do with me,” he remarked.
“This is a crucial time for the club. To get back to this time, a lot of work and choices were required. We get to enjoy that right now. I’m only worried about that.
Collingwood denied the Blues a trip back to September by defeating them by a point on the penultimate Sunday of the home and away season in 2022, bringing an unfortunate end to Carlton’s season.
But Voss claimed a stronger will this season has paved the road for a revival that now leads them to the second week of the playoffs after the Blues overcame a start to 2023 in which they only had four wins to their name.
“I believe that we now have defensive resilience. We have talked about it all year; it was a quality that the team needed to develop, he remarked.
“At the very end of the game, we won on defence. We had no momentum at all, the odds were overwhelmingly against us, and we could safely say that ball use was not helping us win. Behind it all, there was a ferocious will to triumph. We probably prevailed by heart.
