IT WAS a win for the history books, as Carlton came away with its first win from Giants Stadium.
When it came to the performance itself, AFL Senior Michael Voss was proud of the way that his team found a way to win — no matter the consequences, personnel or circumstances.
Despite some players unavailable, the Blues were still able to produce a seventh victory from nine games in 2022 .
Here's what Voss had to say after the clash with the Giants.
On the win as a whole:
"It was a significant win for us. When you take into consideration the story around the game, the significance for GWS and the significance that Leon has been for this club.
"Obviously [there were] some things in regards to losing personnel during the week and we’ve had a few weeks of bad luck in that area.
"We had a different group come in and we had to play a different way, so it makes it really significant when you put that story together: I’m really proud of the Club.
“You have to just get on with business and focus on what you can control and what you can influence: the way we played tonight was a real step forward for us."
On Zac Williams:
"We’ll get that assessment tomorrow and see what the damage is from there. It’s a bit too early to call exactly what it is, so we’ll take the 24 hours and we’ll get the full assessment done and the full scans and we can make a call from there.
"He’s just really disappointed. He’s had a good pre-season and he started the season really well for us and he has a really important role for us [on Toby Greene] that he invested considerably in."
On getting the first quarter right:
"We had to take the fight to them no doubt, and when you’re playing in an away venue with all those circumstances we just talked about being able to start the game is crucial.
"We’ve gone on the road now three times and we haven't got the job done the first two times, so it was really important for us that we started right: there was a really big emphasis on our start to make sure we got the first 30 right.
"The players put us in great positions on the ground, most of the night we were able to dominate the territory.
“We didn’t win the centre square bounces as dominantly as we have in the past: as good as our mids have been in there, we found it a bit of a struggle tonight.
“We had to look at different ways to win the game and that just shows some real maturity and some real growth from this group."
On finally winning at Giants Stadium:
"I think as you’re having a transformational year, which is essentially what we are, we’re having these great transformational moments: they’re all really important to have along your journey, you can have really defining wins.
"The boys were really keen to do well. They understood the challenge that was ahead of them and we were able run away with the game in the end.
"I guess we’d like to think that the constant pressure we were able to put on and that constant presence in our front half was a little too much for them to overcome and we were able to pull away late."
On the backline changes:
"I’m really proud of them, the way they’ve gone about it. They haven’t complained, they haven’t talked about what they don’t have, they get on with the job.
"They have confidence in one another and that’s the benefit of being able to train together and knowing what they need: the next guy steps in and he’s able to have an influence.”
On Charlie Curnow:
"He was playing on a really good opponent up forward, he had some troubles trying to overcome it but he stuck to his task and did what he needed to do.
"He brought the ball to ground when he needed to and the game started to open up for him late and he was able to hit the scoreboard. He gets lauded a lot for his six goals last week, but internally for us, this was a massive game for Charlie.
"I’d like to think it’s more a compliment to the program and what we’re trying to reinforce with this group, but I also like to think it’s recognition for the connection he has with his teammates and how much he really values their connection and really standing up when he’s needed and he’s done that tonight."
On sustaining the four quarters:
"That’s where the progress we’ve made in the last three weeks have been really significant for us. We all saw the numbers: we weren’t able to sustain our intensity or our system throughout games and we were just ebb and flowing too much.
"We’d stray away too much from what we needed to be able to do and real progress. In the last little while, our contest method has stayed pretty consistent but what’s starting to come closer together is where we’re implementing our system a lot better.
"We’re staying to the task that we’re asking everyone to do and the intensity throughout the game. Then, you get to the last quarter and we were able to put the foot down: that’s the proper way to win games of football."
On Jesse Motlop:
"He brings a great energy, it’s just fantastic to see. Isn’t it great when you see young players kick their first goal?
"It’s something they’ll remember forever. He’s a well-liked guy and we’re going to see a lot of football from Jesse Motlop no doubt."
