SELFLESSNESS and simplicity in performance. 

Carlton had a job to do against Hawthorn in Round 16, and the most pleasing aspect for AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss was that the team stuck to its guns. 

Spreading the load for the second straight win, the Blues produced their biggest win over the Hawks in nearly three decades, romping to a 60-point victory at the home of football.

This is what Voss had to say on the showing as a whole.

10:26

On what stood out:

“It was the simplicity of the performance. It was the pressure around the ball and the ability to be able to get after them which was really pleasing. 

“Through the third quarter, they were able to get out a little bit more, but on the main, we stuck to the task of making it as difficult as possible for them to move the ball with any fluency. We were really strong around contest for most of the day and we were able to play the game mostly in our half.”

On the spread across the board:

“That’s been true for the last couple of weeks. We’re taking a bit more in sharing the load and taking our turn when we need to. We’re seeing more midfielders roll through the middle of the ground — not just the stock players you’ve seen through there. 

“As a result of that, we’re getting some really good outcomes, but that’s coming on the back of some really good pressure and selfless, teammate behaviour.”

00:29

On the key message coming out of the bye:

“I’d like to say that we did something different to what everybody else has done, but everybody has been really conscious of it. Likewise us. What we get to do is look after the controllables, and that’s how we train and prepare. 

“We’ve got nothing to rest our laurels on: we’ve got a season ahead of us and games we want to impact. We’ve been determined to turn some indifferent form and get a clearer picture on what our style looks like. 

“When you put that forward, you’ve got some things to work on and you’ve got guys that are committed to making that change, then you get more performances like that.”

On scoring more frequently:

“It hasn’t been because we’ve put a greater emphasis on our offence. We’ve been pretty firm on what our direction needed to look like, and it was making sure we defended really well. 

“Some of the selfless behaviour in getting a better shot selection in our front half was important, but we came in at half time and celebrated the five points [conceded to Hawthorn] more so than the score we kicked.”

08:08

On the team staying present:

“Our carrot is to get better against us. We have to find ways to improve, because where we’ve been, we haven’t been good enough. Our competition exists with how we want to get better with our things, the way we want to be able to play and the roles that we want to be able to do. 

“That’s where our competition lies right now, and if we can full the find full version of that, I know we’ll be okay. If that puts us in with a shout, that puts us in with a shout. But it won’t be the focus for us: we’ll stay completely present, we’ve got a really big game coming up next.”