CONTRIBUTORS all over the park.
Hailing the team's selflessness and simplicity, there were a number of Blues who came in for praise from AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss.
Carlton was ruthless in its 60-point win over Hawthorn, keeping its opponent goalless for the entirety of the first half, with winners all over the ground.
This is what Voss had to say in his post-match press conference when questioned about some of his key players.
On Harry McKay’s performance:
“If you’re talking about guys individually that have turned some form, he’s been one of them. He’s playing more assertive and with more presence in his game. He’s not alone.
“There’s a few guys that have, but it’s been really good to see that turn for him. He had to work through a lot of stuff, and we get faced with challenges at times.
“We’ve got to show resilience and work out what’s really important to us and get to work on it. He’s done that. I’m really pleased he’s been able to put that to the side and turn his game around.”
On others who have lifted:
“‘Crippa’s’ been another one, Charlie has played some good footy and ‘Weiters’ has been in great form for the last five or six weeks — he’s been sensational.
“Our midfield brigade as a unit has started to get themselves going again: we’re starting to see those bulls. If I look at what the mids were able to do today, we were -36 hitouts, but we had +11 first possessions and +5 clearances. That is when the ball is on the ground, you’re prepared to get your hands dirty.
“We’ve been able to take that game in the last few weeks and we saw little bits of it before the results started to turn. That’s been the primary focus.”
On ruckmen availability:
“We hope so. They’re both banged up with knees, so it’s still a wait and see, but we’re hoping they’ll be available. Whether we choose to select them or not, we’ll make a decision later in the week.
“I thought ‘Youngy’ and ‘SOS’ battled manfully in the roles they were given. A really strong quality of this group in the past has been the next man in and getting the job done: that hasn’t been a big focus of ours in the first 9-10 rounds as we would’ve liked, but that’s absolutely changed.”
On David Cuningham’s return to the team:
“Jack Martin and ‘Cunners’ coming into the side has changed the look. They’re strong in the air and they’re dynamic in the way we play.
“He’s been really good for us, ‘Cunners’, and he’s only going to get better. He hasn’t played a lot of footy in the last couple of years . . . to see what ‘Cunners’ has been able to do and the mix he’s been able to add to our group has been something we’ve needed.”
On what Jack Martin provides:
“It’s his ability to repeat his training. We’ve had some patience around that, and he’s had to have some patience around that and some frustration around that as well. To see the work he’s done in the last 5-6 weeks, he adds a different mix to us up forward.
“He’s a threat, he’s tough as — I don’t know another Jack Martin, that’s what he brings to us. As a result of that, that becomes quite infectious when you attack the ball like that.
“The next man in has a big responsibility that he goes hard as well. His previous couple of games were good, but today was better again.”
On Charlie Curnow getting subbed out:
“He was ill coming into the game, so in the end, when he finished off at the end, we decided to sub him. We felt it was the right time to give him a rest.”
