LOOKING ahead at what’s to come. 

Carlton had a number of different looks at what could be in store in September in its Round 24 clash with GWS. 

With the Blues heading into the game knowing fifth position was theirs, the team threw the magnets around and got a decent dose of feedback in a five-goal loss to the Giants.

Here’s what AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss had to say on both the game itself and the weeks ahead.

On the game:

“It’s a strange feeling this one . . . to lose and still win!

“We’ll certainly reflect on how this game played out, we can’t ignore the evidence that’s there and we’ll go to work on that. But to come into the game and know we had a position locked away and a home final — it’s a significant achievement, from where we were to where we are.

“We’ve got a finals series that we’re about to get stuck into. The qualification period is done: there were certainly lots of questions of us, and we found our way through that. We’re able to play a home final in a couple of weeks, we can’t wait.”

On the footy shown in recent months:

“What we’re trying to build is a system that’ll stand up in big moments and in big finals.

“We feel like we’ve made massive inroads in that particular part of our game. Funnily enough, some of that let us down today, in terms of our ability to defend the turnover was pretty poor. It was poor last week as well, where we dodged one.

“We’ve got the feedback we need to correct it and put it back into place for our first final.”

On returning faces:

“‘Crippa’ obviously wasn’t there tonight, but we got back ‘Walshy’ tonight. ‘Cez’ had a run around which was good, ‘Gov’ was back in the team.

“We got another game into Harry who hasn’t been playing for a bit. Corey Durdin is another one who came into the team that’s been out for 12 weeks.

“We feel like we’ve got some game time into some guys. Clearly what we need to do in the next couple of weeks is build that cohesiveness across the group: we’re looking forward to what’s coming.”

On Charlie Curnow’s Coleman:

“It’s really important we celebrate those milestones and achievements. As a coach, I look at it differently as I did as a player: with Colemans and Brownlows, it’s a club achievement as well. 

“We get to buy into what he’s able to do and he’s a real talent, an important player to us. Consistency, durability, a high level of performance over such a long time.

“As you could see, we’re all pretty pleased for him.”

On Blake Acres’ injury:

“We’ll assess that. The early indication might not be great, so we’ll assess that and hopefully get all the results by Tuesday.”

On having a best side settled:

“We tried a couple of things tonight. We had Harry come in as a second ruck, we wanted to see what we looked like a bit smaller forward of the ball. 

“We’ve played the two rucks, so we know what that model looks like. We’ve had a look at a couple of different things over this period of time. 

“Once this all settles, we’ll be able to go away, take that information, work out where it all sits and take that plan moving forward.

“You’ve got to factor in finals, how contested it is and just how brutal those games can be. There’s a couple of things to consider.”

On the challenge of an experienced finals team:

“It wouldn’t matter who we play. We’re just going to be that excited. 

“One of the things you want to see is what your level is, what your top end looks like in terms of the way you play. There’s a lot of teams in there at the moment that have a really good top end and have earned their way in.

“I know we measure up well against that. Our challenge is to continue to bring that: it’s why finals is so exciting, it demands it every single week. We don’t need to look any further than that. There’s a big game coming and two weeks to be able to prepare for it.”

On a home final at the MCG:

“It’s hard not to be in this position and acknowledge the journey we’ve been on over such a long period of time. I understand there’s been a lot of disappointment and a lot of frustration for a long period of time.

“It felt like tonight was a bit of a celebration night, to be able to see so many fans out there. They’ve stuck at it.

“We’ve had a fair journey together this year. To be able to go out there, play an elimination final, put our best on show and be able to pack out the MCG will be a great moment.

“We’re looking forward to thriving in it.”