ALL ATTENTION on the task, rather than the occasion.

AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss had plenty to discuss in his press conference the day before Carlton's elimination final against Sydney, confirming Blake Acres' availability and the Blues' returning to their recognised two-ruck model in the process.

This is what he had to say . . . all of what he had to say.

On feeling the support of the Carlton faithful:

"We do, we’ve felt that energy. We were left in no doubt when we finished Saturday’s training session that there’s a wave of support there. You cast your mind forward to what tomorrow will look like where it’s going to be a packed house, and a lot of interest around us.

"We appreciate that part of that is a celebration to be able to do what we’ve done so far, there’s acknowledgement of that and maybe a weight [removed], but at the same time we’ve got a job to do. We want all that noise, we want all that positive energy and we want to put smiles on faces. To do that, we’ve got to go out and get our jobs done."

On players have to bide their time waiting for the first final:

"That’s the art in it, to bring the energy at the right time and not spend it beforehand. I don’t think we should step away from that excitement: we said from the start that it was all going to be about staying in the present, living in the moment and enjoying whatever that looks like. That’s the way we’ve approached it.

"We haven’t asked them to have a certain demeanour, we’ve asked them to be themselves. If they feel like they want to bring that energy, then bring it. As we step in with 24 hours to go or just over, we’re really excited by what we need to be able to do and we start to lock in with what jobs need to be done, what roles we need to be able to do, what we need to execute, how do we take away Sydney’s threats that we know they’ll bring. We know it’s more about the task than the occasion now."

On his own September experience:

"I don’t think I’ve felt the need to have to share my own experience. There’s enough in our own story and our own experiences to lean into that. We’re well and truly adequately prepared for what the environment is going to be. As long as we can stay totally present to that moment, we’ll be okay.

"We’ve found that our level has been quite a high level, and what finals football brings is you want to make sure whatever the best version of you is. We’ve got the capacity to be able to do that, we’ve got capacity to meet the moment. To be able to come out there against an opposition and still be able to execute, that’s the task we’ve got ahead of us."

On Patrick Cripps' long journey to a first final:

"He has, but this won’t be about one person. It has to be about us as a team. There’s obviously the part ‘Crippa’ plays within that, and he’s got a very important role for us as captain: how he leads us will be critical, our leadership group will play a role in that. The break has been good for a number of players that have stepped in through the middle of the season and made a significant difference with the way they’ve played and the style of play we’ve been able to bring.

"For them to be able to get a small rest and get some quality training under their belt, but also embrace that moment, has been really important. We’ll step out there as a 23-man squad and get locked into what we need to be able to get done, and enjoy it as best as we possibly can."

On past experiences making Carlton finals-ready:

"I firmly believe that. We’ve heard a lot about what that actually looks like, and the journey we’ve been on has been spoken about quite a fair bit. Those moments have been pulled apart and put back together, but that’s been part of our evolution as a team. How do you overcome, how do you adapt, how do you learn from the experiences you’ve had?

"Some of those have been some quite harsh moments where those losses have hurt a lot, and you learn as much from those as the moments in the back end of this year which we’ve been able to turn that around and provide a high level of consistency in the way we play. We’ll tap into both of those, but it won’t necessarily help us tomorrow night, because it’ll be the ball that’s in front of us, the opponent we’re up against and the job we get given. That’s where our focus has got to lie."

On the impact of the weather:

"Other than bringing an extra jacket on the interchange bench, we should be okay! What you want to be able to build out is you’ve been exposed to a whole bunch of conditions throughout the year, whether that’s away venues or conditions that have been against you. What your task is is to formulate a plan and system that stands up no matter what: that’s what we’ve been invested in.

"That doesn’t mean we necessarily win every game throughout the home-and-away series, but what you’re preparing for is to stand up in these moments. Finals puts tension on your system, and we’re looking forward to being under that tension. It’ll have some conditions that might be a bit different — weather might be one, the crowd might be another, finals is another again. We feel like we’re adequately prepared."

On Carlton backing in its system:

"We’ll lean into our strengths. When you get to this part, you’ve got the information you need. We’re going to play our two rucks, ‘Pitto’ will come in and play as well and work in with Tom: we feel that’s been a strength of ours throughout this year.

"They bounce off each other well and they’re both pretty good at their own individual roles too. We’ll lean into our strengths there, and that means Harry gets to spend a bit more time up forward partnering with Charlie. How our system comes together and the roles within it will be important."

On who's readying themselves for September action:

"There’s a couple of guys that won’t shy away from the contest and what’s required. It’s not about one contest, it’s about how we can replicate that over the whole game. We recognise we’ll have some of those moments go our way and we’ll get a bit of that momentum, but we’ll also lose that momentum: we recognise the opposition will bring their game and have their time where they press us. We have to absorb that and wrestle it back our way."

On Marc Pittonet and Matthew Kennedy at training:

"When you have an open training session, people may see that for the first time, but our training environment has really prepared our players well. They go out pretty hard the boys, and when you’ve got some big boppers like that, get out of their way!"

On Blake Acres' availability:

"Everyone’s good. He’s done his fitness test and passed with flying colours if that’s the way you want to describe it! He did really well, everyone’s raring to go. It makes it a bit of a tough selection discussion, because it does take a squad to go deep into the season and it’ll take a squad to go deep into this next phase should we be lucky enough to do so. I’m sure there’ll be some boys out there that clearly won’t be playing, but have certainly helped us along this journey."

On the threats Sydney present:

"They were runners-up last year, so they’re not walking into an environment that’s unfamiliar to them. Clearly they’ve got a few threats: they defend really strongly, they’ve got a front half with their smalls that are particularly threatening. All phases are going to have to be on for us, not one thing will get it done for us. We’re going to have to have a really balanced profile of what our game looks like.

"I heard John [Longmire] talk about contest and pressure, and that’s been something they’ve brought within their game style for a long period of time. It’ll be a question that needs to be asked of us, the small things in the game that we need to be able to get done: that’s where the attention goes, the little things make the difference. Then there’s a system that we need to be able to operate around that."

On tagging Errol Gulden:

"Possibly. They’ve got a lot of threats and he moves around the ground in a few different spots, so that’ll be the challenge. We’ll weigh up the individual match-up versus the team system we need: we constantly do that during our preparation and within the game. He’s been a player that’s in some fine form, there’ll be parts of theirs that we’ll need to be able to manage and a couple of their own that they’ll have in their sights as well."

On his finals coaching experience at Brisbane and Port Adelaide:

"I think the experience part is I haven’t felt the need to share it and what that actually means. You’ve got a fair sign of what you think might be coming, so hopefully that gives you some experience, but I’ll say again that I think we’ve had enough in our own story to step into that. I feel like we’re ready to go, and when you feel like you’re ready to go, you trust the people around you to get the job done."