EYES in.

It's been a common theme under Michael Voss during his tenure at Carlton, so it comes as no surprise that his message prior to the clash with Port Adelaide followed a similar trend.

With so much talk in the AFL about holding the ball plus what a win or loss could mean for ladder positions at Round 12, Voss said the Blues could afford no distractions as they look to come away from enemy territory with an important four points.

This is what he had to say.

On Jesse Motlop's potential selection:

"No, he didn’t travel with us. He had his first game back. He’s finding his feet, he doesn’t find his way into the team."

On Caleb Marchbank's potential selection:

"He’s available for selection. Without going through each individual in the team, he won’t be in. We’re fortunate that everyone who needed to get through has got through. We’ll largely go unchanged from last week to this week."

On beating a South Australian opposition at Adelaide Oval for the first time:

"I’ve never been 100 per cent sure why those things exist, but there are some things that are real. History says we haven’t played particularly well here, or got the result at least. Against Fremantle we were able to get the win late, which gives us some confidence, but I’m not sure how much relevance it has to this particular game.

"It’s a completely different opposition, they play a completely different style, and clearly the things they’re able to do well are somewhat different again. I don’t think we come here to play the ground: we acknowledge it, it’s one thing we need to consider, but we’re more focused on getting our style of footy right."

On another game against high-flying opposition:

"We look at it every week. One of the unique things about our last period of time is we’ve been playing against a top-eight side or top-four side every single week right now. That’s presented some unique opportunities for us.

"With some of the opponents we’ve played against, we’ve been able to learn a fair bit about ourselves in the last little period of time. Hopefully we can put some of those things in place against a really good opposition that have been in really good form. We feel like we’ve got a few things that can ask some questions back the other way."

On bringing the non-negotiables:

"Not much changes in footy. As much as we say about contest and pressure, we have to bring effort. We’re describing what effort looks like and the intensity we need to have on the ball. Contest and pressure, you need it to get your system up and going. We need it so other things can flourish in our game.

"It’s a really simple focus that we get after every single week, we’ve made some recent tweaks to that to improve that against some really good opposition. We’re coming to Adelaide Oval which provides a different environment against a pretty good team."

On the AFL's new directive around holding the ball:

"We reached out during the week, their response has been a collective response around prior and holding the ball. We’ll see how it plays out. I think every team sits and watches the first game of the week to see how it plays out, but there’s been some really good dialogue.

"That’s been well and truly embraced by the AFL, we’ve been seeking that feedback and plenty of clubs have been able to give the feedback we think it needs. Whether that’s a slight interpretation or slight adjustment, we’ll roll with that. They’ve communicated what that looks like and we go forth playing under those rules, we’ll give it a go.

"There’s been collective noise across the competition for greater clarity. The AFL have well and truly listened, and been really prompt in their response. They’ve given us the clarity we need, now we shift to getting the job done . . . I don’t think we need to be distracted by what the umpires are doing: we’ve got the ball to play, we’ve got the man to get after and that’s what we intend to do."

On what the repercussions could mean from a ladder perspective at Round 12:

"I don’t sit down on a Monday and work through repercussions from the weekend. What I’m looking for is consistency in our group and the way we want to be able to play. I don’t care where that is, that’s where our expectations lie. The only expectation we have is we get out here, play some really good football. We do that in any environment.

"We’re still finding what our best version is, we don’t think we’re the finished product by any stretch of the imagination. What we do expect is we’re in the contest and we come here to get the job done. That’s what we’re here to do."

On Orazio Fantasia playing against his old side:

"Stay present and keep your eyes inside the white line. He’s got his mates around him, he’s established himself in our team, he’s a genuine favourite amongst the boys and been a great teammate in the short period of time we’ve had him.

"That’s part of everyone’s individual story, about how we get here. That’s part of ‘Raz’s’ story. I know what he does buy into, and that’s the Navy Blue and the jumper. That’s all we care about."

On the role Fantasia has played in 2024:

"That’s been largely understated. There’s been a role that we’ve gone after and he’s been able to do that, even last week. We had some absentees in terms of individuals that have played certain roles for us, and he’s stepped into that no questions asked. That’s all we ask of anyone.

"We’re a role-based team, we look at how we improve our system through our roles and then we’ve got to let the talent shine after that. If he’s able to do that, then he’ll become a very valuable member of our team."

On Connor Rozee potentially missing the game:

"There’s two parts to every good side. There are the individuals that play within them and there’s the system they play. Another man steps in and will do a fine job I’m sure. In key moments, we need to make sure we’re the ones that step up and we’re the ones that shine. Whether Connor plays or not, it doesn’t shift our focus too much on what we need to be able to get done."

On restricting Port Adelaide's stars:

"With very good players, there are moments you have to tip your hat. We talk a lot about that, about what are the controllables. If we can get after that, that’s all I’m concerned about. We expect good teams or good individuals will have their moments, so our ability to be able to absorb that and minimise what that damage looks like will be something we try to achieve.

"You never know when it’s going to turn up. Good players are good players, they’re hard to stop for a long period of time. The only way we’re going to get it done is by taking a team approach to it."

On the mid-season draft:

"There are a couple of names that have floated by. The strategy is pretty simple, pick the best player available. That’s exactly what we’ll do. There’s a few names there that we certainly feel like we can add to our list: if they’re still there, we’ll have a pick. If they’re gone, we’ll pass and move on to another time."