DIFFERENT circumstances, same approach.

While the Blues might find themselves in a better position than they were in this time last year, AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss has implored his players to have the same drive that fuelled them in the 2023 run-in.

And there's nothing like a game with a traditional rival to keep Carlton on edge.

This is what Voss had to say.

On the difference a year makes: 

“We’re having the same approach about living on the edge and what that performance does to you. Despite what’s happened before, you’ve still got another opponent to play against and you’ve still got to play with the same edge. 

“Circumstances are a lot different, but hopefully we have a similar approach.”

On Adam Cerra’s availability:

“He’ll play, so the follow up question is who makes way for him. We might wait a little bit for that but certainly Adam has put a fair bit of work in over the last seven or eight weeks and we’ve probably held that a bit longer than we needed to, to try and get a couple of extra sessions under his belt. 

“The fact that we were able to win a few games helps you be a bit more patient when it comes to that. He’s a very important player to us, so we’d like to get him up and going.”

On Jesse Motlop:

“He’s certainly fit and available, we’d probably like a bit more from Jesse, but at the same time, he’s been able to show really good signs about where we see him. 

He’s a guy who has great promise and great talent and he’ll make his way back into the team: he won’t play this week in the team, but he’s certainly playing some better football. The advantage we have at the moment is there is a challenge for positions and that’s what we want. Form plays a really big part and so do our roles, and what roles we’re asking players to play.”

On the ruck debate:

“I think going back to the form discussion, there’s a couple of things for us. The squad mentality that we have has been something that we’ve spoken about for quite a period of time. Our players really embrace that part of it and challenging each other to get better, that’s what we love about it. 

“Tom has been in great form, he’s making his statement through the way he’s playing. It’s been a pretty powerful statement and we’re hoping that form continues. I always temper it as a coach to say we’re operating with a short window, but what we have loved is his continued progression as a player. 

“He’s really valuing the little things in his game and I’ve spoken about where he’s taken his training - it’s gone to another level - and maybe that’s given him the confidence to go out there and play 120 minutes of football. We know we’ll have to give him a chop out at different stages, but at this point in time, he’s in really good form.”

On the challenge Richmond presents:

“At their best, we talk about their effort and intensity, they’re a very proud group and they have a lot of premiership players in there that know how to get the job done. I like to think we look at every team, no matter where they are, and be able to play the same way. 

“I’ve spoken about standards within the group, the standards that we expect, and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on our pressure and that’s not something you’ve heard just once from us, that’s something we need to build the foundations of our game off and we expect the same no matter who we play.”

On the Richmond rivalry: 

“When I first got appointed, the only game I needed to win was Round 1, and we did that and we were flag favourites in Round 2! It changes quickly here, that’s what I learned very early in my first three games. 

“That also speaks to the history and how it’s been built up for a long period of time, for decades really, but in most recent times, Richmond has done a number on us a number of times and they’ve always been really close games. 

“What’s special about rivalry games is that it doesn’t matter where you are, you’ll get the best version of whatever that is.”

On improvement left in the squad:

“I think we’ve got a lot of parts to our game on the weekend, we were a lot more balanced version of us. I’d like to think our improvement comes with consistently replicating that. 

“That could also be unrealistic in some ways but that’s our goal – we want to make sure we’re consistent in what we do. What I do know is that will transfer at the right time of the year when we’ll get there. At the moment, it’s doubling down on all the right behaviours to play the game style we want to play.”

On mooted draft changes:

“We’re probably like most others, awaiting what the response will be. We’re led to believe that the Commission has to meet before any decisions are made and that’s been kicked down the road another couple of months. 

“That process has been made, the conversations have been had, and it’s now up to the AFL to go away and consider all those factors and implement what they think is right. I don’t want to labour on it: as a Club, we stated our position strong enough and we’re fortunate enough to have a year and we’ve been listened to and that’s all we get the opportunity to do, then it’s over to the AFL. 

“There’s not a hell of a lot we can control now, we’ve stated what we needed to, we’ve presented where we need to go and now it’s up to the AFL to decide.”

On commentary around Sam Walsh in the tackle with Patrick Dangerfield:

“All I’d say is that we’re thankful Sam is okay, he wasn’t concussed and we’ll have him for this week. 

“Questioning the integrity of Sam Walsh, it was a ridiculous comment to make. I’d be happy enough to have that argument with anyone standing in front of me.”

On Zac Williams’ milestone:

“‘Zaccy’ and I have struck up a great relationship over the last two or three years and hearing where he’s been at in his football journey. He’s had a tough run at it over the last two or three years, so he hasn’t been able to get on the park as much as he’d like. 

“As we’ve seen this year, he brings so much energy to our group. He’s had a rrole change for us over the last couple of weeks that hopefully he can nail down towards the backend of the year. He brings plenty of life for us, plenty of energy and he’s looking to take these opportunities and he’s extremely grateful for what he’s got in front of him. 

“We love him.”

On Blake Acres re-signing with the Club:

“He’s been great. His defensive integrity and the role we need him to play, he’s one of the guys that gets his job done every week. 

“We had a bit of a joke during the week, there’s kids now standing on the goal line protecting goals because of Blake Acres. He tends to fingertip a few things. 

“It’s great to see his impact that he’s had on us as a group and the role he plays is really crucial and the energy he brings is really important to us.”