FOR THE amount of times Michael Voss has spoken about contest and pressure with his Carlton side, he’s also spoken nearly just as much about a squad mentality.

Performing whatever role is necessary for the team, and giving them status.

If the first few weeks are anything to go by, Voss is hopeful that things keep tracking as they are and a young core which is emerging at IKON Park put their hands up.

Speaking on the way to the Club’s pre-season camp to the Sunshine Coast to sign off in 2024, Voss was asked the age-old pre-season question of who was impressing - he couldn’t help but throw a blanket of six or so names.

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Set the tone: Driving in with Michael Voss before pre-season camp

What can the Blues expect from their Sunshine Coast pre-season camp? Michael Voss has an extensive chat with Carlton Media about what's to come and the pre-season as a whole.

“I’ll put a bunch of our younger players on the radar. They’ve presented really well and given themselves every opportunity to have a strong season,” Voss told Carlton Media.

“Ollie Hollands has had a really strong pre-season so far, he’s elevated himself and we may see a slightly different positional change. Cooper [Lord] we’ve talked about a little bit and is getting some airplay at the moment, but he’s earned that through the work he’s done.

“It’s only early days, but to see Jagga [Smith] come and settle in has been particularly pleasing. Harry Lemmey has been able to come in and really get after his running and his physical profile, I’d love to see how he evolves. Ashton [Moir] again is another one, Jaxon Binns is having a strong pre-season.

“I’m hoping there are these five or six emerging players that can come in and have more of a presence within our team in 2025.”

Of course, nothing will be given. Voss mentioned the balancing act of match committee - having an eye to the future while also needing to focus on the immediate capacity - but the way they’ve all gone to work over the off-season has clearly struck a positive chord with the AFL Senior Coach.

The excitement that creates is evident.

“They’ve got to earn it… the back end of the year afforded us looking at younger player who can step in and get jobs done. It’s a different set of names coming through, and they’re pretty exciting ones.

“When you’ve got older players that have had pre-season after pre-season under their belt, there’s always the chance to find incremental gains. Where you want the real shift is from your younger players.

“They can really elevate you as a football team. It’s been pleasing to see the taste these guys got and they’ve used it as fuel for this pre-season and 2025: I couldn’t be more impressed with how they approached day one.”