JANUARY means match simulation, February means practice matches.

Pre-season is now very much in its sweet spot, with preparations ramping up for the season proper when the Blues get their 2025 campaign underway in six weeks against Richmond.

With the Australian Open wrapped up and the Australian cricket summer drawing to a close, attentions are well and truly turning squarely to those who have made strides in pre-season.

For Harry McKay, who joined Gerard Whateley on SEN in a lengthy chat on Tuesday morning, there were a number of Blues who have caught the eye in the last few months.

It was inevitable that McKay was drawn to mention the Club’s highly touted draft pick in Jagga Smith, who McKay said had evident talent but the Blues didn’t want to rush him as a prospect.

“He’s the one everyone will go to. As a high pick you know he can play footy, but the way he has approach training, he’s got time for everybody, he wants to learn and get better which I love and in terms of a footballer, he’s got some serious talent. He’s a fierce competitor,” McKay said.

“At this stage, everyone is excited about what he might bring, but also in the same breath he’s a first-year player. There are ups and downs, things to learn and work on throughout your first few years. I’m not putting too much pressure on Jagga - but he’s very exciting so far.”

Closer to home, there are a pair of relatively recent additions who Carlton fans saw up forward in the second half of last season who McKay believes are settling in beautifully in new surrounds.

It was no surprise that Zac Williams found himself permanently as a forward after an impressive back-end to 2024 in the role, with McKay lauding how the former defender has taken to life in attack.

“He came down in 2024 to play as a forward and had some really good games down there: he’s been an awesome addition to our group.

“He’s got a lot of talent around his ball use and ability to win it, but it’s some of the unheralded stuff up forward in terms of patterns, his defensive stuff, being an awesome teammate and putting on blocks.

“I can’t speak highly enough of how Zaccy has been going about it, he’s added a really good spark to the group. Now that games are coming up, I’m really excited to see what he can do after a full pre-season.”

Then, there’s the case of Brodie Kemp, who stepped in as a makeshift key forward in the absence of McKay and Charlie Curnow in the final fortnight of the home-and-away season.

Now looking to stay positioned as a forward, McKay said he has relished the chance to work with Kemp in his new role - while also making sure to give a number of his fellow forwards an extra shoutout on the way through.

“Brodie Kemp has been playing as a key… he’s had a strong pre-season Late last year he came forward and had some really solid games, and over the pre-season he’s trained fully as a forward - I’m really enjoying working with him.

“He’s very selfless and team-first, and the flexibility he gives us as a team is awesome.

“I always like pumping up my forwards: Jesse Motlop has been awesome, Orazio Fantasia has been moving really well, Corey Durdin and Ashton Moir have had really good blocks. Our forwards have had really good pre-seasons which is great, and the ability to back up and train has led to consistent summers.”