Ahead of the AFL Trade Period we had two objectives we wanted to achieve and in adopting a clear plan, I’m delighted to report we have managed to accomplish both.
Firstly, we wanted to strengthen our early draft selections, and I’m pleased that we have delivered – for the first time in our club’s history we have four picks inside the top 20.
It gives us a great launching pad heading into the draft.
Secondly, we wanted to bring in young, competitive and hardworking talent.
I assure you we have acquired young men of great character who are hungry for an opportunity to pull on the navy blue jumper and represent Carlton.
We welcome to our club Lachie Plowman, Jed Lamb, Andrew Phillips and Liam Sumner from Greater Western Sydney, and 22-year-old Sam Kerridge from Adelaide.
They have all been immersed in the AFL system, all played at the senior level and four of the five boys are under the age of 23. I know these young men will develop under the direction of our coach Brendon Bolton and his new coaching panel.
Along the way we’ve also had to move on some players. At the end of the day, rather than dwell on what might have been, we thank those players for their service and I encourage you to be optimistic about the talent and the character entering our club.
In keeping with our plan we are resetting and putting the foundations in place that align with our long-term strategy. Again, this is to develop, educate and build towards achieving sustainable success, and the encouragement from our people for no quick fixes.
It’s an exciting prospect heading into next month’s draft (November 24 in Adelaide) with four selections inside the top 20 – including the prized number one pick. Stephen Silvagni and his team have much to contemplate, but they are extraordinarily well researched and will make the very best decisions for our football club.
We also have a little more thinking to do in terms of pre-season draft opportunities and potential rookie elevations before finalising the exact number of selections that we will wish to have at the national draft.
Our focus in the short term now turns to the pre-season. Brendon and his team have already begun planning an intensive summer program for when our players return in the second week of November.
They’ve put in place a training regime designed to get the most out of our playing group in the lead-up to Christmas, while at the same time creating a learning environment that players want to be part of. I know our players will get the best out of themselves, given a new and invigorated environment.
As everyone knows there has been a significant amount of change throughout the Club in recent times, representing a fresh start and everyone at Carlton is motivated by the opportunity in front of us.
There is plenty of hard work ahead, but the foundations are taking place. We’ve started to build on that foundation and we need you to be on board for the journey. Ultimately it’s through your passion, support and unity that will get us where we need to go.
Steven Trigg
CEO, Carlton FC
Member # 3738773
