Carlton players come together after Brisbane loss to build trust, try to turn season around

In 2023, the Blues bonded together at Ed Curnow’s farm during a mid-season slump to turn their season around. Marc Pittonet lifts the lid on the 2025 version.

Carlton players gathered at a Brunswick pub in the aftermath of the defeat to Brisbane in a bonding session aiming to salvage something from their disastrous 2025 campaign.

Blues players and officials attended the Brunswick hotel on Friday with key tall Marc Pittonet saying it was a valuable day to build “trust” among the group after a difficult season on and off the field.

Pittonet said it was a “connection” session hoped to boost the team as it looks to arrest a four-game losing streak amid a ninth season without finals from the last 11 years.

Marc Pittonet has taken the mantle as the No. 1 ruck at the Blues. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“It was a combination of AFL boys, guys who are playing VFL, guys who are VFL-listed players – just that whole connection as a club,” Pittonet said at the launch of Carlton Respects.

“It was about spending time together, because when you talk about building energy and building the way you need to play football, it’s off of trust, especially when we’re under some stress – which we are, everyone’s aware of that.

“As a collective club, then if you don’t have the relationship and the trust built off-field, it’s not going to happen on-field.”

In 2023, Carlton players spent time at Ed Curnow’s Torquay farm as they sought to spark their season into action after they were languishing near the bottom of the ladder.

The gathering, at the time, was a brainchild of Michael Voss and helped launched the Blues to a famous finals run which saw them reach a preliminary final.

Pittonet, who has assumed key rucking duties in recent weeks, said it could not have come at a better time in the wake of a fourth-consecutive disappointing loss and that it had been about “building a bit of fun and a bit of excitement” as the final rounds loom.

The Blues meet the Demons at the MCG on Saturday night in its 10th annual Carlton Respects game – for which Pittonet is an ambassador – having had “no escape” from the pressure that comes with being a big club in Melbourne.

Key defender Jacob Weitering said he had been heartened by the team’s ability to “stick together and play games out” in recent weeks despite the eventual results, and said such pressure came with the territory and that it was on leaders to step up to the plate.

Jacob Weitering says the Blues aren’t playing at the standard they want to be. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“You succeed in front of millions and you fail in front of millions, and that’s just the reality of the job,” Weitering said.

“At the moment, as leaders, we’re not playing to the standard that we want to play to as well, and when your leaders don’t lead, it’s very hard to ask the younger crop to come up and do the job. We’ve got six weeks now to find a purpose, and winning is obvious. But how can we get the most out of the back-end of this year to set us up for next year.”

The vice-captain stopped short of saying the team had lost its identity – but had to rediscover it in what he anticipates will be a telling remaining six weeks.

“I wouldn’t say we’re throwing away our identity, but we’ve certainly gone away from it in the last three weeks and you win games off the back of defence and pressure and we haven’t been able to do that consistently,” he said.

“We’re very competitive people. You want to win games, you want to win premierships. You don’t play AFL for anything else, I guess. For us, to be in this situation after three years of some pretty consistent football and double-digit-win seasons, falling short of that is disappointing.

The Blues have been far below where pundits expected them to be this season. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“But you can do one of two things – you can fold over or roll over and just get to the end of the year and enjoy your off-season and start planning your holidays or you can get a bit out of the next six weeks. There’s a few things that we can go back to … just playing for each other and playing for the jumper. There’s a bit of pride on the line for the players, the club, the fans.

“It has been disappointing but the next six weeks will show a bit about our character.”

The AFL integrity unit launched an investigation last week and subsequently banned a Collingwood supporter for a threat directed at Blues coach Michael Voss, which Weitering said was “disappointing” to see occur.

“It seems to be a constant theme that when players, coaches or teams aren’t performing, that people feel the need to voice their opinions in a pretty harsh and radical way,” he said.

“The number one thing for us is making sure Vossy is OK. We’ve got his back, he’ll continue coaching us for the rest of this year and he’s put on an incredibly brave face and he’s done that the entire time he’s coached us.”

Originally published as Carlton players come together after Brisbane loss to build trust, try to turn season around