Carlton coach Michael Voss insists the out of favour Mitch McGovern is ‘absolutely’ a required player next year

A VFL demotion, along with Graham Wright’s declaration the Blues don’t have enough good players, has clouded the future of Mitch McGovern. So, what does Michael Voss think?

Out of favour Carlton defender Mitch McGovern was “disappointed” by the selection snub that means he won’t hit the trigger for a new deal next season.

But Blues coach Michael Voss insists the veteran is “absolutely” a required player next season, despite intrigue over his VFL demotion which could see the 30-year-old consider his future with the club.

McGovern is two games short of a trigger clause to enact a new deal for 2026, as Code Sports revealed this week.

It means he won’t reach the trigger after being overlooked for a second straight week, despite being listed as Carlton’s best player in the club’s VFL side last week.

Mitch McGovern and coach Michael Voss earlier this year. Picture: Michael Klein

He resumed in the VFL last week – his first game at that level in three years – with 21 disposals and five intercept marks after overcoming a late-season hamstring injury.

By not hitting the trigger clause, it could give the Blues the chance to haggle over a new contract but also means McGovern could assess his options at a rival AFL club.

When asked if McGovern was a required player for next season, Voss said: “Absolutely.”

“There’s nothing wrong with earning your right on the way back in.

“Being one of the older players and seeing some of the younger players playing well ... the only conversations I’ve had is that he’s been excited by what he’s seen, but he’s also desperate to play.

“By not playing, clearly he’s disappointed in not being able to do that.”

Just three days after Carlton’s new chief executive Graham Wright – who officially assumed the role on Friday – said the Blues didn’t have enough good players, Voss said McGovern was a required player in 2026.

“While he’s probably more on the back end of his career, rather than the front end, he’s shown over the last couple of years that, some of the concerns he had around his body, there’s less of those,” Voss said.

Originally published as Carlton coach Michael Voss insists the out of favour Mitch McGovern is ‘absolutely’ a required player next year