Carlton coach Michael Voss quizzed on Brisbane final, missing Lions Hall of Fame dinner
There’s plenty of romance with Michael Voss returning to his old stomping ground for a place in the last game of 2023, but the Blues coach was fairly blunt when quizzed about coming home.
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Carlton coach Michael Voss claims his strong ties with the Lions and the Gabba will be “irrelevant” when the Blues meet Brisbane on Saturday for a place in the AFL grand final.
Voss, arguably Brisbane’s greatest ever player after captaining the Lions to a hat-trick of premierships from 2001 to 2003 before coaching the club from 2009 to August 2013, on Friday suggested there would be no room for sentiment this weekend.
The Blues mentor was also dismissive when asked why he wasn’t at the Lions’ recent Hall of Fame dinner that was attended by a host of his premiership-winning teammates, including current Collingwood coach Craig McRae.
Voss said a “better question” needed to be asked before saying “the short answer is no” when asked if the reason he chose not to attend was because of potential awkwardness, with the Blues and the Lions both having reached the finals.
He claimed the narrative of him returning to the Gabba to potentially end the Lions’ season was “a lot of what other people talk about”.
“I haven’t spoken about it. I haven’t shared my story with the players at all because we’re busy forging our own and what version we want to be for the Carlton Football Club, so that’s where we’ve spent a lot of our time,” Voss said.
“For us, we’ve got such a great story to tell. “It’s somewhat irrelevant where (the game) actually is. The fact that we get to play at the Gabba, and that’s our way into the next step, then so be it.
“We’re just looking forward to being able to get out here. It’s obviously a very important game for us against a quality opposition, and I can honestly tell you that’s as much thought as I’ve given it.
“They haven’t lost a game here this year … that’s a challenge right in front of us.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan also played down Voss – who was under pressure this season before guiding the Blues to 11 wins from their past 12 games – being part of the occasion at the Gabba.
“I can understand people’s interest in that. That’s something that might excite people’s imaginations, but we’re playing Carlton, not Michael Voss,” Fagan said.
“He is a champion of our club. There’s no doubt about that.
“He’s done a great job with that team this year, particularly with the situation they were in.
“I’m really pleased for him because he was under the pump, and I hate it when I see coaches under the pump.
“It’s good that they’ve been able to jump out of that, but it’s not a topic of conversation in our hallways.
“It’s more of an interest that people outside of our club have.”
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