Carlton star Jacob Weitering says teammates must find a purpose for rest of season after horror losses

A concession about Carlton’s finals prospects from their vice-captain came with another admission about what the rest of 2025 means for the battling Blues.

Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering will continue to play despite having ligament damage in his ankle, adamant the Blues can’t “roll over and give the year away” amid mounting pressure on coach Michael Voss.

Weitering said the theme among senior leadership at the Blues this week would be finding a “purpose” for the remaining eight games of the season with finals out of the question and a looming showdown with ladder leaders Collingwood on Friday night.

Angry supporters sprayed the walls at Carlton headquarters with graffiti in the wake of last week’s horror loss to Port Adelaide in which the Blues failed to kick a first half goal. That defeat came on the back of losing to 16th-placed North Melbourne.

Weitering played in an ankle brace and while he conceded he “fell short” of expectations given his standing as one of the game’s leading defenders, he said he wouldn’t take a seat with the club teetering on the brink of full implosion.

“I don’t think I am the only player dealing with some soreness and injuries. Structurally, the ankle was in a good condition based off the scan,” he said on Wednesday.

Jacob Weitering struggled against Port Adelaide. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“There is some ligament damage but the ankle brace did its job. You put yourself out there, you have to go and do your job. I fell short of that.

“I’m a leader of the club, I have to keep fronting up.”

Voss, who is contracted until the end of 2026, has been backed to see out the season by Carlton hierarchy before a full assessment in the off-season.

That could come as soon as September with finals now not even in the thoughts of Weitering, who said he was a “realist” and had to accept that the final eight weeks of the season were about building for 2026.

Carlton supporters aren’t happy. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

But he was adamant there couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be a complete drop-off in performances.

“We’ve got eight weeks to find a purpose,” he told SEN.

“We have an incredible leader in Vossy, who has been through it all as captain and as coach, and some guys who are really invested in taking this club forward and achieving the ultimate success.

“Being ale to blood a few guys through this period is going to be exciting and that’s going to give us a launch pad into next year.

“It is very frustrating to use that terminology … setting us up for next year, but I am a bit of a realist.

“You can’t fold over as a group, you can’t fold over as a club. It says a lot about a club how you come out of adversity. This could be the makings of a very good football team.”