AFL 2024: The transformation and secret sauce driving Carlton up the ladder

Carlton is well aware many fans believe its success is built on the fortunes of Harry, Charlie and ‘Crippa’. But behind the scenes, something else is happening – and it’s working.

As Blake Acres basked in the glory of a finals cameo, breaking a decade-long September drought for the Blues, he knew this was about more than him.

Acres had spent 10 seasons at three clubs – building to a desperate lunge to save a certain Sydney goal in the last quarter, then capping it off with a goal at the other end in an epic elimination final victory.

And yet as he sealed a place in Carlton finals folklore, he had people to thank.

“Finals footy is about moments. When you get a chance you have to take your moment and go for it,” Acres told this masthead this week.

“I got a finger on that ball and kicked a goal, but Mitch McGovern blocked my opponent out so I could take that mark. I got those fingers on the footy because Matt Cottrell got to my man and freed me up to get behind the ball.”

Carlton is well aware many fans believe its success is built on the fortunes of Harry, Charlie and “Crippa”.

Such is life when you pay the stars the big bucks at a high-profile club like Carlton.

And, yet, behind the scenes, coach Michael Voss, football boss Brad Lloyd and the rest of the coaching staff have led a transformation that is all about the team over the individual. They have fostered a player-driven environment that has been stable with almost no coaching turnover.

Michael Voss and Blake Acres after the round 1 win over Richmond. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

It is a safe environment, where players who have nurtured their own relationships can challenge each other but also celebrate the moments that matter.

Like Lachie Fogarty’s forward-50 tackles this year.

Or Cottrell’s elite running to protect space and help out teammates – an undervalued skill rewarded with a new three-year deal in recent weeks.

Or the defence’s ability to roll back on to Jacob Weitering’s man to allow him to fly for those intercept marks last season as he expanded his game past just beating his opponent.

Call it Carlton’s secret sauce, one that allowed them to back in its game plan when all seemed lost last year.

THE ONE-PERCENTERS

Fogarty is no one’s idea of an AFL superstar, but his contributions this year – No.1 at the club in forward-50 pressure, No.1 in the AFL at forward-50 tackles, No.1 at Carlton in score assists – matter more than his single goal.

“We talk so much about the special roles the guys play that externally don’t get the coverage we think they deserve,” Fogarty said.

“Blokes like Harry (McKay) and Charlie (Curnow) and ‘Weiters’ get external recognition, but the coaches and playing group do a very good job of recognising guys who aren’t getting as much of the footy, but help with team defence and structure.”

Forward line coach Jordan Russell – one rare addition this year – this week showed the forwards a clip of Corey Durdin’s pressure, creating a Jack Carroll goal.

Emerging leaders Adam Cerra and Matt Owies are tasked each week with finding those one-percenters that can change a game and to present them to the group.

“It’s something we value. Jack (Carroll) isn’t getting that goal without Corey (Durdin) and George Hewett and (Harry) McKay and I went over to congratulate him straight away,” Fogarty said.

Blue Lachie Fogarty goes head-to-head with Brandon Starcevich. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos

Acres said so many acts that contribute to a victory were almost unseen by the footy fans watching over the fence.

“We look for roles that really stand out on the day,” Acres said.

“Cottrell gets to my man and frees me up – it’s so crucial for what we want to do behind the ball. We want to play a front-half game so it’s not always about getting to the footy, it’s about covering an exit to stop a team rebounding out the other side.

“George Hewett goes to the opposition’s best mid. The group looks at those things, acknowledges them and celebrates it heavily.

“(Adam) Cerra and Matt Owies find those clips and we watch them together and speak about it and get around those guys.”

Fogarty is only contracted for this season and said when friends look at his stat sheet they do not see what his coaches value. But as Carlton’s senior assistant Ash Hansen said, the coaches have to drown out that outside noise.

“That is why the internal voices have to be louder than the external noise,” Hansen said.

“You have to respect and listen to them, but also create space in your program to have time for guys to acknowledge it and grow the confidence to do it to one another.”

RELATIONSHIPS FORGED THROUGH PAIN

Asked to identify the best example of the club’s growth this year, senior-coach-in-waiting Hansen pinpointed the Opening Round clash against the Brisbane Lions, where the Blues were 38 points down just 25 minutes into the contest.

From there, the players’ role clarity, selfless acts, an intimate knowledge of the game plan and the connection to trust teammates kicked in.

“It was the composure when the scoreboard wasn’t looking favourably,” Hansen said.

“Guys didn’t stray from their roles. They weren’t getting jumpy to claw it back. It was another bit of evidence for the guys to continue to chase this and realise how powerful it is.

“With that deficit on the road at the Gabba, it shows the power of what we wanted to achieve and what we can do together.”

As Lloyd said this week: “The coaching staff and leadership group have put a real effort into a player-led environment. It’s gaining momentum. And they are so well resourced with Vossy and Ash in a senior leadership role with three assistants and (head of coaching and performance) Aaron Greaves. The club from the playing list to staff has been craving stability and we have been able to do that in the last few years.”

Carlton’s senior assistant Ash Hansen and Harry McKay. Picture: Michael Klein

That role clarity has allowed the Blues to win well without the injured Sam Walsh and Weitering early this year as players replaced their role, rather than their talent.

Hansen said the concerted effort to build a list with a tight, unwavering connection allows the players to trust each other in critical moments.

“When guys have a genuine care to elevate others around them, that’s when you are going to go places. This team is starting to grow into that,” he said.

“It comes from years of work. From growing relationships, from spending time together, from sharing the joys of the game. From being vulnerable. Those little acts that are so emotional and go so far towards winning a game, they come from a much deeper place. They have to be instinctual and they have to come from a place of care. The connection piece is where this team is growing and it can take them to some special places.”

Some of those relationships are forged through pain.

Fogarty and Acres both comment that during last year’s five-match losing streak, as coach Voss was resolute, the club was still an enjoyable and stable environment.

In years past Carlton might have eaten its own.

“You go through the heartache,” Hansen said.

“You go through the Sydney and Essendon (losses) last year and the outside world is against you and it can galvanise you as a group and propel you forward.

“They have been galvanised by a lot of hurt and pain and through not yet having achieved what they want to achieve.

“Sometimes they are moments that bring the group together and through that they have grown closer together, instead of fracturing.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: The transformation and secret sauce driving Carlton up the ladder