Carlton coach plays down expectations after three wins in a row

Carlton’s early season battles may be behind them, but finals are still a no-go for conversation among the players.

Carlton coach Michael Voss says his players haven’t “earned that right” to think about finals yet as their catch-up campaign continues with a clash against red-hot Port Adelaide on Saturday.

Voss’ own position was under scrutiny when the Blues lost six games in a row, and eight out of nine earlier in the season, with another chance to play finals seemingly blown.

But three wins in a row, all in excess of 50 points, including a 53-point take-down of fellow top-eight aspirants Fremantle last week have put finals back on the agenda.

The Blues are just one game out of the top eight with six games to go, including the clash with Port, who are on a 12-game winning streak, with a clash against cellar-dwellers West Coast to follow.

During their form slump, Carlton chief executive Brian Cook said missing finals this year would not be the end of the world and Voss is refusing to engage in talk about September.

“It’s obviously a question that you should ask, but for us, we’ve navigated a pretty tricky time,” Voss said on Friday.

“I think we’ve respected that and taken some really important lessons out of that.

Carlton players are up and about after three straight wins. Picture: James Worsfold/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“And one of those really important lessons is make sure that we stay completely present to what we’re doing and to look ahead of what the challenge is ahead of us right now, tomorrow.

“We wouldn’t be respecting our opponent whatsoever and respecting where we’re at. And we haven’t earned that right to even have that thought. So look at our next challenge, and we’ll get after it as hard as we possibly can.”

Voss said the form reversal had come from working on the simple things, like contest work and pressure around the ground, that had dropped off.

“We’ve maintained that as a message for quite a period of time now, but it certainly has gained a lot of traction in the last little while,” Voss said.

“There was some simplicity in it. I think when you go through the last little period of time you got to look at what’s really important to your game.”

Voss conceded Carlton defender Mitch McGovern was no certainty to take his place against Port on Saturday after being put through a series of run-throughs and agility tests in a light training session on Friday morning.

McGovern suffered a corked thigh in a marking contest with teammate Jacob Weitering during the win over Fremantle, and with just a six-day break between games, he may not come up, with Caleb Marchbank his likely replacement.

“He got through a little bit yesterday but he’ll need final tick off today,” Voss said.

“He got through that as expected, but we’ll still have to make that call. As long as he gets through today, which is quite minimal to be fair, he’ll be right to go.”

Originally published as Carlton coach plays down expectations after three wins in a row