Carlton’s list manager Stephen Silvagni can finally take a breath.
After months of planning and constantly having his mobile phone glued to his ear, ‘SOS’ can begin to reflect on his team’s hard work.
From the trade period to the national draft, Silvagni’s plan to bring in young talent with good character has been successfully implemented – and he couldn’t be more pleased.
“From a club point of view we’re happy with what’s come through, obviously we had four picks inside 19 so in a lot of ways we got the cream of the crop,” Silvagni told Triple M on Saturday.
“The boys came in for their first training session yesterday and were really impressive the way they trained, and from a club point of view it’s really exciting.”
Carlton’s had a host of new players walk through its doors in the past few weeks, ranging from draftees to rookies, traded players and free agents.
The list manager believes bringing in young players who have already had AFL experience, like the recruits from GWS, will be a big advantage as the Club builds towards sustained success.
“We got a number of those boys, there was Phillips, Sumner, Lamb and Plowman, and that was really pick 28 – so it was nice to get a pretty good deal there and it also gave us a bit of depth on our list.
“Considering we’ve had about 15 changes to our list it was nice to get some boys that have had three or four years in the system…and they should be ready to play in Round 1 or Round 2 next year.”
Although Silvagni is very positive and optimistic about Carlton’s future, the Blues’ Hall of Famer knows developing these players will take time.
“It is going to be a journey, there’s no doubt about that.
“It’s not going to be fixed over 12 months, but it’s a start and there’s excitement which is nice.”
If you’d like to jump on board for the journey, sign up as a Carlton member. For more information visit: membership.carltonfc.com.au
