IN HIS first game at the helm of the Carlton Football Club, AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss described the drought-breaking victory over Richmond as “a signature win for the Club”.

There were positives all over the ground for Carlton, not least a seven-goal blitz in the final term which turned a 20-point deficit into a 25-point winning margin. 

It was a significant first step in the Blues earning respect, having emerged victorious in the opening round for the first time since 2012.

Here is what Voss had to say post-match.

On his overall thoughts on the game:

“It’s a great win for the Club. We were confident with the pre-season that we rolled out. We were growing in confidence: I think the Melbourne win last week was something that our players really enjoyed and confirmed that we were on the right direction. 

“There’s still a couple of questions that we weren’t sure we could answer tonight, but the consistency of the group was pretty good throughout. We had to answer a couple of challenges. 

“It’s a signature win for the Club. At some stage, we’ll put it in its place where it belongs, but at this particular moment it’s an important win for us.”

On the three-quarter-time message:

“They were really good. At three-quarter time, I asked the mids a little bit to get us some field position and go to work a bit more in the centre-square bounce. Richmond was able to get field position from that particular avenue throughout the night, and they responded. 

“I don’t think we lost one in the last quarter. Collectively, they’re forming a really good relationship with one another and that’ll hopefully only get stronger as we go across the season.”

On growing belief:

“We’ve steadily had moments where the belief has been slowly building. You can see it amongst the group in the way we’re playing and the style we’re playing. 

“You don’t get to the next level until you win games like that. I can’t ignore it: we had to own our side of the story about what’s happened in the past. I feel like when you own it and accept it, that’s where your lessons are learnt. 

“We’ve gone to work hard on that and the guys are really hungry. To be able to win tonight — it’s one win, but it’s an important one for us.”

On Sam Docherty:

“It was pretty special to see the reaction of the boys and the way they got around him. 

“Even our members and supporters on their feet when he kicked the goal and how special he is to this group, it’s a great story of resilience and determination and persistence and all these things we admire in people.”

On Matthew Kennedy:

“He’s demanded the position. His performances in pre-season and how his pre-season has been was really impressive. He’s been steadily growing and he has been one of the guys that has jumped out. 

“When you talk about midfield groups, you have to form a number of people through that area of the ground. He’s joining in with those guys really well and complementing them really well. He’s become an important person in that midfield.”

On midfield contest:

“I don’t think you can have a game without being good at the contested part. That’s where it starts for me: pressure on the ball, how we handle ourselves, how we absorb heat. It starts there. 

“Unless you’re able to provide that within your team, the other parts of your system can fall apart really quickly. We were able to sustain that and win the contested possession throughout the night. 

“That’s going to be important. We’ve got some personnel that are naturally good at that, but we’ll keep growing that out.”

On McGovern:

“Really good. Again, I think he’s going to get better and better. He’s still got some things to work on in his craft, but in very early days when we saw through training - and that’s all we had at the time - we really liked what we saw. 

“Some of the things he was able to provide is a point of difference to your backline, when you have someone who can intercept the ball. We saw his ball use - he kicks it so well - and he’s incredibly quick. He’ll prove a handful for some opposition forward lines to be able to try and manage. 

“That back seven is working well together and building a strong cohesion: it’s a different back seven to what’s been there in the past.”

On his return to the coaches’ box:

“I’m just really pleased for the Club. I really am. I’m pleased for the players, for how dedicated they’ve been through this period of time. I’m really pleased for our staff and for them to be able to commit themselves to put the program around the boys and the environment. 

“I’m really pleased for our members and supporters, who were hoping to come to the game and get a win. We haven’t had a lot of fans here in the last little while. To be able to see close to a full house at the MCG is something pretty special. 

“We’ll take some time to enjoy it, absolutely. But if we go back to the consistency message, we’ve got to get back to work. We’ve still got things to grow in our game, but we’re starting from a pretty good base.”