DEFINED by fight.
When the group needed to stand up, they did just that, as Carlton triumphed by 15 points against St Kilda to return to winning form.
Lauding his team's ability to stay in the fight and take their moments when they came, here's what AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss had to say.
On the game as a whole:
"Very proud. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like that. It didn’t have a lot of brilliance, but had some brilliant moments. It largely took a grind, getting in the trenches, fight our way out of it, hang in as long as we possibly could and wait for our moments. Fortunately throughout the night, we were able to capitalise on those.
"Cooper being able to go back and kick that goal was a very important one, Harry being able to finish his work was pretty impressive. When it was needed, we had a group stand up - it wasn’t just the goals, there was a lot of individual acts that stood out."
On how the game played out:
"It wasn’t going to be a game that was won by a shootout. If it meant we need to defend for long periods of time, then we’re going to do that. The nature of the game with the way it played out for about 15 minutes at the end of the second quarter, we were hanging on because we had four or five guys that were either carrying something or having something assessed.
"We lost a couple, a couple were able to return in the second half. In the third quarter when the speed came out of the game, we were probably okay with that. Stoppages were full and we were happy for it to stay in that and wait for our moment. Fortunately we were able to run out our game okay."
On injuries out of the night:
"Cowan will have his hamstring assessed: he was a bit tight and we didn’t want to send him back out there. ‘Gov’ we’ll wait for the assessment in the chest area, I couldn’t give you any medical terminology right now - we know he’s gone to hospital. Blake had the shoulder he was managing and Nick got a kick to the back of his neck, which he was fine to return on.
"There were a couple of moving pieces there for a while, we were inventing a new defenders for a period of time: lucky we had ‘Youngy’ on hand to go back and fill that role for us.
"Cerra was able to go back from the midfield, Cooper was able to go in as a mid and play a really solid game. ‘Cez’ was playing a really good game for us where he was, so for him to be able to go back and have an impact on the game and then for Cooper to come in was a real plus for us."
On Jack Silvagni:
"Given the nature of the game and how hard it was, he got through the game really well. His hand isn’t going to be perfect for a couple of weeks, but there’s no risk at all. He’s perfectly fine."
On another late moment for Harry McKay:
"Without talking to Harry’s individual circumstances, Charlie and Harry are very important pieces to us. I know there’s a lot of discussion around them, and we just haven’t had them together for a lot of games. We didn’t have a good one last week, but the more they play together, the back half of the year they’ll hit some solid form.
"They were really good again tonight, and they’re helping us do a role and they’re helping us win and they’re helping lead that forward line. They’ve got a brigade around them bringing really good pressure and giving themselves opportunities.
"It’s particularly pleasing for Harry, but to have him out there helps us and our team dynamics and the way we play. Clearly he’s a very good player and a very important person to us."
On being involved in Spud's Game:
"We’re really privileged that we get chosen to be part of these games. We’re in a fortunate position at the moment, and have to thank our members and supporters and people that watch us. We get a chance to have a real impact on a lot of people.
"The Royal Children’s Hospital is something we’re part of with North Melbourne’s journey on that, today the Saints chose us to be part of that journey as well to spread that message. To take care of your mates, to leave no-one alone. If this is the vehicle we get to spread that message, that’s really important to us.
"As a football club, to be able to not only win games of football but to make our community proud, it’s something that’s really important to us. Players take great pride in that. We don’t walk into these games and take it for granted, we’re really grateful that we get to be part of these games."
On Tom De Koning v Rowan Marshall:
"It was a great battle. Tom’s been in really good form for the year, he’s taken on a lot of different types. Rowan in his own right is a very good player. To be able to get the first look, we won clearances by 10 or so - the third quarter was that genuine arm wrestle and nobody could get the ball going forward. I can’t imagine it was too pretty to watch, but it was the phase of the game we needed to finish out the game."
On Jaxon Binns' first AFL game of 2025:
"It’s always nice when selection pressure comes and you have players stating their case in the VFL. In the last two weeks in particular, he’s really gone after his game and taken feedback on board.
"He’s been patient, but he’s a very impatient person at the same time! ‘Binnsy’ will understand that when he listens to this. But I’m really pleased he was able to come out and have an impact on the game. He almost kicked his two and was still able to have an impact on the game, which was really pleasing."
On George Hewett, and the team's role players:
"We had a number of guys do important roles tonight. To do the match-up is one thing, but to do the system around it as well is important. Having guys that can lock in and get their jobs done but also have an impact on the game, there’s an art and a craft in that.
"George has had a great year, he’s individually playing well but he’s doing his role amazingly well in terms of the match-ups he gets. He doesn’t get them every week, but he’s certainly been a very impactful player to us. We love having him out there, that’s for sure."
On Nick Haynes and the defensive group:
"When ‘Weiters’ says he trusts the man and that’s before a ball has even been bounced, you tend to listen to it and back that in. He’s understanding his teammates and learning how to jell within that group, he offers something different - but he’s hit some really, really good form. It’s by no surprise: he’s a very smart footballer, and a very accomplished one throughout his own journey. We’re pleased he’s with us.
"When you talk about Jack and 'Haynesy', plus Gov as well, they’ve formed a very strong relationship. They’ve got that weapon of being able to intercept the ball: a lot of teams have put a lot of energy into taking that off ‘Weiters’. He needed support around him, and now he’s got it.
"‘Sammy’ Hamill has been fantastic with that back six or seven. I sat here a couple of weeks ago and spoke about how new they are together: they just need time."
On triumphing on a taxing night:
"There were a fair few moving parts. I can’t remember the last game where we had to fight it out so hard and still get the win. It was a game of persistence. There were times we were stuck in the arm wrestle, we had to navigate a couple of things. We had back-to-back six-day breaks, we had three games in a short period of time: they’re all factors that go into it plus the injuries that are happening through the second quarter.
"We had to take the speed out of the game to manage our players through periods of time: we were quite happy for the stoppages to be full so we could get our time to rest, and then we took our opportunities. The players stood patient and continued to execute what we wanted, giving very little window for the opposition to walk through.
"We weren’t choosing to fill up the stoppage. We were happy for the game to go dead for a little while, but that’s just the way it played out. I don’t really get into semantics into who starts what, but we were happy to live in that arm wrestle. It helped us run out the game.
"It was a very good performance, but a very different one to the other ones. We’ve put a good body of work together. Even when we weren’t winning, there were still great things we were doing but we weren’t getting the results. We’ve put together a pretty solid block of form."
