AHEAD of their Round 10 clash with Sydney, Carlton Senior Coach Michael Voss acknowledged his side's poor record at the SCG, aiming to flip the script on Friday night in the Marn Grook game. 

Speaking on the importance of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, a few key match-ups and the recent form of the Swans, Voss says his side are up for the challenge. 

Here's what he had to say. 

On the significance of the Round 10 game: 

"Friday night is a really big game, I think at the stage of the season we're at, it’s a very important game for Sydney and a very important game for us. It seems like every week we roll into right now has a matter of importance to it. We’re really looking forward to it."

On facing the Swans at the SCG: 

"I think everyone in the competition is looking for that element of consistency. We’ve put together a fairly good body of work together over four or five weeks, we let ourselves down a couple of weeks ago, so we got a great response out of the boys last week.

"Clearly we come in with a new venue, new stage, new week to be able to roll out what is important to us. We know the game always starts around the ball and we’ve got to give ourselves a really good look there to give ourselves a chance."

On Tom De Koning's withdrawal from the side and the inclusion of Marc Pittonet: 

Tom won’t play, he’ll be a confirmed out for us. He got a knock last week in the larynx and we were waiting for it to settle down.

"We got some further advice on it and thought it wasn’t work taking the risk. Marc Pittonet probably comes in to relieve in the ruck and Pitto has been in some really great form himself.

"The best he can possibly do is state his case through form; he’s been able to do that and played some strong VFL football, so we’re quite familiar with what he can do, and it will be a pretty important tussle in the middle of the ground with Brodie Grundy."

On the rivalry between Sydney and Carlton:

"I think our experience has always been that we’ve got their very best and certainly at the SCG, we haven’t had a great recent record here so we have to amend that.

"We also recognise that we don’t play the venue, we have an opposition that is a pretty good opposition, they’ve been a very good team over a long period of time, they have plenty of weapons that if they have their own way, it’ll be a tough game.

"We’re not expecting anything except their best and having played against them in some really good games, we’ve got a really clear picture on what that looks like.

"They’ve always built their games off pressure out first and we know the speed they can put on the ball if given the opportunity.

"They give us a bit to think about, but we’d like to think we’re clear enough on what we need to be able to get down and we still have to make sure we get enough out of us to give ourselves the best chance."

On the strengths of the Swans: 

"I think we’re always trying to pull apart where we can lean into our own strengths and what do we need to take off the opposition, it’s a constant challenge that we have and that’s the arm wrestle that we get into.

"I think what we also have to look at is that while some things got taken off them, they were able to get back into the game and almost pinch it at the end. We look at what are they going to bring, and their strengths have been on show for longer than a week, they’ve been on show for a number of years, whether it’s Heeney or Warner, their half back run, whether that’s the presence on the floor or the forward line, they’ve got a lot of strengths that they bring.

"Any time you’re playing against sides like that, you need all your systems to go well to give yourself a chance and it starts around the ball and that’s where we want to make sure we get it right."

On the importance of Sir Doug Nicholls Round: 

"It’s critical for us. Anytime that we get to be able to speak to our culture and be able to learn off First Nations people and the story they get to tell, it’s really significant for us.

"What I love about the jumper and any design, it has a great story behind it. For us, this one speaks to our values as a football club and really connects our community.

"We go about playing a football game and I’ve spoken about this just recently, four points is really important to us but so is making our community proud and our people proud.

"We get to represent something significant this week, there’s been a traditional rivalry in this round with the two teams playing against one another. We’re hoping for a slightly different result in this one, though."

"Today, we’ll have Luke and Sienna come in and talk to us about their design and the jumper, and the meaning behind it. We’ve got 'Mots' here with us as well who will stand side by side with them and get to understand them.

"Zac Williams was knocking on my door every day this week wanting to play, and I said he had to recover from his calf injury; he’s not Superman, but it shows you just how important it is and so we’d like to acknowledge that and we like to acknowledge the right way. Some things are bigger than the game and for us, it has that importance for us." 

On the passing of Robert Walls: 

"Our deepest condolences. Being in recent contact with Robert in the most recent of times in the last three of four years, he’s been a mentor for me even further back than that, he was my first coach at the Brisbane Bears.

"He’s a genuine hardass and really taught about professionalism, work ethic and didn’t accept anything but the best. While he was hard, he also drew the best out of you.

"I’m sure he’s had an impact over a lot of people over a long period of time, but as a far as what he means to the Carlton Football Club, he’s taken legend status for us, so that shows how high a regard he’s held in the Carlton Football Club, he’ll be dearly missed.

"He’s got kids himself that are a bit older, seven grandkids that he leaves behind, but he leaves an incredible legacy on our Club and he’s had a lasting impact on a lot of people, including myself."

On his personal memories of Walls: 

"I’ve copped the greatest sprays of all time from Robert. I was 16 years of age when I was playing for the Brisbane Bears at the time.

"When we flew, we had to fly in alphabetical order, so there was myself, there was Robert Walls and Darryl White and Whitey used to always take the window seat so that means I was always stuck next to the coach.

"Because I was in year 11 at school, I used to have my maths and because he was a teacher, I used to try and break the ice by asking him for some advice for solving maths problems, because I didn’t want to ask him about football, because we weren’t very good back then. We lost a lot.

"That is one of my more fonder memories, as hard as it was for two and a half hours to sit beside him, it was also a good opportunity to be able to know him as a man, not just a coach and he’s been an incredible mentor to me over a very long period of time."