DAMIAN Truslove is well versed when it comes to the intricacies of the VFL competition. He’s also aware of how things work at IKON Park.

Appointed as the Carlton Reserves’ VFL coach earlier this month, Truslove had a number of seasons leading GWS and Sydney in the competition, while he also returns to a place where he spent a season a decade ago with the-then Northern Blues.

A potential return to the Blues has been on Truslove’s radar for a few years as his coaching journey took shape, striking up a relationship via multiple conversations with Michael Voss in recent seasons.

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Interview: Hear from new VFL coach, Damian Truslove

Hear from newly appointed VFL coach Damian Truslove and his excitement for 2026.

It was when the AFL Senior Coach called this time around that the appointment started to materialise, with Truslove clear on what his mandate is.

“My goal is to get as many players into the AFL team as possible and keep them there, making sure they’re ready to go and stay in the team,” Truslove told Carlton Media.

“If you look at both lists, the VFL list has a lot of young talent that has probably been close to being drafted, which I’m excited to work with. And then when you look at Carlton’s AFL list which I went through in detail with Michael a couple of weeks ago, there’s so much young talent that are willing to grow and wanting to get better.

“It makes my job a lot easier, because they want to get to AFL level quickly and they’re keen to continue to improve.”

Truslove has seen first-hand the shift in the VFL competition in recent years, which continues to have the juggling act of developing talent to be AFL-ready along with getting results on the weekend.

As someone who was involved with the Giants (2019) and Swans (2022) in Grand Final seasons, Truslove’s passion has always been in the development space, aligning strongly with Voss’ views on what this Carlton group needs.

“[The VFL] is an interesting competition, it’s been a very young competition - almost an under-23 competition, but with a lot of talent.

“My philosophy around it is all the staff and players are developing, improving and getting opportunities in their careers to keep moving forward. There’s an element of development, and also an element of trying to win and be successful… and with Tasmania coming in that puts another element into it.”