HEAR from Carlton assistant coaches Josh Fraser, Ash Hansen and Leigh Adams, as they provide an in-depth pre-season update.
Josh Fraser on SEN
On his role:
"I’ll look after the forwards and some of the offence. They’ve had a pretty strong offensive profile particularly from the back half over the last 12-18 months, but some of our connection inside 50 hasn’t been to the level we’d like so we’ve got some work to do there. It’s pretty exciting that we’ve got some fresh players coming in and a new look in the front half, some new opportunities and ways to move the ball inside 50 and create scoring opportunities. The list itself is exciting: to come in and put a new spin on things with some new ideas with a coaching group that is really open and receptive to that has been enjoyable."
On Carlton’s new forward dynamic:
"Having been at the Pies, that was one of the great strengths: not being solely reliant on one or two players, but having such an even contribution in the front half and becoming quite dynamic in the way we played and moved in the forward 50. I see similarities with Carlton, having brought in some new players. Some of it is reliant on how we move the ball inside 50, but having different avenues to goal is also important. When I look at the forward line and how we’re operating over pre-season, I certainly see the upside with that. We’ve got Harry down there who’s going to be a beacon and draw some football, while bringing in Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth, there are some exciting options inside 50."
On Will Hayward’s impact:
"Definitely there’s the leadership side to it. His talent has been on show from day one and he’s one of those guys that has an incredible work rate. From his time at Sydney, he’s very role-compliant which is going to be important for us. He’s got the ability to play different roles in the front half and I’ve also enjoyed watching him compete in the air and apply pressure at ground level - he’s that multi-faceted forward, which is important. With the leadership side of things, he’s come from a great culture and environment so he’ll add to us enormously in that regard."
On Harry McKay:
"I still think he’s got so much upside, Harry. For his size and his work rate and his ability in the air, he’s going to draw the best defender each week. Importantly, he’s got a role of making others around him better. He’s clearly going to be a focal point for us in the front half: if he’s playing this role, it might open up opportunities for others as well. I think he can take his game to another level, there aren’t many of his size and shape that move the way he does. He’s had a really good start to pre-season and he’s a great character around the group with good leadership qualities. A lot of it will be how he allows our forward line to function: how he’s creating space, how he’s able to bring the ball to ground, his ability to apply pressure in the front half. That will allow us to have an impact as a collective - he’ll have days where he’s kicking four and five, he’ll also have days where he kicks one or two but is bringing others into the game that we’ll be looking for."
On a new-look club:
"It does feel different, to a degree. I’ve been fortunate to be in a few different environments, and I think footy clubs by and large are full of great people with great intentions that are striving towards the same thing. The thing I’ve enjoyed is the synergy within the coaching group: ‘Vossy’ has done a great job leading and driving that. His leadership qualities are outstanding, and he’s brought in a group of coaches that complement each other but we’re able to have robust discussions as well. Beyond the coaching group, the support staff are terrific people, which goes a long way to team success. The thing with Collingwood is you saw the product on-field, and a lot of the players are the frontmen for that, but the staff around that that build out a club are so important as well."
On emerging youth:
"There are a lot of guys that I don’t know, and I’m getting a fresh lens on them. I’m excited by some of the youth: there’s some talent there that might not have had a lot of exposure but can bring some upside to us. It’s nice to come in with a fresh set of eyes, observe and help develop and mould some of these young players as well."
Ash Hansen on 3AW
On his role:
"I’ve moved to team defence and the backline, which I’m really excited about. There’s been a lot of movement in the footy department, which is invigorating for those staff employed in those roles and refreshing for players. An important part of footy clubs is we continue to provide fresh ideas and different angles for the players."
On key pre-season focuses:
"Getting guys on the training track in positions and playing together as soon as possible is really important. We’ve been really buoyed by the fact that the guys have come back in good condition, which is an expectation of every player at every club because you need to get straight into your ball work to practice the patterns of play, the role connection, the prediction and reliability of positions on the field so you can be super productive when you create that turnover - we were very good at that last season, being able to turn the ball in our front half and defend our back half, but it was getting the reward in front of the sticks. I think we’ve addressed that in the off-season by bringing in players that have that ability to connect and help us in that phase of the game."
On the Blues’ focus in offence:
"Trying to put speed on the ball at the right time is the thing you’re trying to educate the players to sense and be aware of. If you go quick the whole time - as much as it is exciting - it can leave you vulnerable behind the ball and your players sometimes just can’t catch up. Finding those moments to put speed on the ball is certainly a priority for us, because you want to go into a front half that is open - we’re certainly trying to promote that. Having players with the ability to break a line or use their feet to get it there quickly is really important, and we’re starting to see glimpses of that at training."
On Harry Dean:
"He’s super competitive. It was his first week, but he’s been in our Academy which is a blessing to support the development of them. He’s very composed but competitive, he’s got the DNA of a defender. He’s not rattled, very process-driven and task-orientated."
On Campbell Chesser:
"Campbell is a highly touted junior that had a horrific ankle injury in one of his first games. It took a lot of time and energy to rehab that, and he was obviously looking for a fresh start. The opportunity to get Campbell and that we think his ability is, we’re rapt with. He’s going to be vying for a wing or high forward position - he has the ability to cover the ground and he really moves economically and efficiently. He’s another guy that can use the ball and has the athletic profile of the modern game which we want in our team."
On Ollie Florent:
"He has the ability to play both. I see him a bit like what Collingwood did with Josh Daicos last year, playing off half-back but if we want to change the dynamic of our centre bounce or midfield group with fast feet and transition then we can put him in there. His ability to move the ball off half-back, create overlap and change angles, putting speed on the ball at the right time - he’s got so much experience that he’s going to help us out of our back half."
Leigh Adams
On pre-season camp:
"Really good. We got the work that we needed to get in, from a football perspective. But, particularly for a new coach coming in, and we've had a lot of turnover in players and coaches, the ability to spend some time together and connect and get to know our players a little bit better has been invaluable. I think the days of the 'getting flogged camps' might be in the past, just the ability to sit down and have dinner and breakfast together and a lot of downtime to be able to connect. And just get to know the players a little bit better, so that when we do get into the education and the football side of things, we've got that personal touch where we can give some honest feedback when we need to, and feel like it's coming from a really good place."
On the coaching focus for the start of pre-season:
"The coaches have done a really good job of connecting as well. We’re a new coaching group to come together with different ideas, so just been working through what's worked at other clubs, what hasn't, what are the strengths of this group, and making sure that we're not throwing everything out after a disappointing year. We're playing to our strengths and we've been able to put some really good stuff in place so far, particularly focusing on our offence at the moment... We've been able to free them up a little bit with ball in hand and allow them to explore a little bit, probably from now until Christmas. And then after Christmas, we'll start to educate a little bit more around the roles and how we want to move the footy, but we've allowed to explore over the last two to three weeks and I think they've really enjoyed that."
On initial observations:
"I love the intensity that they train with. They’ve clearly been a really good contest team, particularly since Vossy’s been there, and you can just see the way they attack the contest, the man and the ball at training... The (senior players) have only just come back, so getting to know those guys and get a feel for how they want to be coached and getting to know them as people has been great. We'll spend the next couple of weeks continuing to do that, and start to educate a little bit more around that midfield stuff with those guys over the next few weeks."
