A VERY real rivalry.

Josh Fraser knows a fair bit about the history between the Navy Blue and the black and white, but the Carlton Interim Coach believes the group needs to focus on what they can control - rather than the rivalry - in a Saturday night blockbuster.

Speaking to media on Thursday morning to chat the occasion, the Hawthorn review and team selection, here's what he had to say.

On his previous connection to Collingwood, and the old rivalry:

"I’m all Blues this weekend. I’ve still got a lot of good relationships and have enjoyed some great times there as a player and as a coach more recently, but it’s all business this weekend.

"It’s real, there’s no doubt it’s real [the rivalry]. It’s more intense through the supporter bases, but it certainly exists. In regards to this week, it’s still very much about us and how we’re continuing to evolve and get better, as opposed to leaning too much into a rivalry. We’re still on the path to building great habits to set the Club up for the future, that’s what this week represents for us."

On how the Blues will approach this weekend:

'Regardless of outcome and what is potentially on the line, it’s more so about us being able to continue to build our brand of football. We’ve taken some big steps forward, we feel like we’ve taken some great learning from last week and things that we’ll be better for.

"It’s not so much about one week in isolation, but how we continue to move forward and ensuring that at the end of this season, we are better placed. It’s a great occasion with a big crowd, and I know our players are looking forward to the opportunity.

"We certainly haven’t built it up to be different as opposed to Monday representing a chance for us to review the game and get to work again. We’ve had a consistent approach to that in my time as Interim Coach: it’s about what can we learn, how can we get better, understanding the opposition we’re facing and most immediately, training really well today and preparing well."

On what the review from last week revealed:

"There were some things around the conditions, which I don’t think on reflection we handled well - we’ve acknowledged that. We probably got caught in between two game styles at different stages, there were some individual things we’ve gone to work on with players.

"As much as you can walk away not getting the result, I felt in some ways we walked away being better placed with the experience against a quality team and the learnings that came from it."

On George Hewett's availability:

"George trained Tuesday, he’ll train today and we’re hopeful he’ll be available for selection. He’s pulled up quite well. Most players with George’s experience are managing something in their bodies. He’s in great hands with our medical and high performance team: any decision that’s made regarding selection will be made with George’s best interests in mind.

"It’d be pretty hard to change the way George plays: today will determine whether he puts his hand up for selection or not. It’s going to be a really considered approach, as it’s going to be with all our players. If he doesn’t get through and put himself up for selection, we’ve got confidence there are other players who have performed well at VFL level."

On players needing to be ready to adapt on game day:

"There are players that have to have that adaptive mindset. Adam did a terrific job for us on Saturday night, playing more inside than playing on the wing - he’s done a great job at adjusting to play more wing. There are guys with experience that you’d expect can adapt to those changes, we’d like to give them as much notice as we can but we’ll know more off the back of today’s session."

On the threat of Nick Daicos:

"He’s hard to stop completely, Nick. He does a lot of different things. I look a lot at ‘Pendles’ and what he does for Nick’s game, with his ability to cover when Nick goes forward. He goes down to take kickouts, he plays inside - they do a lot of different things with him.

"We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got an awareness of the impact he’s having and have some plans to curtail that. He’ll certainly be part of our discussion around the game, as will a number of players - he’s an exceptional player."

On Cooper Lord featuring in the selection mix:

"He’s grown his game. We laid down the challenge to our players individually to find ways to get better. Players playing AFL have been performing quite well, which is why guys have had to bide their time a little bit. He’s stacked some performances together, I like the way he’s training - I think he’s training well, he and others are. He’ll be a name that will be considered."

On Harry Dean and Jagga Smith's impact:

"They’ve been huge for us. It’s rare to have two players - because Jagga is basically in his first year - that have had the impact they’ve had at once. We’re really excited about what the future looks like for them individually, but also how they play a massive part in the future of the Club.

"They’re very hard to split because they play such different roles in terms of who’s had the better season and who might be in contention for the award, but they’ve both been very reliable for us. For both players to be playing at such a consistently high level this late in the season, it’s a credit to them.

"The future with those two you mentioned, with Talor Byrne, Jack Ison, O’Farrell coming back from injury… I always forget one or two here and there, but there’s some exciting young talent on our list."

On Jacob Weitering's potential return:

"I believe there was a timeline of sorts this week that suggests the Round 23 mark. He’s got to get through his rehab consistently now and continue to find ways to get better through that journey. We’re hopeful."