FOOTY'S worst-kept secret has been confirmed – Josh Fraser is officially Carlton's new full-time senior coach.

The Blues have finalised their coaching search, with Fraser winning the role on a three-year deal after helping to steer a remarkable turnaround in the club's form in the second half of the season.

Fraser has guided the Blues to an incredible 10-1-2 record and sealed the most unlikely of wildcard berths with Sunday's draw against the Western Bulldogs.

He only decided to go through the process last week, having initially been cautious with his commentary on the position, but finally presented to the selection panel last Wednesday.

The 44-year-old, a former No.1 pick who played 218 games for Collingwood and Gold Coast, only returned to IKON Park as an assistant under former coach Michael Voss earlier this season.

He had previously held stints coaching Carlton's VFL affiliate the Northern Blues, as well as Gold Coast's NEAFL side and Collingwood's VFL team.

Fraser took over Carlton as caretaker coach in May following Voss' departure, with the Blues 1-8 at the time of his appointment.

But the weight of the side's results, the manner of their performances and their surging charge towards finals saw Fraser quickly emerge as Carlton's main man for the job.

"I've had this ambition for a long period of time of wanting to be a senior coach, and ultimately, when you're in that position as an assistant or a development coach with the ambition, you never quite know if that's going to be afforded to you," Fraser told reporters at Ikon Park on Tuesday.

"Ultimately, I felt like I couldn't have been more ready in the end.

"Not to say that I don't think I've got opportunities to keep growing and developing myself, but when I took all the information on board, had the conversations I needed to, got the opportunity to experience the role to some degree as an interim, I was really strong in realising I was ready."

Carlton football boss Chris Davies thanked the other candidates and said Fraser was the standout even without his remarkable run of success while in charge after Voss' departure. 

“Even if you removed the last 14 weeks, on his presentation alone Josh would have been the successful candidate,” Wright said.  

“Having run all candidates through a thorough and detailed process, for Josh to have emerged as the standout candidate speaks volumes of not only his credentials as a coach, but also the qualities he brings as a leader." 

Wright brought Fraser to Carlton at the end of last year, having worked with him at Collingwood, but said he hadn't envisaged his former colleague becoming the senior coach within 12 months. 

"I'd had been a part of Josh's journey at Collingwood for three or four years and had seen the growth in him from a development point of view," Wright said.

"Also to coach his own team (in the VFL), so we were really keen to get him across to play a role with Michael (Voss) at the end of last year.

"That was the role that he was playing up until we tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to consider this as an interim."