“IT’S BEEN a great day for the footy club.”

Sam Walsh couldn’t hide his and the playing group’s delight that Josh Fraser had been appointed as the permanent AFL Senior Coach of the Carlton Football Club.

The co-vice captain of the Blues has been a driving force behind the Blues’ 2026 charge, which has seen Carlton once again withstand another season like no other.

The Blues’ form line under Fraser has been spoken about consistently, with Walsh one of nine Blues who were at the footy club in Fraser’s first stint from 2016 to the early months of 2020.

“I got to share my first year at the Club with ‘Frase’… I really respected him as a coach then, and he embodies getting better every day. I see a guy that’s driven to get better himself,” Walsh told Carlton Media.

“He’s really passionate for what this group can bring and how we take steps forward to be the Club we want to be, and he’s going to lead us through that.

“Everyone was pumped. I just can’t wait to keep continuing our journey with him, which feels like it’s been a while now.”

Above most others things, Walsh is thrilled he will no longer have to answer the question about whether or not he thinks Fraser should apply for the permanent role.

“I was running out of ways to answer it!”

What Walsh is sure of is that the Blues’ developing identity on the field will continue to evolve, with changes to Carlton’s game style evident throughout Fraser’s initial interim stint.

“We want to keep playing hard footy for him and get the best out of our group.

“He’s a smart man with the game. The thing he mentioned to us is it’s a collective effort. The staff, players, coaching staff - he’s not in it by himself and he never will be. There’ll be highs and lows, but we’ve got to stick to an identity we’ve been looking to create.

“From a game plan point of view, we’ve already seen how we want to take the game on and attack teams, be strong in the contest and be hard to play against defensively. If we keep linking it back to that, no matter what era of footy you’re in, that’ll hold you in good stead.”

And with the Blues preparing for another big game this weekend, focus will quickly shift to a clash with the minor premiers Fremantle on Saturday, with there still being potential implications for the Blues in the wildcard round depending on the result.

Walsh is hoping to see a particular item of clothing prevalent in the crowd at Marvel Stadium.

“We’ll get the hoodies on for ‘Frase’, I’m a big hoodie man myself so to see he’s repping that… I thought they might even do up a special one now he’s head coach.

“It’ll be great to hopefully see as many hoodies out in force as we can.”