Football clubs are special places, where you get to make great connections with so many great people. To all the players here tonight who won’t be with us next year, I want you to know that you’re always Carlton people, and you’ll always be welcome back as you continue in whatever career you choose to get after.

I also want to thank our staff departing. Tim Clarke, Steve Tiricola and Jack Noble are three of the best people I know at the Carlton Footy Club, and I wish you all the best for what’s next.

To our coaching group, football department and all the staff club-wide, I want to say a huge thank you. I said this in previous years, but as players and people, we are very lucky to have people around us that want to see us succeed and pursue a common goal.

I also want to thank our families and support network, that allow us to go all in to chase our dreams.

2026 was a season in two - what a crazy ride it was. While I stand up here tonight about to enter the off-season, there’s always a feeling of envy and curiosity of what the ultimate feeling may feel like. When you fall short of your goal, as 17 teams have done, there’s a deep motivation attached to that.

Even more so when you feel the powerful connection of a group and club like we did in the back half of the year.

The crowds, the way we attacked the game, the connection, the collective buy-in - I’m proud to say that this year was one of my most enjoyable times in footy.

I stood up here 12 months ago and spoke about a footy club that’s resilient in its toughest moments and sticking with your mates, even when the rest of the world expects you to fall apart. We did that this year.

From day one of the pre-season, the locker room was a special place to be. Our group as a whole took lessons from previous years, and went to work to make sure we bounced forward as a better version of us.

What I learnt this year is the power of energy. The ability to create an energy where you love coming to work, finding joy in what you do, especially the hard work. That no matter what happens or what comes our way, we get to choose how we show up as leaders, teammates and people.

There’s no secret to how we were able to turn this season around. When things got tough, our energy, connection and total buy-in allowed us to stick together and find a way forward.

I still clearly remember at 1-8, having a team dinner and talking as a group about how we have to keep enjoying the work, and how with collective buy-in, we can make something of the year. What I loved about this group, which I said at the end of the season… this group is made of the right stuff.

On and off the field, there’s a strong character, commitment and work ethic to each other as a team. It’s easy to talk about connection, it has become a very common word in footy. But I can tell you from the actions I saw on the footy field that the connection is real at our footy club.

There’s nothing more I love than when I see blokes crack in with physicality, when you pick your mates up off the ground. That when you come after one of us, two of us go after them. The chases, the celebrations, the smothers - not because we had to, but because we wanted to.

What this has done is create an internal confidence, a belief going forward that we all want to be part of.

What was not lost on me was that the way we played connected with our fans. It created a unity and connection that was powerful and fun to play in front of. There’s nothing like playing in front of our Carlton crowd, without a doubt the loudest in the country no matter where we play.

There’s nothing more I love more than when the MCG shakes when we have momentum, the Carlton roar at Marvel and the way you turn our away games into home games. As players, it makes us play better - no doubt.

Our motivation in the back half of the year was to play a brand of footy that connected with our Carlton people. To see that connection on full display in front of 92,000 people in the finals at the MCG, it doesn’t get much better than that as a footy lover.

This is what makes playing for Carlton so special. We are lucky to do this as players.

After tonight, every club begins pre-season at the start again. We move to the next phase where we get to freshen up and get back to work.

I love this time of year, because it’s the chance to get to work on parts of your game, a way to develop parts of your mind, body and craft to come back a better player. I love seeing how the boys return, to see the drive from the players and see how much they really want it, to see how much it means to them and how much they want to go and get the most out of themselves to help the team.

It’s been a big year, two different years in one. This time last year, there was a lot of unknown and change, and we had to go to work on our energy and our identity. Right now, I have a great feeling of confidence and belief in what we’re about, what we stand for and the brand that makes us a good side.

Nothing in life is given or guaranteed. You have to continue to show up, do the work and earn the right to go again.

I can’t wait to kick off the season next year, I hope everyone has a great night and - as always - Up The ‘Baggers.