Josh Fraser’s Interim Coaching Role at Carlton
Josh Fraser has made it clear that he is not interested in taking on the full-time coaching role at Carlton, despite leading the team to three wins out of three games. The 44-year-old interim coach has maintained a perfect record since stepping in as the replacement for Michael Voss, following a thrilling four-point victory over Geelong on Friday night.
“I’ve said this a number of times: I see this as an interim coaching role,” Fraser said after the match, which ended with a score of 12.16 (88) to 12.12 (84). “Part of my responsibility is to help the club move forward and make sure it’s better placed at the end of the season than it is now.”
Carlton has recently formed a four-person panel to identify a successor to Voss, who left the club earlier in May. Fraser has acknowledged the increasing attention on his role but admitted it doesn’t sit comfortably with him.
“I respect the questioning around it but my answer’s going to be pretty consistent,” Fraser said. “
And off the emotion of a win, it’s not going to change.”
Fraser refuses to consider a hypothetical situation where Carlton might ask him to apply for the permanent position, but he does enjoy the interim role.
“I still feel I’ve got some work to do, and I do feel like this opportunity is helping me,” Fraser said. “But I’m fully supportive of the club preparing and going through a process to find the best person for Carlton. In the meantime, my role is to help set the club up.”
Patrick Cripps’ Key Contribution
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps was the standout performer in the match against Geelong, taking a towering mark close to goal and putting the team ahead with just 70 seconds left on the clock. Cripps delivered another impressive performance, recording 30 disposals and eight clearances.
“You’ve always got confidence he’ll take his moment when it presents,” Fraser said about Cripps. “But the most pleasing part about ‘Crippa’ is how he’s making others around him better, and maybe that’s taking a bit of pressure off his shoulders as well.”
Focus on the Future
With a record of 4-8, Carlton is back in contention for a “wildcard” finals spot, with several winnable games against Essendon, GWS, West Coast, and Richmond in the coming weeks.
“It hasn’t been raised internally,” Fraser said. “We’ve kept our focus really narrow, and that will probably be another challenge for us to be able to stay really process-driven throughout this time. I’d like to think that we’re focused on getting better as opposed to what that might lead to.”
