Carlton hails ‘big club’ status after Voss’s exit

Carlton’s Ongoing Search for a New Coach

Carlton has always been seen as one of the major clubs in the AFL, and despite moving on a fifth full-time coach in 14 years, the club continues to assert its status as a big name in the league. The Blues are now on another quest for a new leader to end their 31-year premiership drought. This comes after Michael Voss stepped down as coach following a disastrous start to the season where they managed just one win out of eight games.

Voss’s decision to resign came just hours before last Friday night’s game against Brisbane but was only made public on Tuesday. This move happened less than 12 months after he was given the go-ahead to continue coaching the Blues through the final year of his contract. The situation became unavoidable as Carlton kept losing significant leads this season, with their only victory being a scrappy win over last-placed Richmond.

Graham Wright, the chief executive of Carlton, described the club as being in “genuine transition,” which is just three years after the Blues reached a preliminary final for the first time in 23 years.

Despite not revealing what they are looking for in their next coach, Wright remains confident that the club can quickly turn things around. He emphasized that Carlton is still a big club in Melbourne and the AFL, pointing to Ikon Park as a fantastic venue and great facility. Wright also highlighted the club’s strong roster of players and staff, stating that it would be an attractive place to coach.

Voss addressed the players and staff on Tuesday but did not participate in the media conference alongside Wright, Carlton president Rob Priestley, and football manager Chris Davies. The 50-year-old is expected to do a television interview later that evening instead. Voss informed Davies on Friday that he would be stepping down as coach, but he would still lead the team in the match at the Gabba that night.

This means his final game as coach was against the Lions, a club he is a legend at. Despite a tough second half, Carlton put up a respectable fight in a 11-point loss against the dual reigning premiers.

Josh Fraser, a former Collingwood ruckman, has been appointed as the interim coach, having re-joined the Blues’ staff ahead of the 2026 season.

Voss coached Carlton 99 times since being appointed in the 2022 season, leading the club to a preliminary final in 2023—the best result since 2000. However, the Blues were still able to reach the finals in 2024, only to be eliminated in embarrassing fashion in the first week. Since the start of 2025, they have won just 10 out of 32 matches.

Currently sitting 16th on the ladder, Carlton is only ahead of Richmond and Essendon on percentage as they prepare to face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

Before joining Carlton, Voss coached Brisbane for five seasons, during which he was sacked at the end of 2013. He spent six seasons as an assistant at Port Adelaide and was appointed as Carlton’s coach when the Blues dismissed David Teague at the end of 2021. Voss was considered a future coach even before his playing career ended, having captained the Lions to three consecutive premierships between 2001 and 2003.

One of the greatest players of the last 30 years, Voss coached 206 times across his stints with Brisbane and Carlton.

The Blues’ last premiership was in 1995, and since then, the club has gone through eight senior coaches this century: David Parkin, Wayne Brittain, Denis Pagan, Brett Ratten, Mick Malthouse, Brendon Bolton, David Teague, and Michael Voss.

John Longmire and Adam Simpson, both premiership-winning coaches, were considered as potential replacements for Voss when he faced difficulties last year. Simpson took on a consultancy role with the Blues this season to support Voss.

Carlton decided to back Voss for the final year of his contract, but the club lost key players like Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning, and Jack Silvagni during the trade period.