AFL 2024: Carlton coach Michael Voss puts balance above “best 23 players”

Michael Voss would be “pretty happy” to continue making tough calls on established players including George Hewett and Marc Pittonet as he hones in on Carlton’s best team balance.

The Blues coach said he could not fault the consistency of Hewett or Pittonet but had no qualms leaving the duo in the emergencies for a tricky away trip to face GWS on Saturday.

Carlton was delayed by a couple of hours leaving Melbourne on Friday but Voss brushed off the impact on his side’s preparation as he backed Tom De Koning and Matt Cottrell to resume their roles in the side.

Cottrell’s return after eight weeks out with a foot stress injury meant Hewett – already dropped to the sub role against Richmond – lost his place in the 23, but Voss said he had made no demands of the reliable on-baller to win his spot back.

“(Hewett) has been pretty consistent. Sometimes we miss out and there’s guys already in those roles. Again, he probably sits in the (Pittonet) category … it’s not so much the form that he’s had, it’s just the ones who’ve been around him,” Voss said.

“It’s not just about putting out 23 of our best players. If that was the case, it would probably be a different discussion.

“We ask our players to be able to have a balance within their role as well. We are role-specific, we do need a system to be able to operate and that cohesion that we want to be able to have across the group … we’re trying to balance that always and find the best version of ourselves.

“If we’re having those conversations for the next eight or nine weeks of the home and away season, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Voss indicated Adam Cerra’s workload would increase against the Giants after he had 23 disposals in 54 per cent game time in a promising return from a series of hamstring injuries against the Tigers.

The coach said he was relieved to hear scans had come back clear for Matt Kennedy, who has been enjoying arguably the best of his nine seasons in the AFL.

“(Kennedy) has played somewhat of a different role to what he’s been used to,” Voss said.

“He’s been able to play minutes in the ruck … it’s become quite a specific role for us.

“He’s had a couple of issues with his knees in the past with the (medial ligament), so I think maybe we were just being a little careful there (when he was put on ice against Richmond).”

Voss was wary of a GWS side searching for only its third win in nine games after a series of disappointing defeats including last week’s 16-point loss to Adelaide.

“We’ve certainly had some recent history that says just how hard it is to win here,” he said.

“(The Giants) present a few questions we need to answer – we’re coming here under no illusions that we’re playing against a very good team.

“I think there’s a healthy respect when it comes to (their 2-8 recent record). Not long ago we probably had a very similar approach … I think our job is to make sure that no matter who steps out there, we want to respect every single opponent who plays.”