Out with the old? Young stars Voss is backing to drive Carlton
SENZ • August 10th, 2025 1:32 pm

Carlton have already answered the biggest question that looked set to haunt their off-season; Michael Voss will be staying on as coach for 2026, but now the elder statesmen of the side are on notice.
Plenty needs to be fixed before the opening round of next season if Carlton wants to be challenging for the finals again, and Voss has openly said, list changes are coming.
Young up-and-comers are challenging the experienced players, all options are on the table.
“What our leaders have seen is an opportunity to be able to give some time to these young guys and give exposure to these guys and they deserve that opportunity. They’ve earned the right,” Voss said after his side’s 19-point defeat to the Suns on Saturday.
“And we need to get in behind them and support them. So we’ve seen some really good examples of that.
“Clearly our depth of our list needs to get better, if you’re talking about a bigger picture.
“And we’re going to see it through some of these guys. They’ll take positions of older players and that’s when you know you’re really progressing as a footy team.
“And we’re going to see it through some of these guys. They’ll take positions of older players and that’s when you know you’re really progressing as a footy team.
“So we’re going to invest the time in that. We’ve been investing it over the last few weeks and growing that out, but it takes a more particular focus over this last month.”
For three quarters of the match against the Gold Coast it looked like the same old uninspired Carlton.
But a five-goal final term blitz saw the Blues come from 45-points behind and give the Suns an almighty scare.
It’s the kind of football fans will be wanting more of given the “unanimous backing” their coach now has.
One player called out by the boss for the work he’s put in but also the impact he stands to have on the club is Cooper Lord who, at 20-years-old, is showing maturity beyond his years.
“Very mature young man. There’s not a person that’s not impressed by his attitude,” Voss said of Lord.
“There’s also no one that works harder on his game. He’s under the armpit of ‘Crippa’ (Patrick Cripps) and (Sam) Walsh and (Adam) Cerra and he doesn’t leave them alone because he’s just developed that appetite to be curious.
“And every time I talk to him, he’s just enormously grateful for the opportunity that he gets, so I just asked him, ‘Just please never lose that throughout your whole career as it becomes more serious for you. Just don’t lose those attributes because it’s just such a great attribute to be able to have’.
"It’s a pleasure to coach that young man.”
Husdon O’Keeffe is another one to watch, according to Voss.
“He’s going to split a few (packs) over his time,” he said.
“He’s just tough and he competes, and you love playing with people like that.”