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"Unusual": Voss condemns Craig McRae's public Silvagni stunt
Jaiden Sciberras • August 3rd, 2025 1:53 pm
Carlton coach Michael Voss has condemned Collingwood coach Craig McRae's public announcement of meeting with wantaway Blue Jack Silvagni.
Rumours surrounding the future of the Blues’ defender have circulated over the past week, with reports suggesting that Silvagni is looking to explore his options elsewhere following the expiration of his contract this season.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, Collingwood coach McRae overtly confirmed that he and the club had met with the Carlton player to discuss a potential move out of IKON Park.
“Yeah, I did (meet with Silvagni),” McRae announced.
“I’m confident to say that we’ll keep exploring what the best version of us looks like. When there’s free agents available, we will keep exploring those things.”
When asked if he was confident that the Pies could land Silvagni’s signature, McRae joked that while it isn’t his call to make, he would gladly take the defender on board.
“Justin Leppitsch and Charlie Gardiner do those things. I just met with a young man, we had a first date and see if we liked each other! I could go on a second date with Jack.”
Speaking in a press conference prior to the Blues clash with Fremantle, Voss admitted that the public announcement of the private meeting is certainly not a direction he would choose to take regarding opposition players, likening the situation to the uproar surrounding Oscar Allen’s meeting with Hawthorn earlier this year.
“Everyone will sit quite different on this, won’t they,” Voss said on Saturday.
“Where I sit very much is respecting the privacy of the player. I guess it’s not for me to announce something like that on behalf of someone, because they’re the ones that have got to walk back into the locker room.
“I can’t speak to how other coaches will go about that, but what I can say is how we would go about it – and I guess in that instance, we’d choose not to make that sort of announcement. I don’t feel like that’s our role to do that.
“While I didn’t necessarily read all the headlines around Oscar (Allen), I believe he came under a fair bit of heat – and I think that’s probably a very good reason why we just temper the reason to do that.”
While Voss admits that he was aware that the meeting was taking place, the public address from his former Brisbane Lions teammate did come as a shock to the Carlton coach.
“I was surprised, but obviously I’d already spoken to Jack about what was happening,” Voss continued.
“It’s unusual for a coach to announce something like that.
“Regardless of what Craig did, it’s not something we would do, and we’ll respect the privacy of the player.
“We hope the decision at the end of the day is he’ll be with us.”
While Silvagni’s interest in a shift to the Magpies is reportedly growing, Voss has reinstated the importance of the defender to the side, confirming his desire to keep the long-standing Carlton name at the club for the foreseeable future.
“Jack’s had a really important role shift this year. It’s been a real win for us to see where he’s gone from forward to back.
“I want to be really clear: He’s a very important player for us. We value what he’s done, we value him at the football club and we’re certainly hoping he plays out the rest of his career with us.”
Carlton are set to take on Fremantle at Optus Stadium this afternoon.
