Carlton Supporters Club

I've been having a think about our forward structure and it's obvious that we will be moving away from the structure we've had in the past.
But how dramatic will that change be and assuming they're all fit....
How do we fit them all in.

There are a few question marks.

Will we run two rucks with O'Keefe playing more a tall/forward ruck role (O'Keefe is actually listed as a Key Forward not a ruck on the club website)?
How will Kemp return from injury?
Was Evans's late season form a flash in the pan or is it what we can expect on a consistent basis?
How will Ainworth and Hayward fit into the structure?
How much game time will Fogarty get, given his strength is more as a defensive forward rather than a scoreboard impact player?
Moir is a must...and provides the x Factor, as does Williams to some extent?
And if one of White or E. Hollands wins a spot there's another player to consider?
Flynn Young is another who showed enough to earn another year...but is probably behind a few others.
And young Byrne may get some game time as the year progresses.

The extended bench means we're not limited to 6...but what's the starting line-up

Oh...and Harry McKay is also worth some consideration. ;)

HF Hayward O'Keeffe Moir
FF  Evans McKay Ainsworth
Int Williams Motlop

Who will srtuggle for a spot
Fogarty McGovern Kemp (early in the season as he recovers from his injury)

Another one who plays a bit as a Half-Forward is Cottrell.
Again his return from injury will be a factor.

Skull spent a lot of time as a KPP in the VFL even before his "official transformation" from "ruck/forward" to "key forward".  We had an abundance of ruckmen in the VFL and Skull showed that he knew his way around the forward line, could get his hands on the ball, and was an accurate kick for goal.  While he is a competent ruckman if required, his development seems to be more along the Harry McKay 75% key forward, 25% ruck role.

Skull and Harry did OK when both played last season but is that the way we'll structure our forward line in 2026?  Will the extra interchange player influence how many talls we take into a game?

At this stage, I think that we're likely to go with Skull and Harry as plan A but will run with a smaller plan B forward line at times (as we have over the last few seasons).  That may involve Moir and Hayward (or McGovern and Ison, down the track) presenting as small key forwards.

G2C's eight forwards seems to be the most likely combination and that gives us more scoring options and flexibility, particularly with some of the forwards rotating thhrough the midfield and Crippa, Walsh, Cerra and Lord spending time forward.

We missed Cottrell's work as high half forward last season but, given the forward line depth we know have, I think Cotters may be back on a wing.

I suspect that Kemp will force his way into consideration too and his agility and ability to take big marks provides yet another dimension. 

Its an interesting case study.  Rather than pick a best 22 right now I think that will evolve throughout the season and pre season with strength and conditioning dictating it rather than a variance in class and ability, I prefer to divide the groups into 2:

Senior players with Bonafides:

Acres
Ainsworth
Boyd
Cerra
Cottrell
Cripps
Evans
Florent
Fogarty
Haynes
Hayward
Hewett
Kemp - 5 years in and less than 50 games.  2026 could be career defining.
Mcgovern
Mckay
Motlop
Newman
Pittonet

Saad
Walsh
Weitering
Williams
Young, L.

Chesser? - 4 years into his career and has played 36 games.  Not sure he is an AFL footballer yet, but seems to be on his way.
Reidy? - 25 years old, 5 games on his second AFL club is not a ringing endorsement of a player with bonafides.
Young, F? - half a season and 24 years old next year.  Hard to know where he fits as a footballer but he isnt a youngster.

Developing Kids who are playing ahead or on schedule:

Cowan - he is a senior player ahead of schedule IMHO and quite important.  In my best 22.
Dean - Will play ahead of schedule.
Duffy - Irish experiment.  Would want to get a wriggle on, but all he has to do is show something.
Hollands O - he is a senior player ahead of schedule IMHO and quite important.  In my best 22.
Ison
Lord - a kid who has stamped his credentials.
Carroll - a kid who has stamped his credentials.
Moir
Monahan - Irish experiment.  Would want to get a wriggle on, but all he has to do is show something.
O'Farrell - a kid who has stamped his credentials.
O'Keefe - 21 and only played 5 games.  He looks the part, but not sure yet.
Jagga Smith
Wilson

I fully expect a lot of our young players to play but this is more an exercise in showing who should be a best 22 starter, and whom has no pressure on them to be one.  The fact that they might be, is more about where we are at, and them being ahead of time, i.e.  Ollie Hollands, and Lachie Cowan have really arrived as AFL footballers, but the others are mixed degrees of having done so, Lord, Carroll, Wilson.  The pressure is on for them to continue showing something, but not to be best 22 players IMHO, and ive done this exercise to highlight that whilst we all harbour high hopes for Skull, the reality is, he is still a kid finding his place at AFL level. 

Honourable mention to Will white, and Elijah Hollands.  Hollands is good enough, but does he want it enough?  The inverse is true for White.  He wants, but is he good enough?

From that list, my best 22 on established players at their best:

Cowan ----- Weitering ----- Newman

Saad-----Haynes--------McGovern

Acres--------Pittonet----------Hollands

Walsh-------Cripps--------Hewett

Ainsworth---Kemp--------Moir

Motlop-------Harry------Hayward

Interchange:

Cotters, Evans, Cerra, Florent, Williams

Also this was much harder to do.  I keep having issues with the balance of, what if Pittonet breaks down?  I reckon its a one two punch with a key forward/ruck and one ruck.  Otherwise, it means Lewis Young has to be in, and OR skull plus Harry forward, which ive deliberately ommitted using either of Skull and Reidy until we know what they are capable of.

The way I see it, you get the best version that you have seen of every single player, and put their name down.  That doesnt mean they all play, that doesnt even mean they all start, but its about their rooftop quality and capability. 

I don't think HOK will be a starting forward, he'll certainly be in a rotations though, as will Cripps.

I suspect McKay, Kemp and Moir are walk up starts in F50.

Before the draft Evans was also probably a walk up stat but I'm not so sure now, he could be collateral damage having done nothing wrong. Given our recruiting, the arrival of Jagga, I fear Motlop might be another who struggles despite previoulsy showing his flexible capability. The thing with Motlop and Williams is that they can have an impact eslewhere on the ground so that might see them in rotations, which they have in their favour.

Ainsworth brings some pace, the one common thing we've lacked, I suspect that he'll have to be horribly out of form or injured not to get a run. When I mentioend earlier I thought we were just one or two changes off a good mix, it was probably a Jagga and Ainsworth type I was thinking about.

Assuming he isn't injured, Zac Williams has to be one of the small forwards.

Yes, going by last years form, Evans as well.

Guys like Williams and Ashton Moir IMO have a certain X factor, that could make defenses a little nervous. Mixed in with more workmanlike players such as Cottrell and Evans, it could be a good mix. Maybe Vossy has been watching the Hollywood hawks.

Yep
Some might look at the forward group and see it as coming up a bit short 'individually' in some areas.
But it's not so much about the individuals.
It's is how they complement one another, and how effective it is as a unit.

It's not so much about the parts, as the whole.
It actually looks like a good mix to me, with a little bit of depth as well.

It will change a bit.  Perhaps we will find out about the coaches ability to negate the opposition and hit them the other way with this group of players.  I dont think we will be proactive, but reactive in terms of what style we will play, which will mean horses for courses at selection.

Walsh had a very limited 2025
Jagga had none at all.

The success of our forwards also depends to a large extent on the strength and success of our mid-field.
Hopefully as well as efficiency inside 50, we'll have greater efficiency coming into the 50.

This isn't an objective, scientific analysis by any means, but it is relatively random and probably meaningful.

I picked a game from last season that we won and where Harry and that other bloke played together in our forward line; Round 9 against the Saints.  Our forward line that day was McKay, E Hollands, White, L Young, Durdin, Evans, Motlop, and the bloke that's going to play for Sydney next season.  Those eight players kicked a total of 116 goals in 2025.  The eight players that G2C nominated for his 2026 forward line kicked 136 goals between them in 2025.  Add twenty goals to our 2025 tally and we win at least five more games and are knocking on the door to the eight.

A simpler analysis is that the eleven players who departed at the end of 2025 kicked 77 goals between them last season.  The twelve players that were added to our list since final nominations last year kicked 86 goals between them in 2025, and that includes our three draftees who are obviously yet to play a game or kick a goal.

If 2025 performances are any guide, our list going into 2026 has greater potential to kick goals.

This is what i would do with what we have at our disposal.

CHF - Harry
FF - Kemp

They will rotate around who plays where, but thats your starting pillars.

The other starters would be....
Williams
Moir
Hayward
Motlop

I'd include the following on the bench as forwards/mids.
Evans
Cottrell (fighting for wing with Acres+Walsh)
O'Keeffe (chop out as 2nd ruck)

Following players are surplus....
Fogarty
Ainsworth
Flynn
Byrne
Elijah/White/Wheres wally - whoever the last spot goes too.

Saad    Weeters  Cowan
Newy    Haynes   Dean
Cez        Crippa     Cottrell
Ainsworth  Gov    Hayward
Zac W      H          Motlop
Pitto     Hewitt      Walsh

int from :  Skull,  Lord,  Frankie, Acres, Moir,  OHollands,  EHollands, Florent, Caroll, Jaga, Kemp, LYoung  (12 players with a decent claim on the final 5 spots)

That leaves - Boyd, Fogarty, Chesser, Wilson, Campo x2, Ison, Reidy, FYoung, Charleston as 10 capable players that are very much depth

Inj - OFarrell


The depth looks healthier than in a long while,  but the starting 18 is definitely lower on "stars" than it was 12 months ago.

Cripps, Mackay, Weiters, Hewett, Walsh, plenty of stars in my opinion, need the soldiers to lift and support adequately and in unison. As NFL legendary coach Bill Belichick's motto states, "Do Your Job".

Josh Fraser's thoughts:

On his role:

"I’ll look after the forwards and some of the offence. They’ve had a pretty strong offensive profile particularly from the back half over the last 12-18 months, but some of our connection inside 50 hasn’t been to the level we’d like so we’ve got some work to do there. It’s pretty exciting that we’ve got some fresh players coming in and a new look in the front half, some new opportunities and ways to move the ball inside 50 and create scoring opportunities. The list itself is exciting: to come in and put a new spin on things with some new ideas with a coaching group that is really open and receptive to that has been enjoyable."

On Carlton’s new forward dynamic:

"Having been at the Pies, that was one of the great strengths: not being solely reliant on one or two players, but having such an even contribution in the front half and becoming quite dynamic in the way we played and moved in the forward 50. I see similarities with Carlton, having brought in some new players. Some of it is reliant on how we move the ball inside 50, but having different avenues to goal is also important. When I look at the forward line and how we’re operating over pre-season, I certainly see the upside with that. We’ve got Harry down there who’s going to be a beacon and draw some football, while bringing in Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth, there are some exciting options inside 50."

On Will Hayward’s impact:

"Definitely there’s the leadership side to it. His talent has been on show from day one and he’s one of those guys that has an incredible work rate. From his time at Sydney, he’s very role-compliant which is going to be important for us. He’s got the ability to play different roles in the front half and I’ve also enjoyed watching him compete in the air and apply pressure at ground level - he’s that multi-faceted forward, which is important. With the leadership side of things, he’s come from a great culture and environment so he’ll add to us enormously in that regard."

On Harry McKay:

"I still think he’s got so much upside, Harry. For his size and his work rate and his ability in the air, he’s going to draw the best defender each week. Importantly, he’s got a role of making others around him better. He’s clearly going to be a focal point for us in the front half: if he’s playing this role, it might open up opportunities for others as well. I think he can take his game to another level, there aren’t many of his size and shape that move the way he does. He’s had a really good start to pre-season and he’s a great character around the group with good leadership qualities. A lot of it will be how he allows our forward line to function: how he’s creating space, how he’s able to bring the ball to ground, his ability to apply pressure in the front half. That will allow us to have an impact as a collective - he’ll have days where he’s kicking four and five, he’ll also have days where he kicks one or two but is bringing others into the game that we’ll be looking for."

On a new-look club:

"It does feel different, to a degree. I’ve been fortunate to be in a few different environments, and I think footy clubs by and large are full of great people with great intentions that are striving towards the same thing. The thing I’ve enjoyed is the synergy within the coaching group: ‘Vossy’ has done a great job leading and driving that. His leadership qualities are outstanding, and he’s brought in a group of coaches that complement each other but we’re able to have robust discussions as well. Beyond the coaching group, the support staff are terrific people, which goes a long way to team success. The thing with Collingwood is you saw the product on-field, and a lot of the players are the frontmen for that, but the staff around that that build out a club are so important as well."

On emerging youth:

"There are a lot of guys that I don’t know, and I’m getting a fresh lens on them. I’m excited by some of the youth: there’s some talent there that might not have had a lot of exposure but can bring some upside to us. It’s nice to come in with a fresh set of eyes, observe and help develop and mould some of these young players as well."

It's good to see that Josh is looking to improve our connection inside the forward 50.  I think that the addition of Will Hayward is a significant part of how we're going to go about that, and how were going to add to our avenues to goal.  I'm looking forward to seeing whether Will lives up to expectations and how much his presence improves our scoring power.

In a parallel universe Josh said " Haven't really thought much about about giving the ball to anyone, one of the hbf's suggested that big bombs into the 50m arc were good fun as the ball comes back quick so we get a few more stats and that helps as this year is my contract year"
"Footys not hard, just keep banging it in high, wide and handsome and our small forwards will get the job done" he added...