Ex-Carlton coach Voss gives assessment of Blues' finals hopes

Michael Voss is refusing to call Carlton a premiership threat, but he believes the Blues have earned the right to approach every finals game believing it can win. The former coach said their form over the past 10 or 11 weeks placed them among the competition’s strongest teams.

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It's very hard, isn't it? Percentages say that's a tough gig.

Carlton has won 11 of 14 matches since Josh Fraser took over from Voss in May. The revival reached a high point last week, when the Blues came from behind to end Melbourne’s season in a wildcard match. Carlton now faces Geelong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night, with three more sudden-death victories required to reach the grand final.

Voss said those numbers made a premiership drought-breaker difficult to expect this year. Carlton has not won the flag since 1995. Still, he said the team’s recent level meant there was no reason it could not treat each match as winnable.

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They're the equal-form team of the competition, so there should be no reason that they can't look at every game and say that it's winnable.

Voss, who stepped down after Carlton opened the season 1-8, said Fraser was “doing a great job” and that the results showed “the right decision has been made” in appointing him. He also credited captain Patrick Cripps and the club’s other leaders for responding to his final message that the group needed to become player-led.

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doing a great job

Carlton has won three of its past four meetings with Geelong. Voss said close attention to Tom Stewart and Gryan Miers had helped the Blues, while their strength in contested play could prove important. He said Geelong was often underestimated after stoppages, an area where Carlton had matched Melbourne effectively when the pressure rose.

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the right decision has been made