Former Carlton coach Voss assesses team's chances in AFL finals series

Former Carlton coach Michael Voss believes the team can view every match in the Australian Football League finals series as one it is capable of winning. At the same time, he is restrained in his assessment of the club's prospects of winning its first title since 1995 this season.

As ABC News Australia reports, Carlton will face Geelong in an elimination match at the MCG on Friday. To reach the grand final, the team must win three more consecutive matches in a knockout format.

Voss noted that statistically, this is a difficult task. However, he said Carlton has played football at a high level over the past 10–11 weeks and is among the league's teams in the best form.

Results after the coaching change

Voss left the coaching post in May after the season began with one win and eight losses. Josh Fraser became interim head coach and later took charge of the team on a permanent basis.

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Under Fraser, Carlton won 11 of 14 matches. The latest was a win over Melbourne in last Saturday's wild-card match: Carlton came from behind and ended its opponent's season. Voss spoke positively of Fraser's work and said the results confirmed that appointing him head coach was the right decision.

The former coach also highlighted the role of captain Patrick Cripps and the team's leaders in changing the course of the season. According to Voss, before leaving, he urged the leadership group to make the team more player-driven. He believes the players responded to that challenge, and responsibility within the team no longer rests only with a few people.

Matchup with Geelong

Carlton has won three of its last four matches against Geelong. Voss noted that paying extra attention to opponents' key players Tom Stewart and Gryan Miers had previously helped his former team.

In Voss's view, the contest for the ball will be an important factor in the matchup. He noted that Geelong is often underestimated in this aspect: the team does not necessarily dominate at stoppages, but is strong in passages after them. He added that Carlton showed it could compete in such contests in the match against Melbourne.