Updated ,first published
Josh Fraser was appointed Carlton coach for what he had achieved over 14 years instead of 14 weeks, but it’s how he has guided the Blues to the finals that convinced the club they are not making the same mistake again.
Seven years after Carlton were all aboard the Teague train, the Blues have again appointed an interim who instantly reversed on-field fortunes – but this time it’s different.
Blues chief Graham Wright has the runs on the board as a selector of coaches.
Five years ago as the Collingwood football boss, he oversaw a process that produced Craig McRae. This was a similarly rigorous process, albeit with different criteria.
Asked to present a clear vision on player development, game style and his coaching philosophy, Fraser emerged as what Blues president Rob Priestley described as the “standout candidate”, beating a five-man field of Jaymie Graham, Corey Enright, Daniel Giansiracusa and James Kelly, an industry source confirmed.
His ideas on the game are grounded on a 218-game career at Collingwood and Gold Coast and a lengthy apprenticeship in the box that has seen him coach teams at state level and hold just about every coaching role at a club.
“Josh has received a great deal of praise over the past 14 weeks, and deservedly so,” Priestley said.
“But this decision is built upon all of the work and all of the development that he’s put in actually over the last 14 years.”
What Fraser had up his sleeve over his rivals was time on the tools – a period which has seen the Blues secure what seemed an improbable finals berth when he took over from Michael Voss with the club at 1-8 and 16th, above only Richmond and Essendon.
Those wins were impossible to ignore, Wright conceded, but it’s how those games were won that was more important.
Without a pre-season to bed down changes, Fraser has transformed a team that was heavily reliant on contest and clearance to one that is deploying a style more in-line with how the game is played in 2026.
A side that once defaulted to long kicks down the line has become one of the best at retaining possession and picking apart opposition defences with surgical precision, rather than blunt-force trauma.
“I think we’re moving the ball a bit differently, and there’s a lot more uncontested marks, things like that,” Wright said.
“From a statistical point of view, you guys pull that apart better than me, but from that point of view, we did change some things.”
In appointing coaches, the Blues have made just about every mistake possible this century.
They have hired Messiahs (Denis Pagan and Mick Malthouse), a favourite son (Brett Ratten), the interim (David Teague), the untried (Brendon Bolton) and the recycled (Michael Voss) – none of whom could deliver the club a 17th cup.
Logically, the baggage that came with the failed Teague years did not play a role in signing Fraser.
“We were unencumbered in relation to what we were looking for, or what we were asked to do, so it didn’t play a role at all, and the history didn’t play a role at all,” Wright said.
Fraser is the antithesis to old-school Carlton. Like Wright, he had a long and distinguished playing career at the enemy – Collingwood. At a club that rides the emotional rollercoaster more than any, the new coach is understated. No-frills Fraser.
He donned the club polo because he was told to. His trademark hoodie was worn by his son.
“He’s very calm, he’s very humble, yet very hungry,” Priestley said. “He’s innovative, and he has an incredible club-first attitude and a collective approach to everything he does.”
Told on Monday of his appointment, Fraser is yet to celebrate this significant career milestone: He has a dead rubber to win.
“At some point I’ll have a chance to reflect and enjoy the moment with the family,” Fraser said with his wife Kylie, daughter Emmy and son Ted sitting in the front row in the Pavilion room overlooking Ikon Park.
Fraser takes the role at a time when his approval ratings are sky-high. Fans are chanting his name but, if recent history is a guide, will be spraying graffiti on club walls calling for his sacking if things go wrong.
The Blues have gone 30 full seasons without a flag. Later this year, they will acquire Cody Walker, one of the best players in the draft. Fans have already seen what is possible in a few months under him. Expectations will be high in 2027.
Even as the wins mounted and flying hours were clocked, Fraser has openly questioned his own credentials. On that issue, he’s now emphatic.
“I felt like I couldn’t have been more ready in the end,” Fraser said.
He’ll need to be ready. Fraser is currently playing with house money but, once the last rites are read on this season, the honeymoon will be over.
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