AFL

'Get to work': big AFL pre-season looms for Blues

By Roger Vaughan

Sep 5, 2026

Carlton leaving the MCG after their loss — Coach Josh Fraser has warned his players to be ready for pre-season hard work. -AAP Image

Coach Josh Fraser has cautioned against mediocrity, saying Carlton cannot expect their barnstorming AFL run to carry over into next season.

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The Blues' stunning turnaround ended on Friday night when Geelong beat them by 33 points in the elimination final.

While proud of what they achieved this year, Fraser said a lot of hard work lies ahead. He warned his players to be ready when pre-season starts.

"As frustrating as the result ended up being, (Friday) night gives us some really good feedback around where we need to get to," Fraser said.

"We certainly don't want to be a club that lives in mediocrity. We don't want to be a club that's satisfied with finishing eighth," he said.

"I just don't think we can turn up in pre-season and think that this keeps rolling on."

Carlton were mired in an 1-8 start to the season before Michael Voss resigned as coach and Fraser took over.

They improbably won 11 of their next 14 games to reach the wildcard finals, beating Melbourne last weekend.

"I'm as eager as anyone to make sure this club moves forward and we build this out, so we have something sustainable," said Fraser, who has been appointed Blues coach for the next three seasons.

"What we've been able to do in the back end of the year is not going to be good enough going into next season - we understand that."

Carlton chief executive Graham Wright said before the elimination final that they are keen to recruit free agents Buku Khamis (Western Bulldogs) and Joel Amartey (Sydney).