“I’m more proud of what we’ve become more than what we achieved. I feel like that’s been a significant thing,” Voss said. “What we’ve become is a connected football club. We weren’t just a connected team, we’re a connected club.

A key part of the story: Weitering, Blues “know what we are”

Jacob Weitering opens up on what 2023 taught him in a memorable year for Carlton.

THE QUESTION is posed to Jacob Weitering. From the 2023 season, ‘what did you learn?’.

“Patience. Trust. Belief.” He pauses, hesitates, before saying the next one. “Resilience.”

He’s apprehensive to say the last one, conscious of the emotions it may stir up. In his own words, it’s a term which Carlton supporters might have an adverse reaction to. 

“It’s probably something the fans don’t want to hear. They’ve been hearing it for a number of decades now.”

But even the most cynical of critics can’t deny what the football world saw in 2023. That was a resilient Carlton team. 

A Carlton team that when hope and confidence once again seemed lost in a sporting context, they fought back. ‘Stronger Together’ was the tagline used for the Blues’ stunning September renaissance, but they had well and truly lived that in the lead-up. 

Connection has been key for Michael Voss and his side ever since the AFL Senior Coach walked into IKON Park in 2021. He led a collective unit which found its way out of an all-too-familiar tricky spot. 

Resilience may be a word that Carlton supporters have heard for a while, but it’s clear this wasn’t just lip service to try and breed hope. Hundreds of thousands of Bluebaggers saw it with their own eyes. 

“It’s a good way of putting it,” Weitering told Carlton Media. 

“It’s very easy to fold in situations like the midway point. The playing group, the coaching staff and the footy department from the top down, it’s pretty incredible that we were able to stick together in a tough time. 

“The trust in the playing group and the leadership, the trust they had in ‘Vossy’ was critical. We just needed to turn it around as a group. We’ve certainly got the players, we know that.”

Carlton’s elimination final against Sydney marked the end of a long finals drought for the Blues, with Weitering feeling it more than most. It was a oft-told stat in the week of that game: behind Patrick Cripps, Weitering had the second-longest wait for a finals game in the Blues’ history.

He became a Blue back in 2015 and, as the No.1 pick of that year’s draft, he unwittingly become the face of what was termed a “reset” for the football club. It was very much a new era for the Blues.

Weitering hopes that the back end of the 2023 season becomes a significant footnote in a story still to unfold, both for the personal and collective.

“There were certainly expectations and projections that we were going to be where we finished, and that didn’t look to be the case in the first half of the year. I think the way the group and the Club stuck together was pretty critical, to the journey and our team story,” he said.

“‘Vossy’ talks about writing our own pages in history and we’ve started to do that. But it’s only the start.

“We know what we are. I don’t want to say we didn’t, but we worked out exactly what we want to go after as a team and as a Club, both on and off the field.

“The monkey’s off the back a little now. We know we can do it . . . I won’t say it was a satisfying year, but I’m very proud of the playing group and the way we went about it.”

What a September. What a player.

Sam Walsh, the 2023 Gary Ayres Award winner! 👏

— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) October 2, 2023

That last sentence precisely summed up the feeling around IKON Park in the week of exit meetings, which took place in the week of the Grand Final. Proud, but not satisfied.

The overarching feeling at this time last year for Carlton was one of hurt. In the immediate post-script, it’s about hunger.

When he describes how he’s feeling that this interview took place 48 hours before the big dance, Weitering smirks.

“I’m pretty shitty that holidays are now and we’re speaking in Grand Final week.

“At times, we’ve failed, and there’s nothing wrong with failing as long as you long from it. You can go one of two ways.

“We’ll be back.”