Is Carlton's senior coaching vacancy Josh Fraser's to lose?
Fraser further enhanced his coaching potential by a storming 76-point win over back-to-back premiers, Brisbane, making it his ninth victory from 11 starts in the hot seat.
The Blues caretaker has played a straight bat since standing in for Michael Voss, even when club football manager Chris Davies confirmed he would be part of the coaching process.
Speaking on the Six Points AFL podcast, Mark Stevens believes Josh Fraser is the real deal.
"When Carlton moved on Vossy (Michael Voss), they kept saying, in the end it comes down to wins and losses, and that's what the business is; they mentioned it about five or six times. Well, if it's about wins and losses at the moment, it has to be Josh Fraser as a caretaker becoming the real deal."
Six Points co-host Daniel Harford believes it has to be Fraser's job to lose.
“We had an unbelievable occasion on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium, where Carlton put on one of the absolute great football clinics against the back-to-back reigning premiers in the Brisbane Lions; surely now it's just Josh (Fraser)," Harford said.
"9-2, it's an extraordinary performance; they've beaten Geelong at the MCG, the Giants on the road, and Brisbane Lions, and not just beaten them, put on absolute football utopia Saturday night for Blues fans.
"Josh Fraser has to be absolutely fairly and squarely in the frame; he almost should be on speed dial one for Graham Wright at the moment, after that performance, and it's not just that, it's been the build-up of 11 weeks of coaching and what he's been able to do with this group.
"Josh Fraser seems to have unlocked something very, very special in this group, and the development of that phase of play has been quite something in the last 11 weeks of footy."
Stevens believes the Blues' coaching decision has become more complicated than they first thought.
“Certainly has become complicated; I don't think they expected this, and Fraser's messaging has changed a little bit. He said I'm not interested to start with; now he said I'll make up my mind in a few days," he said.
“They need to go through a process, I still think, you know, a guy like Corey Enright just looks cherry ripe for the job, so who's to say he's not a better coach than Josh Fraser, when Fraser's had a job interview on the run like this from the coaches' box."
The Blues have one of the hardest remaining fixtures in the league, but Stevens believes that, in their current form, they could win all three.
“I think he has to be a huge chance, and I've had a look at Carlton's fixture; they should beat the Saints the way they're playing. Bulldogs are a bit banged up, so they're a chance there," he said.
"I look at the last round, Carlton have got Fremantle here in Melbourne, by that stage will be playing for diddly squat, so I think that Carlton will start favourites in that game. What have Fremantle got to gain from really trying too hard there? The way the Blues are going, they probably win their last three.”
Carlton currently occupies 10th spot and is in the box seat to secure a Wildcard Round slot.
