Carlton coach Michael Voss has said the club will wrap their arms around forward Elijah Hollands as he takes the time to get himself healthy.
The Blues announced yesterday, on the eve of the season, that the 22-year-old had been granted leave from the club to deal with some personal issues, with Hollands informing the playing group in an emotional address.
He played 22 senior games for Carlton last year after arriving from the Gold Coast via trade in late 2023 and made his mark as a vital cog in the Blues side, averaging 17.8 disposals and 4.5 marks per game while kicking 17 goals and proving a valuable recruit.
Speaking to reporters a day before the Blues' season opener against Richmond, Voss said that the reaction from the playing group and club was empathetic.
"He's been really upfront with us about where he is at," Voss said.
"It's something that we've been talking about a fair bit with him and monitoring him, and he felt like the best course of action was to take some personal leave.
"For us right now as a football club, as a football team, we support it. He's going to spend some time on himself, and for us, we carry on with the season."
Voss said Hollands' younger brother Ollie, who is also on Carlton's playing list and set to take up a role across half-back this season, will be given extra support if necessary following the announcement about his older brother yesterday.
"It sits in the same basket; we'll all be very supportive," he said.
"If we need to provide that support, we will, but I think Ollie is also focused on what he needs to get done, and that is locking in on what we need to get done in a couple of days."
Meanwhile, Voss not only confirmed that star midfielder Sam Walsh will be fit to take his place against Richmond,ย but that Jack Silvagni will make his return to the AFL level for the first time in over 600 days.
Silvagni missed Carlton's run through the 2023 finals with a knee injury and then missed the entire 2024 season after rupturing his ACL in pre-season.
Earmarked to take a new role in the backline, Voss said that the inclusion of Silvagni will add to a new-look Carlton defensive structure.
"Our ability to advance as a football team is how we can defend better, and we've gone after that pretty hard. It's meant we've had to shift some magnets," Voss said.
"SOS has been one over the last month that has probably been the final piece in terms of being there, coming off the ACL. That group is different: Just taking note of the personnel, there are lots of points of difference everywhere.
" We've got SOS there, Haynes comes in, Ollie Hollands.... There's some genuine change there; we've got to play it out, and we get our first look at that tomorrow night against Richmond.
