Carlton star Sam Walsh has admitted that there was disconnect on the field for the Blues in 2025, but is confident belief is building within the group ahead of 2026.
Speaking to Carlton Media, Walsh stated that the Blues' pre-season camp is prioritising the building of connections with teammates as the club looks to overcome significant list turnover from the 2025 trade and free agency period.
“We've got a few activities and team groups sorted which creates that banter," Walsh said.
"That's why you do this, I reckon.”
The fresh faces of the rookie class in addition to their trade period haul aren't the only reasons why Carlton are aiming to improve their synergy this early, however.
Michael Voss' system relies heavily on kicking to progress the football up the field, ranking sixth in kick-to-handball ratio this past season (59.6 per cent of Carlton's disposals were kicks).
However, per Wheelo Ratings Kick Rating metric, the Blues' kicking threat, which quantifies how likely a kick is to result in a shot at goal later in the chain, ranked 16th in the AFL in 2025, dropping from ninth in 2024, and Carlton's overall kicking efficiency of 63.3 per cent ranked 17th this year.
Walsh highlighted the need for improved cohesion and trust in Carlton's ball movement, which stems from the work of the Blues' midfielders.
“For us as a group, we need to get better in a lot of aspects," Walsh said.
“For us mids, a lot of it is the ability to talk about how we want to look on the spread and in the contest. Being able to bring each other into the game has been a key aspect.
“If we can create smart footballers, we can adapt to any time in the game, whatever it requires. It's too fast and too demanding of a game to just go after one method.”
Walsh highlighted that positive progress has been made as the group bonds in its pre-season camp in Lorne, which features plenty of fresh faces following the blockbuster trades Carlton made in the off-season.
“There's been a lot of talk around having a lot of new people," Walsh said.
"But that's footy clubs, there always is a fair bit of turnover. For the players, we've brought in some ripping guys that have shown they're going to do the work.
"We're building to where we want to get to. You've got to do the work and build confidence in your body, yourself and your teammates. If you can do that, good things can happen."
Carlton will open the 2026 AFL season on Thursday, March 5 at the SCG, with recruits Will Hayward and Ollie Florent taking on their former club, the Sydney Swans.
