Carlton need a complete overhaul of their football department after their shock loss to North Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday put their 2025 season on life support, according to club financial backer Bruce Mathieson.
The outspoken critic slammed the list saying the club were once again five years away from having real success and said he could not point to one player under the age 25 who was an A-grader.
Bruce Mathieson.Credit: Arsineh Houspian
He said as difficult as it might be the club had no option but to restart the journey again.
“We are five years away, at best, from having a good side. We have got to start again,” Mathieson told The Age.
He said 21-year-old Ollie Hollands was a good player but not an elite player while No.3 pick from last year’s national draft Jagga Smith has been sidelined with a knee injury. The injured Sam Walsh turns 25 next week.
“We have not got one good player under 25, other than Ollie Hollands and is he an A-grader? We haven’t got one,” Mathieson said.
New role: Ollie Hollands has been handy this season as a running defender/wingman. Credit: Getty Images
“You have got to start again; how do you do otherwise? I admire Richmond, look at the players they gave away to get those young blokes. You look at North Melbourne, they have got young blokes coming on. We have got no one.”
Since selecting All-Australian midfielder Walsh with pick one in the 2018 national draft, the Blues went five seasons without a top 10 pick before they traded up to select Smith with pick three in last year’s national draft. Smith suffered an ACL injury in a pre-season practice match ruling him out for the season.
Richmond traded out premiership pair Shai Bolton and Daniel Rioli and received compensation for the loss of Jack Graham and Liam Baker to West Coast. They took eight players inside the first 27 picks in what was considered a strong draft last season. They defeated Carlton in a shock round one result.
The Blues have 23 players under 25 years on their list. Those 23 players have played 105 games in total in 2025 with Walsh, Hollands, Jesse Motlop and Cooper Lord the only under 25 players to have played 10 matches or more.
By comparison Geelong’s 24 players aged under 25 have played 128 games this season with eight of their under 25 players playing 10 matches or more in 2025.
Mathieson said the club needed to find more young talent as he was concerned the situation would become even more dire.
“You look at even next year. The first two picks are again given away,” Mathieson said.
Carlton traded out their first round selection this season but will receive a first compensation round pick if they lose Tom De Koning to St Kilda via free agency. On current ladder position their first selection in this year’s national draft is selection No.36.
Tom De Koning lines up for goal.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Mitch McGovern, who kicked four goals against North Melbourne, is out of contract as is injured defender Nic Newman. Newman finished second in the club’s 2024 best and fairest. Zac Williams is contracted until 2026 while Jack Silvagni, a revelation in defence this season, is beginning talks to extend his deal beyond this season.
Jesse Motlop, Brodie Kemp, Sam Docherty and Orazio Fantasia are also out of contract at the end of this season.
Carlton retain gaming venues income from Mathieson’s Endeavour Group’s four gaming pub venues delivering the club an estimated revenue of $2 million per season.
The future of senior coach Michael Voss, who is contracted until the end of next season, is under the microscope. Carlton have won 45, lost 38 and had a draw during his time as coach, making the finals twice in three completed seasons.
Captain Patrick Cripps fronted the media on Monday ahead of the Blues’ round 16 match against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
He said the players had to take responsibility for the team’s failings and expressed faith in Voss.
“For a lot of years now, we’ve had that ‘stronger together’ mindset, and it’s easy to do that when we’re winning … it’s bloody hard to do that when you’re having tough losses,” Cripps said.
“We’re sticking fat together … buy in and get behind us, we’ll turn it around. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort, but we’re going to stay united.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Vossy as a coach, also as a mentor and a friend,” Cripps said.
“He puts a lot of work into it along with the whole [coaching group] … that group’s very aligned.”
Defender Jacob Weitering said he was optimistic about being fit to play the Power after carrying an ankle injury through the Kangaroos game.
“It’s pretty positive,” he said. “Had a scan this morning, haven’t got the results yet so we’ll try and figure that out as the day progresses.”
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