‘It wasn't going to work with Ned': Graham Wright opens up on Carlton, the Voss call and leaving the Pies

Sydney Morning Herald

6 hours ago

Leaving the Pies and friction with Craig Kelly
Wright left Collingwood twice. The first time the Magpies didn't let him. That was at the end of 2023, shortly after winning the flag. Wright quit saying he needed a break and a European trip.
President Jeff Browne and his board rejected the resignation and floated a possible succession plan with Craig Kelly, who had returned to the club as CEO early in the premiership year. Wright was kept on as a consultant but barely used.
He and Kelly spoke during the 2024 season and discussed how things would look when he returned, but tension between them grew. There was no one incident to prompt a falling out, but by the time Wright was due to return from Europe, relations had soured between the 1990 premiership teammates, who were always different personalities.
'I thought I would go back, but it became clear that that wasn't going to be tenable or workable. It just wasn't going to work with 'Ned'.
'You're setting yourself up and everyone else up to fail when it is like that. The biggest part for me was that it wasn't going to work for the other people there if you've got your head of footy, or whatever role they were going to construct for me, not seeing eye to eye with the CEO. How's that going to work?'
'I thought I would go back, but it became clear that that wasn't going to be tenable or workable. It just wasn't going to work with 'Ned'.'
Graham Wright
The pair has been cordial since. Others looked on expectantly when Wright and Kelly crossed paths at the CEOs' meeting earlier this year. They shook hands and were civil. They are not friends, but there is no grudge.
Behind the decision to back Voss
At Carlton, Wright ended up spending much the year almost running a football review after performances spiralled.
'My background is footy, so being invited in or being available to footy, whether it be risk management, recruiting through to footy and coaching I just said how can I help? Are you happy for me to sit in on things and give my opinion or thoughts on things? I never went into anything without asking first. And don't get me wrong, the doors were open.
'I thought they do things pretty well. They do things differently to Collingwood, but Collingwood did things differently to Hawthorn [where Wright previously worked].'
The biggest question was Voss. While he was contracted for 2026, his future was uncertain. This is Carlton after all, the revolving door of coaches never slows for long. Wright and the board had this unhappy history of sacking coaches in mind when they weighed up Voss' future, but it did not directly impact the decision to keep him.
'You've got to treat it on its merits, if Vossy is not the right person, well, then what do we do? We've got to make a decision. So I didn't look at it as though 'this is what Carlton has always done, so I can't do it. I can't make that recommendation to the board'. It had to be okay.
'Having said that I think we might be 28-9 now [losses and wins in past 37 games] and I think we might have been 18-8 and Vossy and I had an honest conversation, which is, we haven't been good enough, what are we gonna do about it? Then it's more, OK I need to have some conversations with people at the club and players and coaches and staff and see where we go, and then ongoing conversations with him about what he's thinking.'
Will Hinkley join the Blues?
Once Voss was confirmed for 2026 the thinking shifted. You could not have the season Carlton has had and make no changes. Lloyd, the football manager for seven seasons and three coaches, leaves the club next week, a liked and respected character but with new leadership wanted.
The coaching team will change. Some assistants are under contract and will remain; others without contracts have been told they can't be offered new deals yet but that doesn't mean they won't be. They are free to look around.
'I think Vossy has to decide how he wants to structure up,' Wright said.
'Do we bring in a coaching director or with the soft cap change around senior assistants what does he [Voss] think that looks like? What does he see for [senior assistant] Ash Hansen? So there's all those conversations that he needs to have post-season.
'You look at things around the way we play and how we're structuring up in games, and key statistics around and all of those things in making the coaching decision, rather than putting a finger in the air and saying this is what I think.
'There was shared responsibility, in my view, of players taking accountability, the leaders taking some responsibility and obviously, there's some feedback for Vossy in that around how or why he goes about things. Our list management, recruiting has been okay, but it could be better, our development, all of those sorts of things go into it, and it's not one thing. It's not pointing the finger at any one person.'
It's highly likely the club will speak to Voss's former mentor at Port Adelaide, Ken Hinkley, about a coaching director or similar role. But theirs will not be the only approach to Hinkley who will coach his last game for the Power next Friday night, nor will Hinkley be the only person they speak to as there is an appetite to build support for Voss.
The game style and the players
The eternal chicken and egg conundrum for clubs in Carlton's situation is who carries most blame. Is it the coaching or the players? Is it list management? Is development the issue? Are the players not fit enough? Is it the psych, the dietician, the hairdresser or the tattooist?
Carlton reached the 2023 preliminary final and last year's finals on the back of big-bodied, hungry midfielders. The Blues were- and are - a contested ball, clearance team with good key forwards and one of the best key defenders in Jacob Weitering. Around them are role players.
But footy has evolved, and trended towards leg speed and repeat, end-to-end running. Carlton could still win the ball but once it got on the outside, they couldn't keep up. Sam Walsh's absence hurt, while Adam Saad looked his age. Not having Smith, for whom they had plunged in the draft for this very reason, was also a blow.
'The key statistic over the last 10 years is that contested ball and clearance and all those things are still important, but we were number 18 for kicking efficiency,' Wright said.
'Well, what are we doing about that? Who's responsible for that? Our inside 50 conversion rate is now 17th in the competition. Who's responsible for that? Why is that? So a lot of the key statistics that make the last lot of premiership teams good we are pretty good at, but then there are things that we're very average at, or worse than average at. So we need to improve in all those areas.'
The future of De Koning and Silvagni
Carlton are almost resigned to losing Tom De Koning. As De Koning is a restricted free agent the Blues get the chance to see St Kilda's offer even if it's only for curiosity value as they have little chance of matching the terms which they suspect have - or will - creep out to $1.8 million a year for seven years with an eighth year of at least another $1 million.
'To be very clear, we want to keep Tom first and foremost,' Wright said.
'But if he were to go I think you'd have to bring in someone to support. You always need another one. We've got young Hudson O'Keeffe, who's probably more forward-ruck than ruck-forward. He's a little bit undersized to play ruck. So we need someone else who could come in and play genuine ruck, who that is the guys are working through that now, if TDK goes.'
Ned Moyle at Gold Coast is contracted but struggling for opportunities behind Jarrod Witts. Ditto Ned Reeves - who was taken as an SSP rookie when Wright was at Hawthorn - who is also contracted but behind Lloyd Meek who leapfrogged Reeves in the pecking order when the ruck rules changed.
'There's a few guys around and a few who are contracted but want opportunity. Reeves is one in that boat.'
Carlton's other free agent, Jack Silvagni, is unrestricted so the Blues don't get to peek at other offers for him.
Collingwood's early pursuit prompted some in the industry to wonder if there was a personal element to the Pies' attempts to poach him from Wright's new club.
'I'd find that hard to believe because you're trying to do the right thing by the football club not get one over on someone. I can see why Collingwood would be interested in a player like Jack for their list needs,' Wright said.
The Bulldogs have since met with Silvagni, who is now weighing the relative premiership windows of all three clubs - Carlton, Collingwood and the Dogs - given the financial offers are fairly similar.
The players on Carlton's trade and draft radar
The Blues need more run in midfield but also more depth in small forwards who can scunge a goal and apply pressure. Mal Rosas at Gold Coast is out of contract and played 49 games so he fits the role, availability and age profile, and the Blues are interested.
'Like a number of clubs we've expressed an interest. I'm not sure where that one sits,' Wright said.
Liam Ryan out of West Coast?
'He's contracted. I think he's got a year ago That … complicates it a whole lot more.'
Jamie Elliot at Collingwood still unsigned and a free agent.
'I presume he stays at Collingwood. I wouldn't think he's leaving, that's my view, but I'd certainly be open-minded if Jamie is a free agent and wanted to move. But I haven't heard that he's moving.'
The Blues could lose Silvagni but will add at least one father-son this year and next in Peter Dean's son Harry (a likely top 10 pick this year) and Andrew Walker's talented son Cody next year.
The compensation question
Carlton stands to lose TDK on the biggest contract a player has ever signed, and will receive only a first round compensation pick tied to their first selection. Currently, that would be pick six, but will doubtless be pushed back with bidding on academy players.
Under the current system if Carlton were to bring in a free agent (depending on the quality of the free agent) they would potentially dilute even that modest compensation.
West Coast is in the same boat. If they lose their captain Oscar Allen as a free agent they can't risk diluting his compensation by potentially bringing in Lions free agent Brandon Starcevich.
Wright believes the system should change.
'Whether it is the clubs outside the eight that can bring in a free agent without it hurting compo, or just the bottom six or eight, there shouldn't be a disincentive to securing mature talent for clubs trying to rebuild,' he said.
The deal with McKay and Curnow
Wright says Curnow has had a difficult year because of interrupted pre-season.
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'Charlie has said he wants to be here, he is contracted and we want him here,' he said.
'He has medical issues that are sort of ongoing. He had the knee fracture in 2017 or '18 and that has required ongoing maintenance. The surgery he had last week is really minor, but it's best to get it cleaned up and done and he can go on his break and come back and have a full pre-season, unlike last year which impacted his whole year. That's the plan.'
McKay, meantime, has missed games for personal reasons (later speaking with honesty about his struggles with mental health), and through injury.
'We just haven't had both of them out there. I don't know how many games they've played together in recent years but it's not a lot, so having those two fit and available as well as Sam Walsh fundamentally changes us,' Wright said.