AFL

'Sky's the limit': Blues want to build on special run

By Anna Harrington

Sep 6, 2026

Carlton ruckman Marc Pittonet says the sky's the limit for the Blues. — Marc Pittonet says the sky's the limit for the Blues, who boast a balance of youth and experience. -AAP Image

Carlton players want their barnstorming run from the AFL doldrums to an elimination final to be the start of something special.

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And ruckman Marc Pittonet is adamant "the sky's the limit" for the exuberant Blues.

Friday night's 33-point elimination final loss to Geelong brought an end to a magnificent fightback under coach Josh Fraser from a 1-8 start to the season that cost predecessor Michael Voss his job.

The Blues only lost three of 16 games under Fraser, winning 12 and drawing another.

"I'm sure there'll be a time to acknowledge that we did come from a fair way back, but right now it's not been happy," Pittonet told AAP.

"We're not happy to be here, we want to be deeper, and that's where we've decided to go.

"We're not sitting here going 'great run' - we're sitting here going, 'right, this is the start.'"

Pittonet, 30, described the loss to Geelong, a team full of seasoned finals campaigners, as "harsh feedback" that gave Carlton a blueprint for what they wanted to do next.

"Great exposure. We've got a lot of players who hadn't played finals," he said.

"Talor Byrne, Billy Wilson, Jagga (Smith), those sorts of guys, who've had really good years, but now you go, 'right, we played in front of 91,000, we played in front of 96,000, that's what it feels like'.

"So unbelievable exposure to what they need to take their game to.

"Then the weight of numbers (of getting) that exposure again, because we play in front of big Carlton crowds, but it's hard to recreate that.

"So that's the biggest takeaway - when you get to work in front of that type of crowd."

Fraser said in his post-match press conference that he wouldn't settle for mediocrity and warned his players to be ready for pre-season.

"We're hungry to work more because we're not happy with it," Pittonet said.

The ruckman was confident Carlton's late-season form wouldn't just be a short-lived bubble, and that the combination of their connection as a group and their method would hold them in good stead.

"If you put those two things together, and we just build and get that exposure, then the sky's the limit," he said.

Carlton chief executive Graham Wright said before the elimination final the Blues are keen to recruit free agents Buku Khamis (Western Bulldogs) and Joel Amartey (Sydney).

Pittonet insisted he hadn't been following trade and free-agency news, then added: "But if the club identifies people that can add to our game, then it's fantastic.

"We're always looking to get better, the whole club is trying to look to get better.

"If that's the way that we can, then it's fantastic."