Simply elite: in-form Cats wary of rejuvenated Blues

Justin Chadwick | May 28, 2026

Geelong coach Chris Scott has talked up Carlton’s elite midfield talent, saying the Blues’ recent wins are less about regime change and more about finally getting their due rewards.

Carlton have enjoyed a mini revival since Michael Voss stood down as coach, posting wins against Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs over the past fortnight.

Interim coach Josh Fraser has already declared he doesn’t want the job beyond this season, but hope is building Carlton (3-8) could make a charge to qualify for the AFL’s new Wildcard round.

The Blues face their biggest test yet under Fraser’s watch when they take on Geelong at the MCG on Friday night.

The Cats (8-3) are sitting pretty in outright third, but Scott is wary of the threat Carlton pose.

“They have elite players in the middle of the ground and their contest has always been a strength,” Scott said.

“It was pretty recent (2024) that Patrick Cripps polled 45 votes in a Brownlow.

“Sam Walsh is a star, Jagga Smith is a young star, (Adam) Cerra was a really early draft pick, high talent. 

“Put it this way, internally we’re not sitting there sort of thinking all we have to do is roll out our game and we’ll be OK.”

Scott believes Carlton’s two wins under Fraser was a more accurate reflection of how good the team is, rather than the 1-8 record before that.

“I’m not sure that the two wins are that different to some of the patches they had in games early in year,” Scott said.

“Even if you look over the course of the season, they’ve been in front in a lot of the games that they’ve played.

“Their percentage of time in front is actually quite high, it doesn’t reflect their ladder position, so there’s a lot of things that were going right anyway.

“They just had some periods in games where a lot went wrong at the same time.”

Tanner Bruhn will return against the Blues, with Scott deciding to rest Jack Martin.

Carlton regain star defender Jacob Weitering (calf) and have also handed a recall to Blake Acres, who replaces Matthew Carroll on the wing after the youngster’s season-ending knee injury.

Geelong have won four games on the trot and six of their past seven to announce themselves as a legitimate premiership threat.

The Cats are hungry to make amends for last year’s 47-point grand-final loss to Brisbane, and they face a crunch stretch after taking on Carlton.

Geelong face Adelaide in Adelaide in round 13, before doing battle against Gold Coast (home), Fremantle (away) and then Brisbane (home). 

It means a win over Carlton is crucial for Geelong to stay ahead of the chasing pack in the hunt for a top-four berth.