"99% writing us off": Reality bites for Carlton

Carlton defender Jacob Weitering is a realist with where the season sits for the embattled club.

At 6-9, the Blues would almost need to go unblemished in their last eight if they are to play finals for a third straight season. With games against Collingwood (1st), Brisbane (2nd) and Hawthorn (5th) in the next month, that looms as a hurdle that might just be too high to clear.

Carlton’s last result was a 50-point loss to Port Adelaide last Thursday which heaped pressure on the club and coach Michael Voss, and Weitering admits he knew there was going to be a lot of fallout from that result after the Power got off to a hot start at the Adelaide Oval.

With the reality of the situation setting in, Weitering says he and the entire club must find a common purpose as they look to take some positives from the last two months of the campaign.

“Port Adelaide, unlike a lot of teams this year, were able to put it out of our reach very quickly,” Weitering said on SEN Whateley.

“So, we sort of knew we were going to be in a pretty sticky situation post that (game) and obviously, the fallout from that has been pretty obvious to the club, the playing group and everyone that's there.

“But we've got eight weeks to find a purpose. The end of the year is not looking overly likely in terms of September, even if mathematically maybe there is a chance. But as a group, as a leadership group and as a club, we've got to find a common purpose.

“The fans have been side by side with us for a long time and they probably won't necessarily want to hear that, but they'll certainly want to see us play in a way that does the jumper proud, and I think that’s our aim for the next eight weeks.

“We won't disregard (winning). Don’t get me wrong, every week from here on out, the aim is to win games of football, that's pretty obvious.

“But we've got to understand again the reality of that situation and as I sort of mentioned, you can't really just roll over and just give the year away.”

After handing debuts to Billy Wilson and Flynn Young last week, Weitering hopes that getting some valuable experience into the club’s younger players over the next two months can set the Blues up for a big 2026 season.

“Being able to blood a few young guys as well throughout this period is going to be really exciting, that's just going to give us another launch pad into next year,” Weitering said.

“It is very frustrating to I guess have to use that terminology about setting us up for next year. But as I said, I’m a bit of a realist, so you've got to understand the reality of the situation, but we will be taking it week by week.”

Even if many would be writing off the out-of-form Blues as they go up against a Magpies side that’s 10 points clear on top on Friday night, Weitering is certain he and his teammates will respond as they look to pull off a huge upset.

“We've got a massive challenge this week against the Pies, and I reckon 99 per cent of people would be writing us off, so it’d be a pretty incredible job to get done I reckon.

“It’s a challenge, and I reckon the 23 guys that get the opportunity to pull on the jumper will certainly respond after last weekend.”

Friday’s clash between the Blues and Magpies begins at 7:20pm (AEST) at the MCG.