Why Travis Boak is the perfect Carlton acquisition

Travis Boak is exactly the quality that the Carlton Football Club have craved in years past.

Joining the club in a leadership and cultural role, Boak will head back to his home state following a spectacular career at Port Adelaide, spanning 19 seasons and 387 games at the highest level.

Boak - a model of consistency - featured 16 times in 2025, the lowest tally of his time at Port Adelaide since his debut season in 2007, and amid a significantly difficult time within the walls at Carlton, Kane Cornes believes the acquisition of the Power legend is a perfect move.

In a role developed purely to host Boak at IKON Park, the Blues have stated that the former Power captain and two-time best and fairest will 'work closely with the Club’s playing group and wider football department three days a week on leadership and cultural development'.

Joining coach Michael Voss and an entirely revamped coaching panel, Boak's focus on strengthening the mind as well as the body will significantly influence the Blues' performances going forward.

“(Mind work and development has) probably been an advancement in the game,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.

“Getting inside the players’ minds - that’s essentially what ‘Boaky’ is going to try to do, giving them an edge when it comes to preparing your body but also your mind.

“He has been a big advocate for that and going out the AFL sphere to get some improvements in his performance. He has spoken to extreme sports guys before and those in the leadership areas, so he has done a lot of work in that on himself. I think he’s going to take that knowledge into the next club.

“Bringing quality into your football club is what it’s about. Travis Boak is quality, and the more quality people you can have in your football team and around the place, the better.

“He will be absolutely additive to that, and there is no more impressive that I’ve seen in footy than ‘Boaky’. It’s a great get for them, and clearly that was the reason a lot of clubs reached out and tried to get him.”

Given the Blues’ difficult 2025 season, Sam Edmund believes that the three-time All-Australian can only have a positive impact on the core leaders within the club.

“Some players might get more out of it than others. You’d think he’d be great at helping someone like a Patrick Cripps given the load he carries,” Edmund said.

“Sam Walsh, to be the player he can be, Harry McKay in dealing with the pressures of the game, and then with a kid like Jagga Smith coming through after adversity, he would have to have a positive impact on him.

“It can only be a good thing.”