Orazio Fantasia has revealed it was his relationship with Carlton coach Michael Voss that edged him away from other suitors and saw him join the Blues this week.
Fantasia was on Thursday able to sign officially at Carlton after last week’s report, joining on a two-year deal.
It brings to an end three injury-ravaged seasons at Port Adelaide, where the 28-year-old managed just four games in the past two years. Fantasia had an option to stay at Port, while the Giants were also reported to be interested.
But he’s now eyeing his first full pre-season since his first year at the Power and says he “definitely” has more confidence in his body.
“I played the last (four) in a row at SANFL level (this) year and haven’t missed a beat so far,” Fantasia told SEN’s The Run Home on Saturday.
“So heading into pre-season I’m really optimistic I can get through all of that and hopefully put myself in a position to play some footy at the start of the year.”
Fantasia also spoke to the role Voss played in getting him to Carlton.
Voss spent several years as a senior assistant coach at Port Adelaide before getting his second senior coaching gig at the Blues in late 2021. While Fantasia only spent a year with the Brownlow Medallist at Alberton, it was enough to form a close bond.
“I think it was really the connection I had with Vossy. He was at Port when I was there and we got along really, really well,” Fantasia explained of why he chose Carlton.
“We stayed in touch and at the end of this season he gave me a call and said, ‘what are you doing, let’s have a chat’, and we sat down and went from there.”
However, there are no guarantees from the Blues or Voss that Fantasia can force his way into the best 23.
“That was the conversation we had, he said, ‘you’re not coming in straight away, you’ve got to earn your spot and have a good pre-season, there’s no guarantees’,” Fantasia added.
“I understand that, they've got some great forwards down there, obviously the big two… but (Corey) Durdin, (Jesse) Motlop, (Matt) Owies, (Jack) Martin, (Jack) Silvagni, I could keep going, their forward line is stacked
“So I’m not walking into a team and thinking I’m going to play straight away. I just want to train well and get to know the boys and hopefully put my best foot forward and I feel like I can still add value and definitely help as well, a lot of those small forwards are young… I feel like I can help them grow as well.”
Fantasia proved his class early in his career, booting 39 goals for the Bombers back in 2017.
He’s kicked 141 goals from his 99 AFL games.