Dees or Blues: Who lost more this off-season?

Carlton and Melbourne were the two teams that hit the reset button last trade period following a period of success.

In 2025, both sides had fairly similar sides to the ones that faced off in the 2023 Semi-Final at the MCG. But after both contending for a flag that season, they dropped to 11th and 14th respectively just two years later.

With their lists on the slide, the Blues lost Charlie Curnow, Jack Silvagni and Tom De Koning to free agency and trade, while the Dees let go of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca.

While they’ve both set up better for the future as a result, most expect both teams to struggle even more in 2026.

With that in mind, SEN Fireball’s David King asked Kane Cornes and Sam Edmund where they see both sides shaping up this campaign.

King: “Who's lost more, Carlton or Melbourne this off-season?

“Who's been hamstrung in terms of their coaching, with the ability to move the magnets around to get a result on game day, Steven King or Michael Voss?”

Cornes: “Steven King has lost in the immediate timeframe but has set the club up well for the next three years beyond that.

“I don't think Melbourne are going to be a factor this year. But gee, they've invested heavily in the draft, and they've drafted well.

“They’ve kept Kozzie and the players that they're going to build the club around, but they've gone to the draft.

“The club needed a shift, culturally, from a playing point of view and the way that they play and move the footy. I think they've made the right calls and the right moves.

“Now Carlton, I don't know. I’ve got no idea, but it's different.

“There's no pressure on Melbourne to make finals this year. But there's absolutely pressure on Carlton to make finals.

“We’re not thinking they're making finals, but that they would be thinking they're making finals.”

King: “Why would they be thinking that?”

Cornes: “Well, if they don't make finals, what happens with the coach?”

Edmund: “Michael Voss is the only coach technically out of contract; Justin Longmuir is on the rolling deal.

“Voss is under enormous pressure, so what’s the pass mark for him?”

King: “But there would have been a conversation. Surely, Graham Wright has said, ‘Vossy, we have to go backwards to go forwards. We're going to lose these three players’.”

Cornes: “ Remind me what the press release read like when they committed to Michael Voss, it wasn’t a glowing, long-term endorsement.

King: “He's got to prove that he can do it with this list, and I don't think that's finals.

“I'd be staggered if they made finals.”