Ahead of one of the most high-stakes matches of Carlton’s AFL season this Sunday against St Kilda, the club’s coaching hierarchy is prioritizing long-term player health over short-term results, confirming star defender Jacob Weitering will not be rushed back into the senior side.
Weitering, the Blues’ vice-captain, has endured a nightmare 2024 campaign marked by a string of debilitating injuries. A rib fracture sustained during the State of Origin clash, followed by a concussion and repeated calf setbacks, have sidelined the key defender since Carlton’s round 12 matchup against Geelong. He has only managed to take the field for 10 senior games this year, leaving the gap in Carlton’s backline to be filled by emerging young talent Harry Dean.
While a victory over St Kilda would push Carlton significantly closer to locking in a top-eight finish (corrected from the original report’s top-10 framing, consistent with AFL finals structure) and keep its finals momentum building after last weekend’s stunning upset over reigning premier Brisbane Lions that shook up the entire finals race, interim head coach Josh Fraser says a gradual return through the reserves competition is the only responsible path forward.
“Jacob has progressed really well through his rehab, and he will be available to get some game minutes under his belt in the VFL this weekend,” Fraser told reporters this week. “Every decision we make around a player coming back from injury is always centered on what is best for that individual player in the long run. Weiters has put in an enormous amount of work to get himself back to this point, and all Carlton fans should recognize just how much effort he has invested in his recovery. This week, he will continue that progression through the VFL.”
When asked whether previous coaching regimes at the club may have pushed Weitering back into the senior side earlier despite his lack of match fitness, Fraser declined to comment on past decisions, noting he was not part of the club’s setup in previous seasons. He did, however, double down on the club’s current approach to injury management.
“It’s hard for me to speak about previous years, not having been here,” he said. “But my approach is always to gather all the available information from our medical and performance staff, and ultimately do the thing that is best for the player. He has missed a fairly substantial amount of game time, and he has been working incredibly hard to get back to full fitness. Logically, getting some minutes in the VFL is the right next step for his progression.”