2026 Reserves

Reserves Season 2026
Coach: Damian Truslove
Co-Captains:
Best & Fairest:
Position:
Premier:

Practice Match 1, 2026.

Match Report: Carlton v Coburg

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Final Score
CARLTON	2.5.17	5.9.39	6.10.46	7.14 (56)
COBURG	2.1.13	2.3.15	5.5.35	7.8 (50)

Venue:	IKON Park, Carlton
Date:	Thursday February 19th 2026 (6.30 pm)
Result:	Won by 6 points
Goalkickers:	Gresham, Harvey, Darcy Hogg, Jack Ison, Sam Paea, Darcy Tucker 1.
Best:	Not Available
Reports:	Nil
Injuries:	Nil

Who impressed in first 2026 hitout?

Truslove wraps up narrow win. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.

The inside word on the Carlton Reserves' opening practice match of 2026.

The Carlton Reserves kicked off their preparations for the 2026 season with a one-goal win over Coburg at IKON Park. In a game which saw plenty of rotations and limited game time for a few, the Blues led at every change and held on late in the 7.14 (56) to 7.8 (50) win. There was plenty of good news for Carlton supporters, with Nic Newman playing the first half and emerging unscathed in what was his first game of any kind for 529 days. The veteran defender was also joined by Francis Evans, who played a combination of midfield and forward and sported his protective eyewear after an incident in training last month. There were individual goalkickers across the board for the Blues, including a classy left-footed snap from draftee Jack Ison in the second term, while former AFL-listed recruits Darcy Tucker and Alwyn Davey Junior also hit the scoreboard early in the game. See VFL Senior Coach Damian Truslove’s thoughts on the game below.

On how the first hitout panned out: “It was the first time our VFL-listed boys have played in a game, having only had training, as well as gelling with the seven AFL-listed boys. The first three quarters saw us pretty dominant in field position, our contest work was really strong and some of our ball movement - which we’ve been working on over the summer - was impressive. “The last quarter, we took a few players off and the boys got a bit fatigued with limited rotations: to Coburg’s credit, they fought back, but we managed to hang on by a goal in the dying minutes.”

On Nic Newman playing the first half: “He went really well. The plan was for him to get through and get back playing football again. He was instrumental in setting the backline up, his leadership was outstanding and he used the ball really well by foot as he always has done. “It was good to see him moving well. When I went to him at half time, he had a massive smile on his face: he got through and felt good, he’ll keep building his minutes from here.”

On Francis Evans’ performance: “Frankie played well, he played a bit of a different role. He played two quarters in the midfield, plus one quarter in his typical place up forward. He moved really well and his intensity and patterns around the ground were excellent. “He’ll be knocking on the door: he got into some good contested situations which he needed to tick, which he did really well.”

On draftee Jack Ison’s showing: “Jack played multiple roles, he was close to goal and also higher up the ground. He’s learning his craft, he’s getting better all the time: he’s very diligent with his education and his craft work. “He’ll continue to improve, he’s very powerful and exciting around goals, which we saw with a nice finish in the second quarter.”

On the remaining AFL-listed talent: “Lucas Camporeale played a bit of a different role, spending half his time on the wing and half his time as an inside mid, which is a new role for him. He found plenty of the ball. “Rob Monahan and Harry Charleson gave us drive off half-back and Matt Duffy had to play on a bigger opponent and was outsized, but he competed really hard and halved a lot of aerial contests.”

On the VFL-listed players who impressed: “We had about 10 new players to the club who ran out there, which was great. Some were really impressive: Tom Evans from Bendigo was solid, Darcy Tucker only played the first half but was probably best on ground in the first half, Jack Sammartino who we picked up from Box Hill was solid down back and Tom Stapleton - from Seymour Footy Club - played in the ruck and was really impressive. “A few of those guys will be putting their hand up for Round 1, there’s probably 20 of them fighting for 8-10 spots which is a great position for us.”

On preparations ramping up for the VFL season proper: “We’ll probably have a few more AFL-listed boys in our VFL team on Wednesday against Geelong. What we’re looking for is those guys to play at AFL standard and put pressure on the AFL boys for their spots. We’ll rotate our VFL boys through our next two practice games, they’re all fighting for spots so they’ll be keen to impress.”

Practice Match 2, 2026.

Match Report: Carlton v Geelong

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Final Score
CARLTON	2.0.12	6.1.37	10.1.61	13.4 (82)
GEELONG	5.0.30	8.3.51	10.3.63	13.3 (81)

Venue:	IKON Park, Carlton
Date:	Thursday February 26th 2026 (4.30 pm)
Result:	Won by 1 point
Goalkickers:	Flynn Young 4, Hudson O'Keeffe 2, Sam Paea 2, Lucas Camporeale, Alwyn Davey Junior, Matt Duffy, Tom Howard, Darcy Tucker 1.
Best:	Not Available
Reports:	Nil
Injuries:	Nil

Carlton Reserves squad v Geelong

16. Ben Camporeale, 21. Lucas Camporeale, 24. Nic Newman, 28. Harry Charleson, 30. Jack Ison, 34. Rob Monahan, 40. Hudson O’Keeffe, 41. Matthew Duffy, 45. Flynn Young, 50. Darcy Tucker, 53. Jack Polkinghorne, 54. Jack O’Sullivan, 55. Ethan Phillips, 57. Alwyn Davey, 58. Jack Sammartino, 59. Cooper Vickery, 61. Dane Harvey, 62. Oliver Warburton, 63. Ryder Corrigan, 66. Sam Paea, 69. Cooper Hamilton, 70. Darcy Hogg, 72. Tom Evans, 73. Tom Stapleton, 77. Will Cookson, 80. Tom Howard

Four-goal Flynn, late scoreboard drama sees Blues prevail

The Carlton Reserves recorded a last-gasp one-point win in a VFL practice match… without even realising it. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media

The Carlton Reserves have recorded a last-gasp one-point win in a VFL practice match… without even realising it. A late rushed behind from Flynn Young saw the Blues hit the lead with 30 seconds to go, despite the IKON Park scoreboard suggesting that it only levelled the scores. However, the two goal umpires came together in the middle of the ground to confirm that the Blues had in fact won by a point, overturning a 38-point deficit in the second term. Young was the catalyst for the comeback with four goals, while draftee Jack Ison showcased his flair and veteran defender Nic Newman got through his second match back unscathed. It marked the Blues’ second consecutive narrow win from their practice matches, after a one-goal win against Coburg seven days ago. Carlton had to overcome a slow start, with Geelong kicking a goal from the opening centre clearance and recording three unanswered goals before the Blues even looked like troubling the scorers. The best moment of the opening quarter and a half from a Carlton perspective came from the boot of Irishman Matt Duffy, who received a 50-metre penalty and kicked truly for a goal. But it was otherwise a rough beginning to the game for the Blues, trailing by 38 points halfway through the second term with errors coming out of the back half proving costly. It was an exciting patch of form in the final 10 minutes of the second game which swung the momentum, with draftee Ison having some key moments - including a spectacular mark sitting on the shoulders of his Geelong opponent.

A pair of former Werribee premiership teammates in Sam Paea and Flynn Young had two goals apiece in the first half, while Rob Monahan was finding plenty of the ball in the opening stages. The Blues had got themselves back within 14 points at the main break, before a pair of goals to Hudson O’Keeffe after some strong contested marking narrowed the gap even further. When Lucas Camporeale kicked a running goal from 50, Carlton hit the front, but the Cats responded with four consecutive majors of their own to reopen a 20-point gap. Newman got through his allotted game time as he run laps of the boundary in the final term, and Ben Camporeale (cork) came from the ground with 10 minutes to play. It was quite the cameo from Young, who kicked two goals of his own with expert finishes before turning the provider for Alwyn Davey. It had actually levelled the scores, but with the scoreboard suggesting otherwise that the Cats were still up by a point, neither team was to know. Young rushed through a late behind to ‘level’ the scores after a goalmouth scramble, and it was only after the siren sounded at IKON Park that the Blues realised they had triumphed by the narrowest of margins as preparations continue for the season proper.

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