AFL 2024: Orazio Fantasia and Zac Williams join Carlton training

Carlton coach Michael Voss says new recruit Elijah Hollands can turn a two-week suspension to begin the season to his advantage as the Blues began their pre-season on Monday.

Hollands joined injury-riddled duo Zac Williams and Orazio Fantasia on the track at Ikon Park along with early-returning stars including Sam Walsh and Harry McKay.

The former Gold Coast wingman was earlier this month handed a two-match ban by the AFL for “conduct unbecoming” after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.

Voss said the 21-year-old would benefit from a new environment and training alongside his younger brother, Ollie, as the majority of the Blues’ list hit the track on a wet morning at Ikon Park.

Captain Patrick Cripps and Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow were the only notable absentees as more than a dozen senior Blues returned alongside the first to fourth-year players.

Voss said Williams was progressing “as expected” from his ACL injury in February and should be fully fit before the start of the season.

“If we just use the timeline of his injury as a bit of a guide, he should be back to full fitness in the first week of Feb,” Voss said.

“He’ll slowly start to join into the skills program throughout this next month with the hope that rolling into the New Year he’ll start to figure a bit more prominently.”

The coach said he viewed Fantasia as an important depth player in the Blues’ forward half, with the club taking a cautious approach with the Port Adelaide recruit despite him returning to training “fully fit”.

“His talent speaks for itself, and he understands what’s ahead of him – he understands that position that he’s going for is going to have some genuine competition,” Voss said.

“To get through a 23-24 week season, we’ve seen that you need to bat deep, so to be able to add even more talent in that part of the ground was pretty important to us.

“He’s completely fine to go, we’re sort of taking a steady approach with him though … so he’ll come in and out of training to start off with pre-Christmas … we just want to make sure we build him back up and make sure we build him up properly.”

Voss said Hollands would be primed to make an impact at the senior level when his suspension lifts ahead of round 3 against North Melbourne.

“The one thing I said and (Hollands) was keen to do is he gets a fresh set of eyes, he gets a fresh environment,” he said.

“He’s stated this himself, he just wants to go out there and prove himself through the work he brings, that’s all we’ve asked him to do.

“He’s a hard worker, he’ll mesh in really well with the group, and he’s got an added advantage having a brother here.”

Hollands appeared in court last month to plead guilty to the cocaine possession charge, with no conviction recorded.

He was placed on a two-month good behaviour bond and ordered to complete a drug diversion course.