Craig Mcrae Backs Hayden Skipworth for Carlton Job
Craig McRae has backed Hayden Skipworth to step into Carlton’s senior coaching job after Michael Voss stood down this week. McRae said the Collingwood assistant is ready for the role, while Carlton CEO Graham Wright wants a formal process to choose the club’s next coach.
Skipworth’s Carlton case
“His strategy is really good, his people management is really good,” McRae said on Wednesday. He added: “The way he owns a room... he's really well organised.”
McRae’s strongest line was simple: “Skip' would be ready.” That support carried weight because Skipworth has spent the last few years as McRae’s top assistant and has already handled match-day responsibility during pre-season games.
He was also part of the Collingwood staff that helped deliver the 2023 AFL premiership. Before that, he had coached in the VFL, and his name has already been around senior selection rooms: he was in the running for the West Coast job in 2024 before Andrew McQualter got it, and he interviewed for the Melbourne vacancy last year after Simon Goodwin’s departure.
Voss and McRae
The Carlton move opened this week when Voss stood down after four years in charge. McRae said he reached out to him by text, then described the exit in personal terms: “It's challenging,” he said, before adding, “I was as happy as you can be that he walks away with his dignity.”
McRae and Voss go back to the early 2000s, when they played together at the Brisbane Lions. McRae also said, “He's such a respectful guy, and he's a legend of our game.”
Carlton now has a formal search ahead of it, and that makes Skipworth one of the clearer assistant-coach options already in the frame. His resume is built on senior exposure rather than a first-time leap, which is exactly why McRae’s public backing lands with force inside a vacancy that is only just opening up.
For Carlton, the next step is the process Wright wants. For Skipworth, the case is already on the table: premiership staff member, experienced assistant, and a coach McRae says is ready.
