July 25, 2026 — 6:36pmJosh Fraser has given his strongest indication yet that he will eventually join Carlton’s coaching race after leading the Blues to their eighth win under his tutelage.The Blues’ caretaker coach’s latest success was to guide the Blues to a 13-point win over the hapless Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, the win improving the Blues’ record to 9-10 and ensuring they remain in contention for the top 10 – and the wildcard round.Josh Fraser’s coaching stocks continue to rise during his interim stint at the Blues.Getty ImagesFraser has maintained, since replacing Michael Voss in May and inheriting a 1-8 win-loss record, that he would not seek to take charge permanently for season 2026 and beyond.But, as the Blues narrow their focus in their coaching search with four rounds remaining, and with St Kilda assistant Corey Enright emerging as a strong candidate, Fraser said he now had to weigh up his options. However, the former Magpie said he had not been given a time frame by Blues bosses.“No, not specifically. There’s a process, that’s my understanding, [that] is underway in the background, and my job, as an interim coach at the moment, is to coach the team,” Fraser said after the game on Saturday.“I’ve been pretty deliberate around not making this about myself and making it about the club, and I want to continue that, but with the acknowledgement that, at some point, I need to consider where this opportunity has placed me.”Fraser, a long-time development and VFL coach, had earlier said: “Yeah, we’re clearly getting closer to the end of the season than what we were, what nine, 10 weeks ago. But, at some point in time, I will have to consider where I’m at as a coach, and I think every coach would go through that process this time of the year. So, when the time is right, I’ll have a deeper think about what that looks like.”Skipper Patrick Cripps (30 disposals, 15 clearances) and fellow midfielders Sam Walsh (31 disposals) and Jagga Smith (31) were influential over a Suns’ side that fell away late in quarters, while young forward Talor Byrne (17 disposals, 12 score involvements and three goals) was a standout as the Blues snapped a two-game losing skid.The win was soured by a hamstring strain to defender Nic Newman, who will almost certainly not line up against the Lions at Marvel Stadium next weekend.Fraser said Byrne’s work is regularly highlighted internally, and praised rookie defender Harry Dean, declaring he could not remember such a young backman having so much influence. Dean held Suns star Ben King to three goals.Under Fraser, the Blues have lifted their training standards and consistency, although he said his team still had work to do when it came to improving its “fundamentals”.Christian Petracca was in the spotlight all afternoon against the Blues.AFL PhotosThe Blues finished with a whopping 117 more disposals and 34 more tackles, the latter reinforcing the Suns’ lack of endeavour.The Suns are now on a nine-game losing skid, an extraordinary fall from grace for a club which began the season with top-four, even premiership, aspirations.The Suns’ internal woes were highlighted when forward Leo Lombard and star playmaker Christian Petracca were involved in a tense verbal exchange in the final term.With the Suns trailing, Lombard sharked a ruck tap inside attacking 50 and attempted to find space to snap for goal, only to be tackled by Blues’ defender Lachie Cowan, brought to the ground and penalised for holding the ball.Petracca, who had been in a position to accept a handball from Lombard, then appeared to direct a terse word at Lombard, who replied by directing an expletive at Petracca.Hardwick said the incident would be discussed through the week.“The game requires feedback. How you respond to that feedback is something, Leo, as a young player, will get better at,” Hardwick said.“I am not privy to the conversation. We’ll talk about it during the week. It happens a thousand times over the course of a weekend.”Hardwick conceded the Suns were experiencing “dark” times, but said this could be making of the club in future years.It appears doubtful King, a restricted free agent, will be part of that future, as he is reportedly set to join Hawthorn.A look that paints a thousand words: Damien Hardwick’s season at the Suns has gone from bad to worseAFL PhotosSuns football department chief Craig Cameron said King was yet to officially declare his hand.“It hasn’t been confirmed to us directly from Ben or his management team,” Cameron told 3AW.“From our perspective, nothing changes.”Should King leave the Suns, Cameron denied it would represent a “vote of no confidence” in the club.Cameron said high-profile forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan had not met contractual triggers to assure him of a return in 2026. The former Bulldog has attempted to rebuild his life on the Gold Coast, but was recently involved in a toilet cubicle controversy with teammate Mac Andrew.“Jamarra’s personal life, it’s miles ahead of where it was this time last year, there is no doubt about that,” Cameron said.“What he has found out is, having 18 months out of football, not having the right lifestyle, [and] not being in an environment that helps him be at his best, makes it really difficult to step back into AFL footy. He has had niggles along the way, he had a clean-up on his knee, a bad ankle, some calf tightness, [and] we need to see how we get to the end of the year before we make that call.”Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners