Updated August 22, 2026 — 11:38pm,first published 8:34pmIn today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:Carlton CEO Graham Wright opened up on the future of Elijah Hollands on the day their wildcard opponent was locked in.Scott Pendlebury and Brayden Maynard are both set to miss the Pies’ wildcard clash with the Bulldogs.Elijah Hollands could have played his final game for us: Carlton CEOBy Danny Russell and Russell BennettCarlton chief executive Graham Wright doubts Elijah Hollands will return to play for the club as the Blues set their sights on a remarkable wildcard final against Melbourne.Wright was speaking before Carlton’s barnstorming win against ladder leader Fremantle at Marvel Stadium, a victory that sees Josh Fraser’s side hit the finals series with undeniable momentum. The Blues, who finished the home-and-away season in 10th, will now face the 7th-placed Demons in one wildcard final next week, while the Bulldogs will host Collingwood in the other.Elijah Hollands suffered a mental health episode during a game early this season.AFL PhotosHollands, the 24-year-old midfielder-forward, hasn’t played at any level since round six of the AFL season, when he experienced a mental health episode on the field against Collingwood at the MCG.The Blues were later fined $75,000 for bringing the game into disrepute over their handling over the matter in April after the AFL said Hollands should have been removed from the field earlier than he was, citing visual clues, performance data during the match, and knowledge of his individual circumstances.“These findings have been made against the Carlton Football Club collectively, not against any individual,” league CEO Andrew Dillon said in a press conference in May.Speaking on 3AW on Saturday, Wright was asked directly if he thought Hollands would return to play at the club.“I doubt it,” he said, adding that Hollands continues to receive support.Hollands (right) with then-Blues coach Michael Voss after the loss to Collingwood.AFL Photos“That’s coming through the club, but also, too, wider than that,” he said.“He hasn’t been back to the club, and he’s considering what he does, but certainly we’re just trying to be there and support him.“We’ll work out what that looks like from a futuristic point of view a little bit later on.”The Blues fell four goals behind against the Dockers in the opening 12 minutes on Saturday, looking slow, outnumbered and second-rate. That’s when the Fraser way took hold.They rallied to close to within three points at the first break, led by 11 points at half-time and then dominated the second half to win 18.11 (119) to 12.10 (82). They had 114 more disposals and 56 more marks.The key to the early turnaround, midfield star Sam Walsh revealed, was “not making it a bit a bigger deal than it needed to be”.“At the moment, we’re probably assessing what’s not working and changing in game, which has been a growth,” he told The Age.Carlton’s growth since round 10 was enormous.They had a devastating 1-8 start to the season and a series of second-half fadeouts that cost Michael Voss his job. They were continually hamstrung by the absence of a Plan B. Not any more.Under Fraser, they have catapulted themselves into the wild card round with an ominous momentum, winning 11 of their final 14 matches of the home-and-away season.But did they ever think finals were possible?“No, we couldn’t have,” Walsh said. “But the best thing we have done is that we didn’t even speak of getting to that point.“Like we focus on, when Frase took over, what do we want to stand for? And then, from there, how do we get after it every week?”Getting after it was second nature for Walsh on Saturday. He was again outstanding. He had 32 possessions and kicked a goal against Fremantle to marginally shade boy wonder Jagga Smith, who helped himself to 31 disposals and also booted a major.Harry McKay with the Blues faithful after stunning the Dockers at Marvel Stadium.AFL PhotosBut it was the performance of the lesser lights under Fraser that helped the Blues climb into the finals.Cult hero Frankie Evans booted five goals against the Dockers, Gold Coast recruit Ben Ainsworth managed three and former Sydney rebound defender Ollie Florent was instrumental in their attacking thrusts, amassing 29 disposals at Marvel Stadium in their final home-and-away game.Even the returned Ollie Hollands had an opportunity to shine. He brought the Carlton faithful to their feet with an inspiring run-down tackle on super villain Patrick Voss that saved a certain goal.But despite this growing adulation and rising expectation from the success-starved Blues army, there was no way the new Blues coach would allow the lid to come off. That was old Carlton.“I think the context of where we’ve come from, and maybe the context of the club more broadly, that maybe in the past it’s been outcome-based,” Fraser said.“Maybe I’m speculating a little bit because I haven’t really lived it. But we’ve got a method right now that is working for us, and I think if we stray too far away from that, then there’s some danger attached to it as well.”Fraser was right. While the Blues had beaten flag favourites Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions in the past month, there were caveats attached to those wins, especially on Saturday.The Dockers were not at their best. They left Murphy Reid, Jye Amiss, Heath Chapman and Sam Switkowski in Perth.They also treated their bench like a game of musical chairs, constantly managing the game time of their biggest names – Luke Jackson, Caleb Serong, Alex Pearce and Shai Bolton.Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said he was disappointed in the loss, but he was hardly convincing.“I thought we got out of it pretty well in terms of what we wanted to do with minimising risk and game time,” Longmuir said.The low point for the Dockers was losing Brennan Cox with a calf injury that will rule him out of their first final in a fortnight.“There was a lot of moving parts today in terms of the team we picked, who we left out, and then Coxy going down didn’t help,” Longmuir said.“But we’ll put it behind us pretty quickly, and reflect on the season. And we should have really good belief [going forward].”The Blues stand to regain Nick Haynes and Will Hayward next week, and were able to rest key defender Jacob Weitering for a large slice of the final term.Pendlebury’s playing future clouded following injuryBy Jon PierikScott Pendlebury will miss Collingwood’s cutthroat wildcard final next week against the Bulldogs and could well have played his final match in black and white.The Magpies revealed on Saturday that the VFL/AFL games-record holder (on 442) had suffered a hamstring strain in the club’s loss to the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Friday night, ruling him out for “two to three weeks”.Will Ashcroft and Scott Pendlebury after their blockbuster clash on Friday night.AFL PhotosIn a further blow to Collingwood, rugged defender Brayden Maynard strained the MCL in his left knee during a Saturday-morning training session and will also miss their wildcard clash against the Western Bulldogs next week.The Bulldogs have a worry of their own. Despite a courageous 21-point win over Melbourne at the MCG to hold on to eighth place, the Dogs will sweat on an ankle injury to key forward Aaron Naughton, who hobbled from the ground after landing heavily in a marking contest.The Pendlebury injury will leave coach Craig McRae lamenting a decision to play his veteran leader in a match that ultimately had no bearing on their ladder position. Many felt he should have rested the former skipper.“These are obviously disappointing setbacks for both Scott and Brayden,” Magpies head of football Charlie Gardiner said on Saturday afternoon.“Scott experienced tightness in the back of his knee during last night’s game. Scans earlier today confirmed a hamstring strain, and we expect Scott to be sidelined for two to three weeks.“Brayden unfortunately left the track early this morning during a training session, with scans confirming he sustained a grade one MCL strain. This is the same knee but unrelated to his earlier injury.“These are unfortunate setbacks, especially at this time of year but Scott and Brayden are absolute professionals and will do all they can to get back as quickly as possible.”Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend, and 1990 Collingwood premiership coach, Leigh Matthews said it would be wrong for Collingwood to allow Pendlebury to make his own call on his playing future, declaring the Magpies needed to deliver honest feedback.Pendlebury, 38, finished the clash against the Lions with what was initially thought to be a knee bursa issue (swelling near the joint).He is set to become an unrestricted free agent, with several clubs linked to his services if he opts to play elsewhere in 2027.Magpies president Barry Carp said on Friday night that the choice was in Pendlebury’s hands, but Matthews said any decision should largely be the club’s call.“Not in my opinion, it’s never the player’s call,” Matthews told 3AW on Saturday.“But Scott Pendlebury is a high-class person. If [coach] Craig McRae and the football people said: ‘We think it’s probably time’, I think he would accept that. And that’s the way the conversation should go.“But a player just can’t say, ‘I want to play, I don’t care if you don’t think I am up to it, I just want to play and I want a contract.’“But even Barry Carp, I don’t think he would go that far. I think if the football department said: ‘No, we just think it’s time’, I probably suspect Scott Pendlebury would accept that himself.“It’s a joint conversation, but it can’t be unilaterally [that] the player decides, otherwise he would play until he is 50.”Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners