Stunned by fresh trade talk surrounding his stars, Carlton coach Michael Voss insists he wants both Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay in his attack.
Whether that will be the case against Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night is unclear after McKay didn't train following Voss's press conference on Thursday.
The Blues did not provide any reason for his absence beyond confirming he wasn't training that day.
Voss wasn't buying into suggestions Carlton could look to offload one of their key forwards in Curnow (24 goals) or McKay (nine goals).
"All I would say on that is that they're extremely important to us, since my time here over four years, having those two up front," Voss said.
"I'm also fortunate enough to be able to talk to a lot of opposition coaches and I know both of them come up in conversation quite a lot.
"So when you've got them together, they're genuine assets, they can be distinctive assets for you and distinctive strengths.
"All I'll say is that talking as the coach, I love them both out there, both playing in good form. And I know how hard they are to play against. I know how much better we are when they're both there.
"So from our point of view that makes it a bit of an easy decision when there's any other speculation that comes with it."
Clubs are expected to come for midfielder Sam Walsh, who is a free agent at the end of 2026.
"There's been speculation about our boys over the last week or so. I nearly fell off my day bed in Fiji when I read some of it," Voss said.
"But (they're) hypotheticals, it's really difficult to answer a hypothetical question.
"I think these boys know how valuable they are to us as people and as players, so I tend to deal with what's real as opposed to what's hypothetical."
Carlton, boosted by George Hewett re-signing until the end of 2027, expect Jack Silvagni (groin) and Zac Williams (calf) to be fit after the bye.
"We've had our rest now, there's no excuses for us," Voss said.
"We go out there and put our best foot forward and kick off the second half of the year and obviously we get to do it against an arch-rival."
Voss has put the heat on his midfield to set the tone against Essendon's.
"If we're looking for advancement and we're looking to get better, it's an area that we haven't got right in the last few weeks," he said.
Incoming CEO Graham Wright is expected to have more of an input in the football department as his handover from Brian Cook progresses.
Voss welcomes his experience and advice.
"We've got two seasoned leaders who are extremely experienced at what they do," Voss said.
"From what I've seen, the transition has been fantastic and a great opportunity for our football club. I just don't really see too much of a negative in that."
