GEORGE Hewett didn’t agree, but he understood.
When the reigning Carlton best and fairest was dropped ahead of Gather Round, just four games into the Blues’ season, the news was met with some confusion externally but with an acceptance from Hewett himself.
Hewett had been dropped before, for one game back in 2024, and knew not to wallow. Instead, his focus was set immediately on what he needed to do to return. Three prolific VFL performances later and he was back again.
His return has coincided with the side’s three-match winning streak, with Hewett’s impact in a new role as part of the team’s forward-midfield rotation proving pivotal in an upset victory over Geelong on Friday night.
“It was tough,” Hewett told AFL.com.au after the win against the Cats.
“All you can do is just get to work. It’s happened before to me and I was always pretty confident I was going to get back in. I just needed to play well and have a good attitude. That’s pretty easy for me to do, in terms of having a good attitude about my footy. I knew my time was going to come again and I’m just glad we’re back winning.
“They just wanted to have a different look. It’s hard to agree with that, but I understood it. I was always very confident I would work my way back in. Hopefully, there’s only good times ahead now.”
Hewett hadn’t necessarily struggled during Carlton’s disappointing start to the season, with the Blues instead looking at finding a more dynamic midfield in the veteran’s absence and trialling a host of other options through the engine room.
So, he got to work in the VFL. Hewett averaged 33.7 disposals, 8.3 clearances and six tackles from his three games in the reserves, forcing his way back into the Carlton senior team.
“Sometimes you get a sense,” Hewett said.
“It happened to me before, a couple of years ago, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s all good’. You’ve just got to deal with it the right way. You’ve got to be OK with it, it’s how you respond.
“If you respond well, which I feel like I did in the back end of the 2024 season when I was last dropped and then I had a pretty good year last season, so it was all just about responding well this time.
“I’m a little bit more forward now. I’m swapping with Ben Ainsworth a bit. It’s pretty similar when I’m in the midfield, but it’s been working pretty well. I’ve been lucky enough to hit the scoreboard in the last few weeks and hopefully I can do that a few more times.”
Hewett’s renewed importance in Carlton’s side was highlighted when he started the crucial centre bounce after Jack Henry’s goal with just over two minutes remaining had put Geelong in front on Friday night.
But the Blues responded to the Henry setback and Patrick Cripps’ goal with just 70 seconds on the clock sealed a third straight win, moving the side to 4-8 on the season and back within touching distance of a potential wildcard spot.
“It would’ve been nice to win a couple in the first seven or eight weeks,” Hewett said.
“You can’t look back, though. We’ve just got to keep looking at it one week at a time. That’s all we can do. We’ve got the bye in a couple of weeks and we’ve got a big game on King’s Birthday Eve, so we’ll just see how we go.”
Carlton’s three consecutive victories since Josh Fraser replaced Michael Voss as interim coach have all featured the side withstanding periods of adversity, with Henry’s goal another setback for the Blues to navigate within this stretch.
Carlton players sing the song during the match between Carlton and Geelong at the MCG in round 12, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos
But, while Carlton struggled to recover from similar situations under Voss – notably in giving away sizeable leads in defeats to Sydney, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Collingwood and St Kilda this year – now they’re relishing the challenge and found life in the dying stages of Friday night’s clash.
“I think ‘Vossy’ definitely laid the platform for us to play the right way,” Hewett said.
“He thought that him stepping away might release the pressure. I think the boys are playing like that at the minute. I don’t know, it’s slowly all coming together. The young guys are playing well and have been exciting.
“Tonight we just got the play done and ‘Crippa’ took a pretty clutch mark. There was about 90 seconds left and sometimes you do need structure, but you just need heart and effort in the last minute and I think that’s how we got it done.
