CARLTON youngsters Jagga Smith and Harry Dean are closing on Opening Round debuts, with Blues coach Michael Voss crediting the pair's influence in bringing about a fresh-faced vibe leading into season 2026.

Smith and Dean have both been standouts on the track across the summer and impressed in Wednesday night's scratch match victory over Brisbane, putting the duo in firm contention to feature against Sydney in a fortnight's time.

The timing of their arrivals in Carlton's senior plans has been beneficial, with midfielder Adam Cerra expected to miss up to two months with a hamstring injury and with defender Jacob Weitering still 50/50 to recover from a fractured rib in time for the club's season-opener.

Smith, the No.3 pick in the 2024 draft, missed the entirety of last season with an unfortunate ACL injury but looks primed for a breakout campaign and has almost been assured of his spot in the Blues' team for Opening Round.

"I can say that if he's fit, he's probably going to play," Voss told AFL.com.au on Friday.

"He's had a great pre-season. Over the course of this pre-season, I think he's only just got stronger again. He's copped a lot of attention, quite clearly, but we obviously rated him very highly. That's why we traded up in the first instance.

"We think back 18 months ago to whenever he was drafted … we felt like he was the best player in the draft. That's how highly we rated him.

"To not have him the last 12 months, it was unfortunate. It was one of those uncontrollables. You set a direction and the direction just doesn't quite bite at that particular time. We've bided our time and so has he.

"He's a very competitive, driven kid who in time will elevate us. But we've also got to give him the space to find his own space and own journey. I know, with him being out there and partnering up with the other midfielders, he's going to bring something different to us."

Dean, the son of dual Carlton champion Peter, arrived at the Blues as a father-son recruit with the No.3 pick in last year's draft and has also made an instant impact upon joining the senior squad.

The developing key defender had already looked primed for an early-season debut, but may now be forced into a more prominent role given Weitering's rib injury on AAMI AFL Origin duties and an ankle injury that will force Nick Haynes to be sidelined for the season's opening weeks.

"It was always going a little bit that way," Voss said of Dean's Opening Round chances.

"It'd be too early to absolutely, definitely make the call. I'll tell him first, before I tell you. But I can say it's definitely heading in the right direction.

"We're pumped to have him. We think he's an outstanding young man and he's a great competitor. He's a chip off the old block, in a lot of ways.

"Where we can, we'll give him as much time to develop. All people need to know is if that's time in the VFL, because that's where we think it's best being a young, developing key position defender, then so be it. But if we feel like it's time to play AFL football and feel like he's ready, then you know he's ready.

"The guy's not going to roll out there and be the end product. He's a young key position player and we've got to give him a little bit of time. We'll try to play him a little bit that way as well. We're not here to ask him to play on the 206cm giants. We have to meet him with where he's at.

"But gee, we love what he's done. We love his character, he's got great character. Watching that one passage of play [on Wednesday night], it gave me an insight on what the next 10 or 12 years is going to look like. I loved it, I absolutely loved it."

Weitering's rib injury was one of the most pressing stories out of Victoria's AFL Origin victory over Western Australia last weekend, with the All-Australian defender being stretchered from the field after a nasty landing in a marking contest.

Having been cleared of neck, spine and major internal damage, scans later revealed Weitering suffered a fractured rib that has put him in doubt to face Sydney in Opening Round.

However, Weitering resumed running duties earlier this week, with Voss saying his gun two-time best and fairest has not yet been ruled out from facing the Swans.

"It'll be pretty close. It'd be too tight for me to call right now, other than to say he's definitely not ruled out," Voss said.

"He got moving the other day, which is quite incredible. You're watching TV from home … watching it all unfold, with 15 trainers standing around him. It wasn't exactly the sight I wanted to see within the first 10 minutes of the game. 'Of course it was', that was my first response. Of course, it had to be 'Weiters'.

"But I'm just so thankful he's OK, it could've been far worse. I've seen them go not very well. Clearly, first and foremost was concern around his wellbeing. The fact that he's got support, we do this really well now. That welfare for the player is second to none anywhere. I knew he was in good hands, that's all that really mattered.

"As a parent of kids and watching them play sport, you only ever want them to be healthy and get through OK. They're not great moments, but gee, I am pleased it turned out to be quite minor in the end. It could've been a whole lot worse."

Subscribe to the Your Coach podcast to listen to Riley Beveridge's full interview with Carlton coach Michael Voss in coming days.