CARLTON coach Michael Voss says young midfielder Ollie Hollands is expected to return against St Kilda next week after the club opted to withdraw him from Saturday night's clash against Fremantle following a difficult week. 

Hollands' brother and teammate Elijah Hollands was admitted to hospital this week after experiencing what the Blues have labelled a mental health episode during the round six loss to Collingwood. 

DOCKERS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

Ollie Hollands travelled to Perth with the Blues and wanted to play on Saturday night, but Voss said the circumstances of the week led the club to withdraw the wingman, with the team going on to produce a fighting 14-point loss against the Dockers. 

"It's been a big week for everyone, and a big week for the family. He wanted to play. He's an absolute competitor, (but) we just felt with how the week has played out, it'd be better to maybe sit this one out," Voss said on Saturday night. 

"He's in a good space, but we obviously felt like it was probably the better way to go.

"It was important to be around his mates. Football clubs are amazing like that. We can talk a lot about what's happened, but football clubs and how we embrace our people and how we look after our people is the thing you love. 

"Having that sense of belonging to someone and something … it was probably a good opportunity for us to be able to travel to be honest and come away as a football team with a mission."

Carlton challenged Fremantle for periods of Saturday night's clash but lost the game in a five-minute burst at the start of the fourth quarter, which saw the Dockers kick four unanswered goals and turn an 18-point lead into a 42-point buffer. 

Voss said the team's response, kicking five of the last six goals and winning the final quarter, was significant after a challenging week for the club. 

"This was a really important game for us to get a response. It's fine to talk about what we stand for as a football club, but at the end of the day, when we walk on that grass, how we conduct ourselves is very, very important," Voss said. 

"Every time we were challenged, we responded. This game doesn't always go your way, but you can choose your response. And what I felt we did right throughout the week is we gave that response. 

"We couldn't get our hands on the ball from stoppages early … we responded. We had some centre square bounce [goals] kicked against us. We responded. Last quarter, they put a few minutes on, we could have given up. We responded. 

"We're a much better version of ourselves than what we were a month ago. But clearly we're at the point where a good team like Fremantle can flex, and we just can't minimise that scoring damage."

Voss said key forward Harry McKay (concussion) would return against the Saints, while ruck Marc Pittonet was a chance after undergoing an operation for a hand injury. 

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir was disappointed with his team's "sloppy finish" to the game but pleased that the group continued to find different ways to win matches, with centre square ascendency crucial on Saturday night. 

The Dockers won the centre clearances 17-12 and were able to kick several crucial goals directly out of the middle, with ruck Luke Jackson producing a thrilling performance that included two running goals.

"He's unique. He's a good aerial player and a good tap ruckman, but he's just as good at ground level, because once he hits the deck, he becomes another midfielder," Longmuir said. 

"I thought he did a great job, and he's pretty electric when he gets up and about like that.

"He's become fitter with his running, a huge step up from last year, and he's become a lot stronger as well.

"He's really put the time into the gym, and he's able to stand there and wrestle with the rucks as well now and not just rely on his jump. So he's evolved all aspects of his game."

Shai Bolton was awarded the Arthur Leggett Medal as best afield, with Longmuir praising the star midfielder's contested game after finishing with 33 disposals, eight tackles and two important goals early in the final term. 

The coach said star forward Josh Treacy was fine post-match after playing on following a "little hyperextension" to his elbow in the first quarter. 

The Dockers have now won six games in a row, but Longmuir said it did not feel that way and there was a lot of improvement left in the team's game. 

"We were disappointed with the last 20 minutes and I said to them, it's a good position to be in, sitting here knowing that we've got work to do with our game and to get it to the level we want. But we've won six in a row," he said. 

"Sometimes you finish off the game like that and you can walk off being a little bit disappointed. 

"Games of footy are hard to win, so you need to enjoy them. But we also know that we've got some work to do."

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