Port Adelaide senior coach said he was ‘rapt’ to sign Mitch Georgiades until 2029, with the spearhead continuing to be an integral part of the club’s future. 

The Power heads into Round 24 to take on Essendon this weekend, with Carr approaching the game like any other week, wanting to take home the win. 

Speaking with Adelaide media on Thursday, Carr discussed Georgiades’ extension, Zak Butters’ future and reviewing this season’s injury situation. 

Carr on Mitch Georgiades’ contract extension 
“Obviously we’re rapt as a footy club to have Mitch commit to the club, and he's been an integral part of our direction and where we want to go, and really growing as a as a leader within our football club. So really happy for him, but also for us as a footy club. 

“Always a bit of positive news helps the environment (at the club). Obviously with one week to go, and leading into our last game, it was nice to have that. 

“We’ve been in lots of conversations with him throughout the year, and he's been really positive about what the direction is of the footy club and where he wants to be. So we never really doubted where he'd been playing beyond next year.” 

Carr on Zak Butters’ future 
“We’ll obviously get a better lens on that over the next week or so, I’d say. We have to be realistic, and we've got to understand what the competition looks like when it comes to free agency and trade and players moving. So we prepare for that and had those discussions about what that looks like, but I’ve still got a glimmer of hope (that he will stay at Port Adelaide). He’s obviously played football with us for a long time, and he's got great mates here, and you just never know. We have seen it before with players that get to the end of the year and suss out the whole situation, and then in the end they work out that where they want to be happy, is with us.” 

Carr on injuries this season 
“Well, there's no trend, and sometimes you wish it's a soft tissue, because you can kind of point the finger and say this is what it looks like. So no, we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves or say it’s bad luck. We'll definitely review it and have a good look at the program and see what we can do to help us with those injuries in particular, whether it be a strength thing, whether it be movement, whatever it is, we're making sure we cover all bases.” 

Carr on approaching the Essendon game 
“No differently than the approach with any game this year. There's so much we can work on in our game, and the great part about having some of the young players playing in the team is they get the real life experience of AFL football and trying to transfer our training into our games, and so it’s great opportunity. One game to go to finish strong and get back to playing with some real method.” 

Carr on wanting the win 
“Oh, look, the win for the hour after the game is a great feeling, but really it's always about just getting back to us and our process. Now that's the last game of the year, so to finish off the last game with a win would be nice, but it's not the be-all and end-all for us. So there's a bigger picture.” 

Carr on addressing the Sydney situation with players 
“We've had discussions, starting with our leaders, and I've had plenty of discussions in my office (with players). To be honest, my job as a coach is broader than that. I'm a leader of young men, so it's important that these conversations happen, and we'll continue to have those conversations into next week also. 

“Educating our players and understanding what leadership looks like in and around a group situation…we've got a good group, I think we’ve got some really good young leaders and good young men. So expectations are that we grow that group and it gets bigger and we help each other and we guide each other through these situations. 

“Culture is spoken about a lot, and it takes time to build a really strong culture, and it takes one second to unravel it. So everyone's got to understand that.” 

Carr on the club’s future in the SANFL 
“Without going into detail, there's so much emphasis on wins and losses when it comes to our team in particular, and when you're coaching that team, it can build up on you…in the end, what we want, is we want to develop our players and give our players the best opportunity to develop, and we're working through what that looks like. 

“It's probably more about what we come up against in some ways. When you come up against every other AFL team, they’re in exactly the same situation. So everyone's trying to develop their players, and that's where it starts.”