AFTER being anointed as Carlton's new list manager, Stephen Silvagni is expected to have the salary cap space to go after rival players next season as the Blues look to build a premiership team.
Silvagni was confirmed as the Blues' general manager of list management and strategy on Thursday at Visy Park.
CEO Steven Trigg said the Blues' salary cap was "jammed up" for 2015 but believed they would have the capacity to supplement the list with experience after that.
Silvagni said he would leave no stone unturned in restoring the list to premiership-winning status but admitted it would be a slow burn.
"I think the foundations are starting to be built," Silvagni said.
"A number of young players have come through the door, the likes of Cripps and Menzel and Buckley.
"But having said that, we understand we've got to bring in more youth, more talent and supplement that with trades and probably explore experienced players and free agency.
"We'll look at everything to make sure we can build a list that's going to be a premiership team and that's going to take some time but we're going to try and get there as quickly as possible."
Trigg admitted the Blues could have gone down a different path in regards to managing the list but chose not to adopt another "quick fix" approach.
He said the recent introduction of younger players who had a few years of experience could potentially be complemented by free agents next year.
"There are no quick fixes to the list," Trigg said.
"It's really fundamentally clear that Carlton does need to build steadily, hold its nerve, build the list with some youth.
"We're really jammed up anyway so our ability to be able to supplement it right now doesn't exist.
"We have to take that youth, we've done it and we haven't gone way too young to make ourselves vulnerable – we could have taken the approach to strip it right back and start again but to be excessively vulnerable doesn't create much success.
''Our ability to then build on that in '16 and '17 with free agency - whether it's a star from another state or this state, remains to be seen.
"Our capacity to be able to do something, in short, in '16 and '17 is very live, so long as we're very disciplined about what we do in managing our current list, up to that point, TPP-wise.''
Trigg added Silvagni was the "extra dimension" the club needed to add to its recruiting and talent identification department.
He also said the 312-game player was "drop-dead perfect" for the job because of his experience across four different clubs, and his Carlton heritage was "a fringe benefit".
"It wasn't about contacts, friendships, Carlton background. It was about being able to get this job done the best we possibly can," he said.
Silvagni finished with Greater Western Sydney following the 2014 NAB AFL Draft after four years at the club.
He said felt he had benefited from his other previous stints at clubs like Collingwood, the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda but had always hoped he'd return to the club with which he had such a strong connection with.
"I always had the view I'd basically grown up around the club from six or seven years of age and then I ended up playing for 17 years," he said.
"Really, the only way I knew was the Carlton way.
"I always felt if I wanted to stay in football, whether that was coaching or administration or whatever other level, I needed to go outside Carlton and experience that and that's what I did.
"I always hoped there may be an opportunity I could come back and when the club came knocking it really did tickle my fancy.
"It's nice to be home. I love wearing the navy blue. I always have."
He will start at Carlton on January 19.
