Forget Cripps, Curnow and Walsh - the unsung Blues heroes driving Carlton's premiership push
The Blues have truly stood up and are a genuine flag threat in 2024 and they have their younger brigade of troops to thank for it.
Injuries are renowned for ruining seasons for certain teams, but when a club finds itself in a situation where the team’s success is dependent on the health of one player, they’re in deep trouble.
Injuries this year to Jonathan Brown, Brian Lake, Jobe Watson and Aaron Sandilands, have shown the fragility of clubs whose structures falter in star-absence.
The injury to Daniel Merritt has shortened Brisbane’s hopes of avoiding a wooden spoon furthermore.
Looking at Collingwood and Geelong, there has not been a sole dependence on one single player and therefore, an even spread across the team has led to premiership success.
This is a no-brainer.
Taking a look at each team, let’s assess the dependence on one or two players from each team and rank the team between 0-10. Ten being an ideal spread and 0 being dire straits.
Adelaide – Ben Rutten – 7
Brisbane – Jonathan Brown/Daniel Merritt – 2
Carlton – Chris Judd/Michael Jamieson – 8
Collingwood – Darren Jolly – 10
Essendon – Jobe Watson – 4
Fremantle – Aaron Sandilands – 5
Geelong – Harry Taylor – 9
Gold Coast – Gary Ablett – 5
Hawthorn – Josh Gibson – 5
Melbourne – James Frawley – 6
North Melbourne – Andrew Swallow/Drew Petrie – 5
Port Adelaide – Troy Chaplin – 0
Richmond – Jack Rewoldt – 6
St Kilda – Nick Rewoldt – 4
Sydney – Adam Goodes – 6
West Coast – Matt Priddis – 8
Western Bulldogs – Brian Lake – 6
The teams who scored low are either proven failures in the absence of their key player or they simply have weak depth afterwards. With draft luck the way it is today, I suspect it would take three to five years to turn a
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The Blues have truly stood up and are a genuine flag threat in 2024 and they have their younger brigade of troops to thank for it.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
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