Carlton had a much improved year under the new regime of Brendon Bolton, recording three more wins than the previous year under Mick Malthouse.
The Blues also showed a hunger and desire to win that fans had been crying out for, which gives the Carlton faithful hope going into 2017 and beyond.
Defence
Carlton’s defensive set up was terrific taking into account the talent they have at their disposal, but their defence is inexperienced, with second pick in the 2015 national draft Jacob Weitering the supposed cornerstone for the next ten years.
The Blues also paid a high price for gun Giants recruit Caleb Marchbank, who is a ready-made AFL defender, and the year before did the same thing in recruiting Lachie Plowman. Sam Docherty and Kade Simpson are both All Australian calibre, the latter however is in one of his last seasons.
The Carlton defence seems to be the only position on the ground that is seemingly set in stone for the next five to ten seasons, and 2017 is a stepping stone to proving that.
Midfield
The midfield mix of youth and experience is what’s needed for a rebuilding team.
Captain Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs are the star senior players, along with Ed Curnow. The best and most promising midfielder is Patrick Cripps, who will be one of the premier players in the competition over the next few years.
Carlton recruited promising young midfielders Sam Petrevski-Seton and Zac Fisher in last year’s national draft, along with Sam Kerridge and Rhys Palmer to help out the contested ball.
Their strength is no doubt around the clearances, where they have been among the best in the competition for last two or three years, however they have still wallowed around the bottom of the ladder due to their poor disposal (ranked 13th in clangers per game) and spread from the contest, which they have tried to address with Fisher and Petrevski-Seton.
Carlton’s midfield has the markings of being great, but still has plenty to learn – hopefully they learn quick.
Forward line
This is one of the worst forward lines in recent memory – Levi Casboult isn’t good enough to play at AFL level with his kicking skills, Sam Rowe is an honest footballer but can’t lead an attack, and young Harry McKay hasn’t yet played a game so shouldn’t have high expectations placed on him.
The small forward stocks are there, but whether the talent is AFL standard is yet to be seen. Youngster Jack Silvagni is a bright prospect, and journeymen Sam Kerridge and Mathew Wright were recruited as stop gaps, but they will be hoping Jarrod Picket and Liam Sumner can step up and take the reins.
This forward line will hold the football club until either youngsters develop or they recruit big names from opposition clubs.
Summary
It might be a case of one step forward and two steps back. This season will be all about watching the young players improve, as well as showing the desire to win as they did last year. Brendon Bolton’s second year as a senior coach will be harder, and will test his character.
Predicted finish: 18th
Carlton FC season preview
Best 22:
FB: Dylan Buckley, Caleb Marchbank, Lachie Plowman
CHB: Sam Docherty, Jacob Weitering, Kade Simpson
C: Dennis Armfield, Ed Curnow, Marc Murphy
CHF: Charlie Curnow, Levi Casboult, Jack Silvagni
FF: Mathew Wright, Sam Rowe, Harry McKay
F: Mathew Kruezer, Patrick Cripps, Bryce Gibbs
IC: Liam Sumner, Dale Thomas, Sam Petrevski – Seton, Jarrod Pickett
The Original Buzz
Guest
I would swap Rowe for Alex Silvagni maybe. 18th is harsh, 16th at worst would be my guess, more likely 14 or 15th. Maybe we could get Darcy Vescio into the forward line?
The Original Buzz
Guest
I admire your enthusiasm and optimism. Be prepared to have that bubble burst though.
Bored
Guest
Was up at Princes Park a couple of weeks back Casboult has a new kick. He might have taken a look at the Peter Hudson kicking video on youtube. He could do anything now. He is observing the '3 points of alignment method'. Will be a superstar. A side note, does anyone not agree that Pavlich was a downhill skier?
ken oath
Guest
Sam Rowe at FF, righto buddy,
Macca
Guest
Does Sav Rocca count as a footy angel? ;) The forward line has a way to go but it is a damn sight better than this time last year.
Craig Delaney
Roar Pro
Good to see the Blues have turned the corner, if only for Macca's sake. No tall forward targets in sight, unless Levi has been visited by the Footy Angel. So, hard to see enough scores to make an impact. 18th is a sad and probably too pessimistic prediction. Bottom four.
Macca
Guest
I wouldn't agree with an of these assessments but Casboult is apparently the best bench presser in the AFL - apparently he pressed 160kg over the pre-season.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Bored, you are Funny!
Macca
Guest
Agree with that Col but I would also add that if we can get 20 plus games out of all 3 of Murphy, Cripps and Gibbs it will help as well. 2014 we only had Murphy & Gibbs, 2015 we really only had Murphy and Cripps and last year we really only had Cripps and Gibbs. All 3 together with someone like Cuningham jumping up should see us competitive in more games.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
I think the big improvement for the Blues this year will come via the coaching panel. Apart from Barker and Capuano the other coaches were new to the Blues. Bolton not only spent a lot of time introducing a new game plan but also driving the whole club in a new and better direction. From his days at Hawthorn he knew that to be successful the whole club needed to work as one and fully committed to the same goals. The Carlton club today is a lot different to the the club Bolton first walked into. Now that that area has been fixed we will see Bolton focused 100% on the development and improvement of the playing list. As I have previously stated a bottom six position is the most likely but I expect to see a team that will be more competitive the whole season and a few shock wins won't surprise me.
Macca
Guest
Hopefully Pickett will be able to rotate through a little bit as well.
Brinnx
Guest
Agree, really need to find 1 if not 2 class midfielders pronto, I have high hopes for Cunningham and I believe SPS will be able to contribute pretty quickly this season.
Macca
Guest
Brinnx - I reckon he might pinch hit forward but I think as much as possible the blues will want to get Weitering, Plowman, Marchbank and Docherty (plus possibly Buckley if his season is as good as his pre-season) to play together as much as possible. They are the backline for the next decade - the quicker they get familiar with each other the better. A forward line of Casboult, C Curnow Silvagni and McKay looks pretty good for marking forwards (even if they are very young) - how many games they will play together is the question but as I said to aransan below - I would go with them for at least the first 5 rounds and see what happens from there.
Brinnx
Guest
Macca, What do you think of Weitering playing forward with SSOSOSOS and C Curnow for the majority of the season? The backline looks to have enough talent now to release him further up the ground, and boy do we need a marking forward.
Macca
Guest
Aransan - The JLT series will give us more of an idea but I was a selector I would look to play him for the first 5 rounds (Richmond, Melbourne, Essendon, Gold Coast (h) and Port (a)) and see what happens after that. The blues should be half a chance in all 5 games and at least if he goes back to the VFL after that he has a clear idea on the standard he needs to achieve. He also would have played in front of big crowds, at the MCG , Etihad and travelled interstate.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
This has got to be satire, right? Right?
Aransan
Guest
Macca, 6 games without significant injury would be a pass mark and 10 games would be top. Two or three games at a time would be the way to go. Presumably we will see him in the pre-season games and he will need to show something. Rory Lobb might be an interesting comparison, he is 24y.o. and has played 35 games after a breakout year in 2016. The general belief is that he will be an outstanding player: http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/player-profile/rory-lobb
Macca
Guest
Agree on Palmer and Kerridge plus The blues would be hoping Cuningham Builds on his promising signs lastly and they also seem to be planning to play Smedts through the middle as well.
Bored
Guest
Never know, they could do a Doggies and go the whole way. There are some positives - Best mark in AFL: Casboult Best ruckman in AFL: Kruezer Best mid in AFL: Cripps Best back in AFL: Weitering Conclusion: Look out, the Blues are back!
TomC
Roar Guru
I think they're a bit more developed than the Lions, so I'd expect them to avoid the wooden spoon. Nevertheless, their team looks somewhat ragged. One of Sam Kerridge or Rhys Palmer probably has to be in the 22, if only because after Murphy, Gibbs, Cripps and Curnow the midfield drops away alarmingly - that team doesn't really have enough genuine midfielders to cover their rotations.