Carlton Blues 2018 AFL season preview, best 22 and predicted finish

Heading into their second season under Brendon Bolton, the Navy Blue army were buoyant after a promising 2016 campaign that yielded seven wins.

Carlton started out competitively in 2017, going down with a fight to both Richmond and Melbourne before snagging an upset victory over arch-rivals Essendon at a rain-soaked MCG.

After a 90-point thumping at the hands of Port Adelaide, the Blues responded with back-to-back wins against a struggling Sydney outfit and a Collingwood side celebrating their 125th anniversary.

Carlton then went into the mid-season bye on the back of three consecutive losses, but came back from the break refreshed and in-form. They managed to pull off one of the upsets of the season in Round 12, defeating the Giants by one point at Etihad Stadium, before flying up to the Gold Coast and beating the Suns.

The Blues remained competitive for the remainder of the season but the losses started to stack up, and Carlton failed to win a game between Rounds 14 and 21.

The Blues snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Hawks in the penultimate round of the season to avoid the wooden spoon, but finished the year on a disappointing note, going down to a Lance Franklin-inspired Swans by 81 points.

Bolton’s men ended in 16th position on the ladder, with just 24 wins from their last 88 games.

There was little official movement from Carlton until late in the trade period, with their first major move coming after 231-game star Bryce Gibbs repeated his request from last year to be traded to the Adelaide Crows.

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

After a deal couldn’t be struck in 2016, the former number one draft pick finally got his wish, landing in South Australia along with pick 77 at the national draft and a future second and third round selection, the Blues receiving picks 10, 16, 73 and Adelaide’s future second rounder in return.

Carlton then acquired the services of out-of-favour Port Adelaide ruckman Matthew Lobbe, before grabbing young Greater Western Sydney midfielder Matthew Kennedy thanks to a swap of picks with the Western Bulldogs.

Carlton’s final involvement in the trade period came when they picked up Geelong forward Darcy Lang and a future fourth rounder, in exchange for pick 58 and their own future fourth round pick. Ex-Roo Aaron Mullett also joined the club as a delisted free agent.

A number of players departed the club at the end of 2017, completing a radical list overhaul that has changed the entire look of the football club. Fan favourite Dennis Armfield announced his retirement at the end of the season, as did ruck pair Daniel Gorringe and Matthew Korcheck.

Former GWS first round draft selections Kristian Jaksch and Liam Sumner were both delisted, as were Andrew Gallucci, Dylan Buckley, Rhys Palmer, Blaine Boekhorst, Ciaran Sheehan, Simon White and Billie Smedts.

Armed with two top ten selections at the national draft, the Blues selected midfield prodigy Paddy Dow at pick three, before grabbing speedster Lochie O’Brien at selection ten, with both hailing from the Bendigo Pioneers.

At pick 30, Tom De Koning became a Blue, before another Pioneer in Angus Schumacher landed at the club via selection 70. With the final pick in the draft, Carlton handed a lifeline to former Gold Coast first round pick Jarrod Garlett.

With the one and only selection in the pre-season draft, Carlton decided to give another experienced player a crack at the big time, selecting former Port Adelaide defender Cam O’Shea. In the rookie draft, the Blues selected former Gold Coast speedster Matt Shaw, while they added Category B rookie Cillian McDaid from Ireland.

Playing list

1. Jack Silvagni
2. Paddy Dow*
3. Marc Murphy (C)
4. Lochie O’Brien*
5. Sam Petrevski-Seton
6. Kade Simpson
7. Matthew Kennedy*
8. Matthew Kreuzer
9. Patrick Cripps
10. Harry McKay
11. Sam Kerridge
12. Tom De Koning*
13. Jed Lamb
14. Liam Jones
15. Sam Docherty
16. Darcy Lang*
17. Sam Rowe
18. Aaron Mullett*
19. Angus Schumacher*
20. Lachie Plowman
21. Jarrod Garlett*
22. Caleb Marchbank
23. Jacob Weitering
24. Cameron O’Shea*
25. Zac Fisher
26. Harrison Macreadie
27. Matthew Lobbe*
28. David Cuningham
29. Cameron Polson
30. Charlie Curnow
31. Tom Williamson
32. Nick Graham
33. Jarrod Pickett
34. Andrew Phillips
35. Ed Curnow
36. Patrick Kerr
37. Matt Shaw (R)*
38. Ciaran Byrne
39. Dale Thomas
40. Jesse Glass-McCasker (R)
41. Levi Casboult
42. Kym LeBois (R)
44. Alex Silvagni (R)
45. Cillian McDaid (R)*
46. Matthew Wright
*Denotes new player

Best 22
FB: Lachie Plowman, Liam Jones, Caleb Marchbank
HB: Aaron Mullett, Jacob Weitering, Kade Simpson
C: Ed Curnow, Patrick Cripps, Zac Fisher
HF: Jarrod Pickett, Levi Casboult, Charlie Curnow
FF: Jack Silvagni, Harry McKay, Matthew Wright
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Marc Murphy
I/C: Jed Lamb, David Cuningham, Paddy Dow, Matthew Kennedy
EMG: Darcy Lang, Ciaran Byrne, Tom Williamson

Sam Docherty was not considered in the best 22 due to tearing his ACL during pre-season training.

The star
He might only enter the 2018 campaign at the tender age of 21 with just 27 games under his belt, but Charlie Curnow stamped himself as one of the young guns of the future with an outstanding second season in 2017.

The 194cm forward missed just one match, averaging 14.1 disposals, 5.7 marks and 2.9 tackles while having an impact up forward with 20.12 and 12 goal assists. With his muscular, tall frame, Curnow draws comparisons to a young Anthony Koutoufides, and he looks well and truly on the way to emulating the greats of the former Blue.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Ready to breakout
Despite standing at just 175cm and weighing 68kg, Zac Fisher quickly fought his way into Carlton’s best 22 in his debut season, playing his first game in Round 4. Fisher missed just two matches for the remainder of the season, impressing with his speed, agility and ball-handling.

A one-touch player, Fisher already looks comfortably in Carlton’s best 22 and after another pre-season, might be ready to take his game to the next level.

Needs a big year
After bursting onto the scene as a 20-year-old to become the second-youngest player in Carlton’s history to win the best and fairest, Patrick Cripps has been hampered by injury issues of late, restricting his ability to contribute to the Blues’ outfit as an out-and-out ball-winning star. Heading into 2017, Cripps was shaking off a stress reaction in his back which affected his early-season form, before a broken leg in Round 16 cut his campaign short.

If Cripps can get a full pre-season under his belt, he will be an incredibly valuable commodity to the Carlton midfield for season 2018.

Last chance
Having scraped 38 games together from his five years on the list, Nick Graham is facing a year in which he must perform to earn a contract beyond 2018. The speedy midfielder has never played more than 12 matches in a season, and is always on another level when playing in the VFL.

His form in the senior side is never compelling enough to remain in the team, so he must work on becoming more consistent and damaging with ball in hand. With the recruitment of top ten draft picks in Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien, Graham’s position in the pecking order may fall further, which makes his task of impressing Brendon Bolton even harder.

New colours
For the fourth consecutive year, the Blues secured a talented youngster from Greater Western Sydney’s grasp during the trade period, acquiring young midfielder Matthew Kennedy. Originally a first round draft selection, Kennedy had a productive second season at the Giants in 2017, averaging 17.2 disposals, 3.2 marks, 4.6 tackles and 2.6 clearances from 16 matches.

Following the loss of Bryce Gibbs, there is a spot up for grabs in the Carlton midfield and Kennedy appears best-placed to grab it. Darcy Lang will also be hoping that a change of scenery can bring out his best football after 44 games in four seasons with Geelong.

The kid
Bendigo Pioneers pair Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien both arrive at Ikon Park with plenty of expectations on their shoulders having been drafted inside the top ten at this year’s national draft. Dow, the third selection from the pool, has explosive speed which helps create separation at stoppages as an inside midfielder, while he has terrific goal sense and can play inside 50, having booted seven majors in a match for Geelong Grammar during his underage years.

O’Brien, who snuck into the top ten of the draft, will spend the next ten years running up and down the wings for Carlton thanks to his top-notch endurance that saw him finish second in the 2km time trial at the AFL Draft Combine. He also possesses a great left-foot kick, and Navy blue fans should be buoyant about their 2017 draft haul purely on the back of these two selections.

(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Supercoach star
After a year cruelled by an ankle injury in 2016, Marc Murphy reminded the football world how valuable he is when fully fit with an outstanding season this year. The Blues’ skipper didn’t miss a game, averaging a career-high 29.8 possessions a match along with 5.8 marks, 3.9 tackles and 4.5 clearances. It was also Murphy’s best season in Supercoach for five years, averaging 108.2 points per match, with eight scores above 120 points.

Fixture

Round 1: Richmond (MCG)
Round 2: Gold Coast (Etihad)
Round 3: Collingwood (MCG)
Round 4: North Melbourne (Blundstone Arena)
Round 5: West Coast (MCG)
Round 6: Western Bulldogs (Etihad Stadium)
Round 7: Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)
Round 8: Essendon (MCG)
Round 9: Melbourne (MCG)
Round 10: Geelong (GMHBA Stadium)
Round 11: Sydney (SCG)
Round 12: Bye
Round 13: Fremantle (Etihad Stadium)
Round 14: Collingwood (MCG)*
Round 15: Port Adelaide (MCG)
Round 16: Brisbane (Gabba)
Round 17: St Kilda (Etihad Stadium)
Round 18: Hawthorn (Etihad Stadium)
Round 19: Gold Coast (Metricon Stadium)*
Round 20: Greater Western Sydney (Etihad Stadium)
Round 21: Fremantle (Optus Stadium)*
Round 22: Western Bulldogs (Etihad Stadium)*
Round 23: Adelaide (Etihad Stadium)*
*Denotes rematch

The Blues will take part in one of the biggest season openers in recent years when they take on the reigning premiers Richmond on a Thursday night in Round 1.

Carlton leave Victoria just twice in the opening ten weeks, and will make just one trip each to Perth and Adelaide. They will head to Queensland twice, while they will go to Sydney, Hobart and Geelong once.

Return matches against fierce rival Collingwood presents an opportunity to bank two wins, as do two games against the Suns. Also, despite their recent poor form on the field, Carlton have been awarded a return to prime time, with five games scheduled for Thursday and Friday nights, up from two and none in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

The quirk
Quite a few things to notice with Carlton’s 2018 fixture. They will play their first ever match in Hobart under lights at Blundstone Arena in Round 4 against North Melbourne, while it will be the Blues’ second trip to the Apple Isle in their history.

Carlton’s venture down the highway to Geelong in Round 10 will be their first match at Kardinia Park since 1997. For interest’s sake, the venue, now known as GMHBA Stadium, has changed names six times since the Blues’ last visit.

Carlton will also host Fremantle at Etihad Stadium for the first time since 2013, breaking a run of four consecutive games at Subiaco Oval, while the Blues will head to South Australia to face the Crows, something they haven’t done since 2010, remarkably.

Don’t miss it
The rivalry between Carlton and Essendon hasn’t reached any meaningful heights in the past ten years (apart from a final in 2011), but with the Blues set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1968 premiership over the Bombers in Round 8 at the MCG, tempers will no doubt be high between the two clubs who simply hate each other. Expect a crowd in excess of 65,000.

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Make other plans
In a confusing scheduling arrangement, the Blues will head to Sydney to take on the Swans on a Friday night in Round 11. It is an odd choice to have this game as top billing for the round, given the Blues have lost their last five matches at the SCG by an average of 48 points, and have won just once at the venue in the past 23 years.

With Sydney one of the teams in the league challenging for the premiership in 2018, it could be a game that gets ugly fast.

Final word
There is no doubt that the Blues are on the right track. The deadwood has been cut from the playing list, replaced by exciting youngsters with plenty of promise.

There are a few holes in the best 22 on paper. Levi Casboult desperately needs a fellow tall for assistance close to goal, and Bryce Gibbs’ departure to Adelaide leaves a huge gap in the midfield.

The defence is not without issues either, as Sam Docherty’s recent rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament robs the Blues of their All-Australian playmaker for 2018.

Once again, Brendon Bolton’s baby Blues will be competitive and they will pinch a couple of wins against unsuspecting opponents, but it is likely to be another year at the foot of the table for Carlton supporters, something they have grown quite used to in the last 15 years.

Predicted finish: 16th