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A frank assessment of where Carlton are at

21st May, 2018
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Brendon Bolton has been sacked - but was that the right call? (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
21st May, 2018
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2603 Reads

On the weekend, Carlton suffered their seventh heaviest lost in the club’s history, going down to a rampant Melbourne by 109 points.

The knives are again out for Brendan Bolton, with the coach having to explain at the press conference where the Blues went wrong.

We don’t need to judge Bolton based on this season, the club is in its third year rebuild and he has admitted that this is the toughest year in the club’s long road back to success.

Honestly though, the Dees defeated a VFL side at the MCG. Carlton didn’t their best 22 out there.

The integral Sam Docherty is out for the season with an ACL injury, while no Caleb Marchbank, Ciaran Byrne or Tom Williamson down back has hurt as well. Veteran defender Alex Silvagni is another on the long-term injury list.

Losing both Curnows – Ed through suspension and Charlie due to a tight quad – didn’t help, while captain Marc Murphy has just returned from an injury sustained minutes before the Round 4 clash against North Melbourne.

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Big man Andrew Phillips played for the Northern Blues, and out-of-form duo Jacob Weitering and Jack Silvagni are trying hard to get considered for selection.

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That is where Carlton’s main 22 have been.

It was good to see young Patrick Kerr get a run, and Harry McKay is slowly going from strength to strength as the new key forward.

Aaron Mullett, Sam Kerridge, Nick Graham, Jed Lamb and Cameron O’Shea will not be there long-term, as the club looks to who is up for discussion during free agency.

Former Port superstar Kane Cornes suggested on the Sunday Footy Show that out-of-contract Collingwood forward Jordan De Goey could be a fantastic acquisition for the Blues, while general manager of football Andrew McKay reckons the Blues will be filling the gaping holes of the mature age bracket of 22-26 to help the youngsters out.

Another player Carlton should look at is Dylan Shiel. The 25-year-old Giant is one of the best midfielders in the competition right now, and Carlton should secure another number 1 pick if they finish bottom this year – why not part with it for Shiel, who can come in and help Murphy, Patrick Cripps, the Curnows and Zac Fisher through the midfield.

It is not all doom and gloom at Carlton – their list is in better shape than Essendon, St Kilda and Collingwood’s put together, and Bolton is slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

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