Footy’s almost back, and I’ll be putting forth four burning questions for each of the AFL’s 18 clubs ahead of the June 11 restart.
It’s Carlton going under the spotlight today. With the equal longest active grand final appearance drought, this dark chapter in an otherwise glittering club history must surely be coming to an end soon.
David Teague’s first official game as Blues senior coach started perilously but, after a second-half comeback, went down as a perfectly respectable four-goal loss to the all-conquering Tigers.
Here are four burning questions for Carlton before Round 2 finally gets underway.
1. What do we make – if anything – of Round 1?
If you’re a glass half-full kind of person, you can say new recruit Jack Martin single-handedly equalled the score of Richmond’s hapless 2019 grand final opponents.
If you’re the opposite, you’ll point out the Blues were 46 points in arrears at halftime and only fought back after their opponents took their foot off the pedal.
One half from that season opener back in March will be used as exhibit A in Carlton showing who they really are in 2020 – and you’d hope it’s the second.
A nine-goal-to-five second half is no mean feat against the Tigers on their home (plus away and finals) deck, and there was plenty to like from ex-Sun Martin (17 disposals, four goals), the ever-reliable Patrick Cripps (31 disposals and 17 contested possessions) and returning co-captain Sam Docherty (26 disposals, nine intercept possessions).
But they also let themselves down with some iffy ball use and terrible efficiency inside 50 – just 21 scoring shots from 54 entries – although, in fairness, they were without key talls Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay. Ex-Saint Jack Newnes also didn’t have a club debut to remember.
Like everyone, we’re going to need a bigger sample size before making any kind of call, but the Blues are probably one of the clubs we know the very least about right now.
Carlton aren’t the first team to get done by Richmond at the ‘G – and they won’t be the last. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
2. How big of a blow is Matthew Kreuzer’s injury?
This one is a heart breaker. The long AFL absence has only been enough to cover half of Kreuzer’s layoff with a fractured foot, with the future of the out-of-contract 31-year-old very much in the air.
But, from a strictly football point of view, it might be the experience injector some prospects need.
The seemingly uneventful acquisition of Marc Pittonet from Hawthorn could prove to be a lifesaver here. If I’m David Teague, I don’t want Harry McKay doing anything but patrolling the forward 50 – especially with Curnow out – and I really question how long Levi Casboult should be getting games ahead of someone like Tom de Koning.
I very much like Teague’s abandonment of Brendon Bolton’s youth policy – tossing kids into the fire and hoping they’ll learn from getting obliterated every week – but it’s time to let young De Koning and Pittonet (who’s only 23 himself) battle it out for ruck duties. If you must play Casboult, put him up forward to keep some attention away from McKay.
3. Hang on, aren’t we supposed to be a young side?
Believe it or not, the Blues were the eighth most experienced side in Round 1 – in both average age and games played. Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy bloat those figures somewhat, but it’s crazy to think they were just three months younger and nine games less experienced than their double-premiership opponents ‘last’ Thursday night.
But, like I said above, Teague has struck the balance between being competitive and blooding youngsters far better than Bolton did and the vastly increased self belief will do the side a world of good.
After all, it was putting wins on the board that got him the job in the first place. I see little wrong with the club’s age range in their best 22.
Is there still room for Kade Simpson? Absolutely. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
4. How much improvement is enough in 2020?
The million-dollar question. Most coaches get something of a carte blanche in their first season but Teague won’t – and shouldn’t – get the same extendable leash.
A stack of honourable losses and honest but unsuccessful efforts will be enough for Brett Ratten, Matthew Nicks and Justin Longmuir. But when you’ve replaced a coach who’d amassed a mountain of honourable losses off the back of a ripping stint as the caretaker, you don’t get to go back to square one.
Carlton’s age and experience across the list puts them firmly in a bracket containing clubs who should all have a flag in mind at the end of the season: West Coast, Geelong, Collingwood, Richmond and GWS – the latter of whom they were more experienced than in Round 1.
I don’t expect the Blues to become sudden top-four contenders in 2020, but it’s the other clubs in that bracket – North Melbourne and Port Adelaide – who they should be finishing alongside.
You won plaudits for a 6-5 finish to 2019? Let’s see you emulate that (or close to it) across a full season and finish in that ninth-to-13th bracket. Blues fans – especially the ones who called for Bolton’s head – should be demanding nothing less.
C C DEBONO
Guest
and just to add that I think the awful field kicking and turnovers are as much, if not more, about lack of confidence rather than skills.
C C DEBONO
Guest
i think this is a critical season for Carlton. The team needs to learn to win, or risk young players losing the last remnants of their belief in the team's ability to win. The talent is there, but it's a confidence game. And any confidence they have at present is fragile and will not survive a season with more losses than wins.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
yeah,that was a head scratcher for sure
DingoGray
Roar Guru
$$$$
Stirling Coates
Editor
Why Braydon Preuss picked the Dees we'll never, ever know.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
You could be right Josh especially if the AFL decide to drop the list number to 35 players. I doubt any clubs would want more than a couple of ruckmen on a 35 player list especially if you have another like Levi who can also play as a ruckman. It would be really disappointing though as Kreuze is a great clubman and when injury free can be a very good player.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
Could be Pete, never seen any posts under that name.
Josh
Expert
Disappointing as it is I think Blues need to let Kreuzer go at the end of the year (he's out of contract). Realistically we know he's only going to play 50% of most seasons and I don't think it helps the development of this team to not have a consistent and durable ruck option. Use the rest of the year to see if De Koning/Pittonet are up to snuff and then if not see who you can bring across from another club. Biased because I love the bloke but feel like Braydon Preuss would be a good fit - can be that Shane Mumford type who causes a bit of havoc with his physicality and protects some of Carlton's developing mids.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
This comment you responded to has a familiar tone Col. Could it be the return of you know who?
Stix
Guest
Casboult is the backup 20% ruckman with Kreuzer/Pittonet/De Koning rucking (only 1 of them playing) 80% game time. Casboult (5th in the best and fairest last year) is very underrated, can play FWD, DEF, backup RUCK, hes our best workhorse, crashes the packs, takes contested marks, protects the little blokes and has been really good 2 out of the last 3 seasons. McGovern better start doing something already though wasting his talent. L.Casboult contested marks. 2019 9th in the AFL (39 from 20 games). 2017 3rd in the AFL (52 from 22 games).
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
Disagree with you Hoolifan. Charlie has played 53 games not a handful. If his knee gets back to normal he will become one of our best players. If he blows next year why would other clubs want him? As far as SOS is concerned he has done a great job in building up a much better list than we had in 2015. All our really bad recruiting was done before SOS came back.
Cracka
Roar Rookie
Going to be very hard to get a handle on Carlton if games are going to be played every 5 days, as they will have to rotate the younger players in and out of the side - like most sides I don't think any player in any side will play all the games.
Cosmic Wizard
Roar Rookie
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1DER
Guest
Will not be able to gather any constructive analysis from this season as the draw is a work in progress. Each team will play each other once, however, home and away and hub games will create an imbalance? Think Carlton are going nowhere this season but 2021 will be different for the Blues.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
will be interesting wont it,play each other once,no luxury double up games against lesser opponents,i would say 0-2 would be as bad as 0-3 in a normal season,chasing your tail from there,think the intensity will be alot better throughtout the season as sometimes come round 12 or 13 sides can start managing players if they are cruising,round 1 win could prove very important
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Hard side to get a handle on especially with this strange season. Could be anywhere from 8-15. Looked good against the Tigers second half. Was this more about the Blues or Tigers? Based on injuries already and no Charlie best guess is about 11 - 13th.
Raimond
Roar Guru
This is the kind of season where they could sneak into the eight. I say they finish just out side it.
Parkside Darren
Roar Rookie
I think Casboult has become a mainstay in the team fwd or ruck. If one of the other two are showing great form they could play two rucks but they won’t take his place at this point. He is consistently good and his kicking woes have gone. Biggest question for me is belief. Like many teams the talent is their they need the belief they can not just compete but win. There weee a few who were pretty ordinary in rd 1 - hopefully it was a one off. Also need McKay and Marchbank to return as better players. Funny season and they should be thinking of a good start and then it will be a logjam at the end for top 8 with only 17 rounds
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
I thought Levi had a pretty good game against the Tigers in round 1, kicking a couple of goals and then replacing the injured Kreuzer in the ruck. He has certainly become more consistent the past couple of years. I would imagine with Charlie not playing this year Levi will be playing CHF and also a bit in the ruck. Pittonet will probably play round 2 but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Blues decided on giving De Koning more games this year. He has a bigger body than when he started and is a very versatile ruckman or even a key forward.