The four players who could make or break the Carlton Blues in 2022

Thanks zed-16 Agree on requiring a Dominant Ruck . TDK- I love him, but a couple yrs off yet . Maybe 3-4 before he monsters games . Big men take a long time to dominate . IMO . We agree to disagree on owies . O’Brien . Last chance . I think Fogarty did look the goods early 2021, then stopped having an impact. Jury’s out on him . Will keep an eye on him . There are rumours Geelong about to table 1.2 million over 10 yrs to secure walsh end of season. If Carlton fail again 2022, he may seriously think about it. Cats era over . Was 2 yrs ago .

Hi Diesel, The breakout players for me would be TDK (we need a dominate ruck), Matt Kennedy full season as inside mid with average 25 plus disposals and i disagree on Owies as he is not necessarily the most gifted player but he works hard and plays his role. More effort like his across the board would see a much better team. O'Brien for me is confusing as i have watched replays on Fox and for example he had 4-5 goal assists off his boot 3 to McKay against St Kilda and he worked hard to get back in defence and be that covering winger. His stats for the season were about 7 more possessions than Cotterell yet he played about half the games. So i am not sure why he was out of favour but in the games i saw he worked hard and contributed. Maybe that's why Vossy gave him 1 more year as a rookie and it would be good to see more game time from him to confirm he is at the level or better still prove everyone wrong with a breakout year. The other interesting player for me is Fogarty as his first half of the season was very good. Has good footy smarts, tackles and look good coming into the middle. Two things that i believe the new coaching group will bring is a harder edge and greater defensive structure and intensity.

Plenty of talk about 3rd tall defender in this thread..... I think Carlton need to find the number 2 tall defender 1st.... Would think that's the Make or Break question for the Blues. I'm not sure there's a stand out- lock it away like Liam Jones type on the list. I think his absence will be telling

5ZIP - wouldn’t that be something

Beat Richmond round 1? Delicious

There is definitely plenty of moving parts for the Blues in 2022, if we can get just a couple of the to line up things could really kick off.

I rated Marchbank . Interestingly Leon Cameron was quoted as saying Caleb was by far one of the best players he has seen & releasing him was a difficult decision. Maybe it was out of his hands- I’m sure it’s been easier as he watched marchbanks career unravel with injury after injury. Hard to see him getting a regular run now with his issues…… We miss Jones- he said today25/1/22 he has never been fitter & his best footy is ahead of him .. painful to hear. Hewett may be the surprise packet 2022. A point to prove I feel…… Luke parks showed enough & better for the run . Saad- Williams needed 12 mths to gel. Will improve 2022.potentially Dangerous couple . I really like the look of domanic Akuei. (19 yrs old) Can fly - got speed- smarts, hits the scoreboard @194 cm. not sure if he makes an appearance in seniors this year, but the kid can play , watch this space- Dow. Agree needs a 4 Qtr effort . If can’t in2022- move him on- with the other could be’s. O’Brien -Cottrell - owies- Williamson - Cunningham - Cut losses and move em on for goodness sakes. ( is Dow soft?) yet to see him put head over and go-HARD…. Carlton needs one or 2 to really have huge breakout yrs. I am talking serious breakout years. Is it McGovern ? J Martin? Setterfield, saad- Williams- Someone must. MUST……… Can Cripps recapture the form that saw him unstoppable week in week out?? Cerra is an exciting proposition. And walsh making a real name for himself . A grade already- pushing elite . Charlie C- im nervous watching him . Harry should go back to back Coleman . If it’s the same old again in 2022- then we finish 9-14th . IMO

Yeah but I guess they’re trying to do what Essendon did with Andy McGrath and Dyson Heppell where they started in the backline before moving to the midfield

The Blues may have thought they were getting a mid in Williams last year but with Cerra and Hewett this yea4 Williams will be a defender. The knock on Saad was very harsh IMO and more to do with players up the field turning the ball over in bad positions or not defending enough to help a rebounder like Saad recover his position

I agree on Kemp but the Blues have had him in defence since he was recruited and he is in the defenders group this preseason Completely agree on Plowman

Carlton's had a few players like Walsh, Weitering and McKay playing at the top of their game, but for a team to do well, you consistently need a more even contribution from all players. As you are a Carlton supporter, I don't doubt your statistics on Saad. You will also have seen a lot more of Carlton games, if not live, on television to form a viewpoint on certain players. In hearing the comments of broadcasters discussing games and reading post-match reports, my impression was that both Saad and Williams were attacking players who were not being sufficiently accountable defensively when playing on their opponents. I always thought Williams was a very good player coming off half-back when he was a GWS Giant, but the Blues thought they were acquiring him to be a mid-fielder. If Voss can get some improvement in the defensive area of those players' games without taking away from their attacking prowess, Carlton are bound to improve. I've not seen enough of Jack Martin and the potential of the rest of the list to know whether Martin will improve under the new coach or just take up space in the side until an improving player takes his spot.

I dont think Kemp is a third tall defender. His skills are too good he will be needed further up the ground as a taller wingman or midfielder depending on how his knees holding up. I have no idea what’s going on with marchbank, I think McGovern is facing a make or break year so he’s the best option for that intercepting role but it’s still some conjecture as to whether or not he will be able to do it at afl level, as for Lachie Plowman I honestly don’t get all the hate he cops from blues supporters on social media.

Jones’ size did give us a good mix but I am hoping what we lose there we make up having a third tall we haven’t had the last couple of years

True you don’t need to be that tall to match up on them. Like there were times last year where Jayden Laverde was Essendons primary lock down key defender and he’s about 193 cm tall. He was clearly outstretched by the likes of McKay but he absolutely toweled Ben king up

Lieu isn't on the list yet and Plowman usually gets the job on the opponent dangerous small forward or someone like Darling so can't roll off to help out. I would say McGovern is battling with Kemp and Marchbank for the third tall spot but given Marchbank is still working his way back from an ACL and Kemp only has 2 games under his belt McGovern has an opportunity. As for Gorilla's Weitering has a great record playing on the likes of Hawkins and Lynch who are much bigger and we would be looking for Young (201cm & 100kg) or if he doesn't work out Oscar McDonald (196cm 100kg) to play that role.

Yeah but the problem is the Blues are pretty well stocked for third tall defenders they have Plowman, marchbank and Tyreece lieu. They need someone who can take the big gorillas.

Everyone bangs on about whether Curnow can stay injury free but his injuries have been ones unlikely to reoccur where as McGovern has regular issues with his back and hamstring which generally are ongoing. That said he apparently impressed in the match sim on Friday and does have some very good traits for a third tall intercepting defender, (good hands, good ball use, good reader of the play).

Cripps is a good choice, you seem to be following my logic of the players with the most room to improve rather than a player already performing close to their best, and if Cripps got back to his best (which should be easier with more depth to help him) it would make a big impact. On Saad & Williams - Williams I agree with given he only played 14 games last year and battled for fitness but Saad was a very solid contributor who was career best for disposals, marks score involvements and inside 50's and not far off for intercepts. Jack Martin would fall into the Williams category more.

I make these comments more according to what I read than see, since I tend to mainly view Carlton when they play either Sydney or GWS. Since Carlton have been languishing and underperforming expectations, you could argue almost any four regular first graders will have an impact. Weitering and Walsh are quality players year-in, year-out. They are both young enough to go to another level, or maybe even several levels. Nonetheless, it is probably the underperformers from last season or established players from other clubs who are being brought into the team who are going to make or break Carlton. Therefore I would have excluded Weitering and Walsh from the four. Instead of Walsh, you could say Cripps, because his game statistically has been less effective over the last couple of seasons and the team would hope for him to re-elevate his form, especially if injuries have been the cause. Liam Jones was well-regarded for his form as a key defender over recent seasons. If McGovern or Lewis Young takes his place, you could argue their form could make or break Carlton. If you nominate another defender, you could select Saad or Williams. They arguably cost either a lot of money or a lot of draft capital to bring into the squad and it so far hasn't been worth the expense. I am sure their capacity for improvement will have a a big influence on whether Carlton can rise up the ladder. Hewett with his defensive attributes is a good choice as one of the four, but it may be just as important that Cerra, another incoming player who cost a first round draft selection, performs in the effective manner that is hoped. Although you didn't nominate him, Coleman Medallist, Harry McKay also wouldn't be one whom I'd include on the list, but a forward like Charlie Curnow may be able to make a major difference if he can complement McKay. He would have been my choice ahead of Silvagni, although Silvagni is still a worthwhile selection. Nonetheless, there are no real arguments from me, just an alternative view, because if either of Weitering or Walsh have a down season in comparison to what people have come to expect, that will have just as devastating effect on Carlton's fortunes as those other players contributing more.