Carlton started like a house on fire in 2022, going 8-2 in the first ten rounds with Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps and twin towers Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow shredding opposition defences to ribbons.
The Blues had total control of their illusive decade-long finals destiny after defeating West Coast in Round 17, sitting fifth at 10-6. Carlton fans could at last see September action on the horizon. Then calamity struck, losing five of their final six games to bundle out of the finals - most agonisingly in narrow defeats to Melbourne and Collingwood in the final two matches by five points and one point respectively.
The devastation of being a fingernail away from punching their September ticket will be motivation for the year to come for Michael Voss' men.
In this piece we'll touch upon these five burning questions for Carlton in 2023.
1. Do Carlton now have the list to snap their finals drought?
10 long years. That's the last time this famous club made a finals appearance, all the way back in 2013. For 22 rounds last season, Carlton did everything right, keeping themselves entrenched in the top eight only to fall out of finals in the final round of the home and away season, to none other than long-time nemesis Collingwood too.
Having had six months to reflect on that hollow Sunday on August 21, this season potentially shapes as one all Blues fans young and old witness the return to finals football. After the arduous rebuilding process which began in 2015 under then-coach Brendon Bolton, it is time to start putting the results together.
Draft selections of Jack Silvagni, Jacob Weitering, Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay, Sam Walsh, Zac Fisher and Lochie O'Brien in recent years have seen their key stocks rise from baby Blues to leading names. Unlike a few years back when the club leaned upon its veterans Marc Murphy, Kade Simpson, Bryce Gibbs, and Ed Curnow to help out the upcoming youngsters mentioned above.
Smart recruitment of players from other clubs, including George Hewett, Adam Saad, Adam Cerra, Sam Docherty, Nic Newman and Lewis Young, shows the club is serious in becoming a regular September contender.
This current Carlton list has plenty of experience.
Skipper and Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps has 159 games under his belt, Weitering 133 games, George Hewett 135 games, Adam Saad 152 games, Sam Docherty 144 games, and new recruit Blake Acres 120 games. Add to the list Silvagni 99 games, Adam Cerra 94 games, McKay 86 games, Curnow 84 games, Walsh 81 games, Matthew Kennedy 78 games, and O'Brien 60 games, Carlton's list is only starting to scratch the surface of their true potential.
Even through the toughest times, Carlton fans have stuck together through thick and thin. Imagine when the Blues reach that illusive final? That will be the icing on the cake.
