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.
3. Can the Blues match the best teams?
To become the best you have to beat the best. This is the next mission awaiting Carlton in taking the leap from narrowly missing finals to being a top eight team moving into premiership contention.
Wins in the opening two rounds against Richmond and the Western Bulldogs - whom Carlton hadn't had success against, showed capabilities against two premiership aspirants.
Although going 4-7 against top-eight sides, Carlton were never totally outclassed. Results include twice narrowly losing to Collingwood, matching premiers Geelong for two and a half quarters, topping grand finalists Sydney, losing in the final 15 seconds to Melbourne, and beating Fremantle in an arm-wrestle affair.
When asked about the game during his post-match press conference after the gritty win over the Dockers in Round 15, coach Michael Voss saidL "It was a signature win. If you want to get belief, that was one of them.
"We've had moments where we've been on and off and we haven't been able to get a four-quarter performance. This wasn't just against any side, but a side that was second on the ladder."
The ultimate test lies ahead this season, playing Melbourne, Collingwood, and finals aspirants Gold Coast twice with a tricky opening month to encounter against Richmond, Geelong, Adelaide, and St Kilda.
As Carlton showed, they can go toe-to-toe with the top-tier teams, but sustaining it over the course of four quarters will be the difference between victory and defeat.
