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.
4. Will Carlton's small forward brigade frequently hit the scoreboard?
During Carlton's blistering first half of 2022, its fleet-footed, zippy, and crafty pack of small forwards epitomised the side's relentless attack - in Matt Owies, Jesse Motlop, Corey Durdin, and Zac Fisher.
The quartet provided plenty of pressure at ground level, picking up the Harry McKay or Charlie Curnow crumbs from a pack contest.
All four players had considerable contributions throughout 2022, with Motlop kicking 12 goals from 12 games, Durdin kicking 15 goals from 21 matches, Zac Fisher with 18 goals from 22 matches, and Matt Owies booting 14 goals from 17 matches. There's a saying for any small forward, "make the most of your opportunities because they don't come around very often."
This will be the next step in the progression for especially Owies, Durdin and Motlop to constantly hit the scoreboard.
Carlton hasn't had the commodity of selecting from a group of smalls since the days of Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett terrorising defences. A mention to Chris Yarran and the buzzing three amigos during the 2010 season.
Dubbed "Setanta's little helpers" where the trio pounced at the feet of then tall forward Setanta ร hAilpรญn, leaving opponents in their wake. Upset wins that year over Geelong and St Kilda highlighted their influence.
If Durdin, Owies and Motlop consistently kick their bag of two and three goals along with ferocious tackling pressure, it is only going to make Carlton that bit more dangerous.
