With the first month of the AFL season drawing to a close, narratives for all of the competition's 18 teams have begun to arise.

Whilst some are struggling and others are thriving, you can bet your bottom dollar that each of the league's list of polo shirt wearing pedagogues will still be desperate for improvement this weekend.

With this in mind, here are the key quandaries facing every AFL club ahead of Round 4.

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Carlton

Can they maintain their reversal?

Across their first two games of 2021, against Richmond and Collingwood respectively, Carlton have posted an average of:

361.5 Disposals per game
132.5 Contested possessions
221 Uncontested possessions
12 Goals
50 Inside 50s
37 Clearances
39 Tackles

On Sunday afternoon against Fremantle, the Blues not only secured their first four points of the year, but they also surpassed their previous means in each of these aforesaid categories.

With the five highest disposal winners on the ground wearing navy blue (Sam Walsh, Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Ed Curnow and Lachlan Fogarty) and all but eight of their 22-man squad recording multiple tackles, the ills of the first fortnight appear to have been rectified.

Still, the external pressure on the Blues is not going to dissipate just yet, as a benchmark has now been created.

Should Teague's men return to their previous poor form against Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Brisbane and Essendon over the next month, expectant punters and critical pundits are likely to once again return the blowtorch to the playing group.

Performing a task once proves ability. Performing it repetitively shows maturity.

So, in the words of โ€˜The Chemical Brothers', do it again, Carlton.

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