Carlton
Coach – Brendon Bolton
2017 –
Points For – 18th
Points Against – 13th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Marc Murphy
- Sam Docherty
- Matthew Kreuzer
- Bryce Gibbs
- Kade Simpson
2016 Rising Star Noms
Caleb Marchbank (Rnd 6)
Sam Petrevski-Seton (Rnd 7)
David Cuningham (Rnd 12)
Jack Silvagni (Rnd 13)
Charlie Curnow (Rnd 16)
Ins – Matthew Lobbe, Matthew Kennedy, Darcy Lang, Aaron Mullett, Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien, Tom De Koning, Angus Schumacher, Jarrod Garlett, Cam O’Shea, Matt Shaw, Cillian McDaid
Outs – Dennis Armfield, Daniel Gorringe, Matthew Korcheck, Liam Sumner, Dylan Buckley, Ciaran Sheehan, Rhys Palmer, Andrew Galluci, Bryce Gibbs, Blaine Boekhurst, Simon White, Billie Smedts
My Prediction
You look at the best and fairest and you would worry about the older players carrying the list but then 5 players getting Rising Star nods in one year says that generational change is closer than it has been before. That being said, I think 2 of those 5 will be genuine superstars in Curnow and SPS, the others look more like solid citizens to me.
The backline performed well last year. Liam Jones was one of the stories of 2017 although I expect that to unravel this year, he started to get found out in the back end of last year and I think forwards will play through him more this year. Weitering doesnt look happy up forward and expect him to resume his backline duties this year. They are going to miss Docherty massively with his run from half back. He was regularly their best player last year.
The midfield is a work in progress. Losing Gibbs is going to hurt, Murphy had his best season in a while last year and will need to carry a larger workload this year. If Cripps can keep on the field then he is a beast. I would expect Kennedy to come in for support pretty much from day 1. SPS is there for his run but is a bit lonely in providing spark when needed. Will be interesting to see how much time Charlie Curnow spends through the middle. He reminds me so much of Pavlich that I would be surprised if he isnt a regular visitor in the centre.
The forward line is still diabolical, it has been for as long as I can remember. Weitering has been tried and hasnt worked, Charlie Curnow will play mostly forward and they have some decent young KP talent on the books. Casboult kicked better last year but I would be investing more in McKay who will be a much better player when the team is ready to climb the ladder. Jack Silvagni looks a gun, has that knack of being in the right place at the right time and seems to regularly find space.
Kreuzer had his best season in a long time and played some really good games. With Lobbe being brought in, I am curious if he is about to become more of a forward with Lobbe carrying the majority of ruck duties. Lobbe plays his best when he is the sole ruck.
All in all, I think Carlton are disappointingly starting to get things right. They have a long way to go but there is some quality young players coming through. This year though, wont be the one they suddenly jump up the ladder. I think they will stagnate this year and finish around 15-16.