Analysis 2024 Season Review

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Liked:
  • the tactical innovation that saw Cincotta played as a forward half tagger to shut down opposition playmakers. Kicked quite a few goals across consecutive weeks doing this.
  • Williams forward. Like Cincotta, his best footy was played in front of the ball.
  • Lij Hollands. Unexpected presence, very hard to tackle, good long kick, fair shot for goal.
  • Fog's importance comes to the fore. He kicked quite a few goals this year, and set himself up as our most important small ahead of the footy.
  • TDK's emergence. He was on the edge at the beginning of the year, but that run of form prior to his injury and the GWS game was, frankly, the best I've ever seen a Carlton ruck play.
  • Ollie Hollands final 6ish games. Kid stepped right up, became a genuine outside mid who wasn't getting brushed off.

Disliked:
  • Saad seeming to lose a metre or so of pace on return from injury. His speed was a weapon we needed; without it, he's half the player.
  • the entire side forgetting that we made a prelim last year based on laying tackles. Where the **** did the pressure go?
  • Regression from Durdin, Mots. Fair dinkum, dunno WTF's happened here.
  • the genuinely infuriating capitulation from the midway mark of the year. Something clearly happened; you don't go from being as up as we were against GWS to losing that match in the way we did without something happening. It's not the vicissitudes of form, it's not player fitness. Whatever it was, it needs to be ****ed off during this off season.

Hated:
  • The. Never. Ceasing. Conveyor. Belt. Of. Mother. ****ing. Injuries!!!
  • that we are at all times only ever a bad loss to Collingwood, Richmond or Essendon away from a coup d'etat replacing coach, list management, board, CEO, president.
  • that Carlton supporters seem to prefer eating their own and being right than they do each other.
  • that the footy media landscape continues to be filled with puerile analysis from talking heads who seem to be enjoying watching us suffer.

Dunno. We'll see.
 
Gethelred said:
Liked:
  • the tactical innovation that saw Cincotta played as a forward half tagger to shut down opposition playmakers. Kicked quite a few goals across consecutive weeks doing this.
  • Williams forward. Like Cincotta, his best footy was played in front of the ball.
  • Lij Hollands. Unexpected presence, very hard to tackle, good long kick, fair shot for goal.
  • Fog's importance comes to the fore. He kicked quite a few goals this year, and set himself up as our most important small ahead of the footy.
  • TDK's emergence. He was on the edge at the beginning of the year, but that run of form prior to his injury and the GWS game was, frankly, the best I've ever seen a Carlton ruck play.
  • Ollie Hollands final 6ish games. Kid stepped right up, became a genuine outside mid who wasn't getting brushed off.

Disliked:
  • Saad seeming to lose a metre or so of pace on return from injury. His speed was a weapon we needed; without it, he's half the player.
  • the entire side forgetting that we made a prelim last year based on laying tackles. Where the **** did the pressure go?
  • Regression from Durdin, Mots. Fair dinkum, dunno WTF's happened here.
  • the genuinely infuriating capitulation from the midway mark of the year. Something clearly happened; you don't go from being as up as we were against GWS to losing that match in the way we did without something happening. It's not the vicissitudes of form, it's not player fitness. Whatever it was, it needs to be ****ed off during this off season.

Hated:
  • The. Never. Ceasing. Conveyor. Belt. Of. Mother. ****ing. Injuries!!!
  • that we are at all times only ever a bad loss to Collingwood, Richmond or Essendon away from a coup d'etat replacing coach, list management, board, CEO, president.
  • that Carlton supporters seem to prefer eating their own and being right than they do each other.
  • that the footy media landscape continues to be filled with puerile analysis from talking heads who seem to be enjoying watching us suffer.

Dunno. We'll see.
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Very well said.

Those last 2 hated points are for me a real downer.

Was at the game last night and the incessant shutting on our players was unbearable, not from the opposition fans but our own!!!!

It was a small percentage of people but really is distasteful and petulant, pre teen children have better manners!!!!

As for the media, I don’t watch the mid week shows but the commentary from BT and the like make watching it on TV a horrible experience.

Hope to find a suitable solution next year, I like to have the sound on obviously!!!




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Worst season ever supporting this club for 32 years.

Which players improved?

TDK.

Which players went backwards?

Walsh, Cerra, McGovern, Pittonet, Motlop.

Which players are you excited about for next year?

Moir, E. Hollands, Wilson.

Which players should we move on from?

Honestly, too many to name.

What impressed you?

Our ability to squander a top 4 finish from the position we were in.

What disappointed you?

The mismanagement from the second Richmond game onwards.

What did you think of the coaching?

Extremely poor. Got found out mid-season and there was basically no response.

Best wins?

Port away and Geelong.

Worst losses?

Both Collingwood games, GWS away, EF against Lions, Saints, Port home, second game against North was a loss in my eyes.
 

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Which players improved?
Plenty. TDK(WOW), Cowan(star in making), Ollie(better playmaker than defensive wing) Cripps(added layers and pace), Harry(expand role), Carroll (general) Kemp, Elijah, Newman (amazingly), Binns (capable), George(consistency and impact), Lemmey(now close), Young(proved is good enough), Wilson(generic, should be ready for first team ‘25), Lord(went from VFL to AFL quickly, Boyd(I didn’t rate as high as others, proved belonged before falling off a cliff), Cincotta(more than a depth half back, can do a number of roles, well) O’Keeffe(now very close), Akuei(from a long way back, is close, if not too late), Moir(Coming from a long way back physically, future star), Mirkov(now close), Cottrell (best is very good)

Which players went backwards?
Cerra(injury), Cuningham, Marchbank, Pittonet, Motlop, Martin, McGovern,

Which players are you excited about for next year?
TDK, Cowan, Ollie, Cripps, Moir, Lord, Kemp, Elijah, Williams, Walsh, C.Durdin(fit), Cerra(fit), Charlie(fit)

Which players should we move on from?
Martin, Marchbank(feel dirty typing, tragic career), Cuningham, Owies(contract, became selfish), McGovern(tease, individual lacking team ethos), S.Durdin, Maybe Motlop.

What impressed you?
Growth in many players. Heart of most of the group.

What disappointed you?
Poor, archaic, one dimensional coaching.

What did you think of the coaching?
As above. Players are not machines. Too much grunt focus on track. Lack of confidence in developing players. Lack of understanding of modern game. Unsustainability of loads.

Best wins?
West Coast with the kids

Worst losses?
GWS, Freo gather round, Saints.
 
passmark said:
Awful awful year.

yes, injuries played their part but we have zero cohesion.

We’ve beaten nobody of quality since the 21st of June round 15 v Geelong.

Abysmal.
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Totally agree.
A season that promised so much has failed to deliver yet again. Voss needs to take a look at his gameplan and make some improvements. We are far too easy to play against.
 
Gethelred said:
I don't agree, but that's okay.
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I guess I’m being harsh given the circumstances. But I think the players need to be held to a higher standard.

In my eyes TDK is the only player that elevated his standing across the competition. Probably went from C/B grade to A grade. E. Hollands too but I don’t count him because he wasn’t on our list in 2023. All of the others made slight improvement but remain in the category they started in.
 


Which players improved?
tdk, cincotta

Which players went backwards?
notable examples would be curnow, motlop, saad. largely through injury. most others had good patches and poor patches balancing out their season. boyd's and durdin's best and worst may be the widest apart. others maybe stayed at their level, whatever that is. ie cripps.

Which players are you excited about for next year?
inury-free curnow. okeefe binns lemmey lord wilson moir. any that have had their year messed up through injury.

Which players should we move on from?
injured ones others have mentioned

What impressed you?
we looked a million bucks when flying. these moments became fewer as the year wore on.

What disappointed you?
guaranteed to switch off during a game. very few games where we did not fall apart for significant stretches yet nothing ever seemed to be done to rectify it. for the entire year. i know it happens to every team, but we're talking 7-8 goal quarters. you can still need to improve your play without conceding so much.

What did you think of the coaching?
i'm happy for others to debate this. i can understand where both sides of sack/no sack are coming from.

Best wins?
geelong

Worst losses?

adelaide, or any we coughed up a lead ala gws
 

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Red Bull said:
So we can take it now that our 10 year rebuild has failed.
The good news though is … we get to do it all again now …
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I’m not saying rebuild. But what I’d like to see is a few of our players traded to bring in areas of needs along with more quality kids.

As to the names to trade, well there’s only 2 players I’d hold onto. TDK and Cripps
 
Overall: Fail

Start of Year Objectives:
Home & Away Consistency: ❌
Top 4: ❌
Premiership: ❌
Improve Injuries: ❌

Which players improved? TDK, Cowan, Cripps, McKay, Weitering & Young

Which players went backwards? Cerra, Walsh, Curnow, Motlop, Boyd, Pittonet, Motlop, Williams, McGovern & Saad

Which players are you excited about for next year? Binns, Moir, Lord & Wilson

Which players should we move on from? Motlop, Cerra, Kennedy, Durdin, Williams & Carroll (Trade), Fantasia (Rookie), Marchbank, Cuningham, Martin, (Big) Durdin, Akuei, Monahan & Mirkov

What impressed you? TDK, Binns, Lord & Moir

What disappointed you? Selections, old game plan, Bombing the flipping ball out of defence and inside 50.

What did you think of the coaching? Average by all involved

Best wins? Geelong

Worst losses? Collingwood x2
 
Last edited:
Which players improved?
Not enough.

Which players went backwards?
Hard to judge, so many had injuries.

Which players are you excited about for next year?
I think we have enough talent, too many injured. I would just would like some system, tactics and consistency of effort.

Which players should we move on from?
Too many to list, start with the ones that can't get on the paddock, and Pittonet, he is one of the main reasons we play too slow. (Leigh Matthews said our season went south the minute TDK went down, hard to argue)

What impressed you?
TDK, Elijah Hollands, Cincotta, Charlie - despite the coaches failing to have a plan to get him the ball. Vossies citizen arrest.

What disappointed you?
High Performance team, Assistant Coaches, List Management, Match Committee. Still no connection from the midfield and the forward line for the 29th season in a row!

What did you think of the coaching?
Our coaching is the worst of the top 8 sides by some margin. I'm not in the sack /don't sack arena, Voss is a great bloke, good leader but he needs some tactical nuffies around him. You watch the good sides and they are micro managed and disciplined to within an inch of their lives, everyone knows exactly were to be to cover outlets or provide outlets, their players do: no look kicks, handballs and taps and someone is there. We make it up on the run, or revert to kick mark. Too slow moving the ball..only look good when the ball moves fast which has been almost never in the second half of the season. The top teams have their whole team defending, we have Acres and Oli Hollands, no-one else can be bothered getting back to help on a consistent basis

Best wins?
Doesn't matter. We are out.

Worst losses?
Too many.
 
WalshistheGOAT said:
Really hard to say what happened after that GWS game.
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It happened during that game.

GWS lifted their intensity at the contest to match us, which took away our one wood. They then moved the ball from the contest with more speed than us, and we fell apart.

It mentally shook the whole list and we never recovered. You could tell players were doubting our entire system.

Teams learnt that if you can match or beat us in the contest, we lack speed and defensively (as a unit) we're poor.

Offensively we almost never look for a lose player or one on the lead. We bomb it to Charlie or Harry. Its predictable.

Defensively we come off our man at the ball carrier which is also predictable, and our kicks out of D50 are long down the line (again, all too predictable).

If we cant bully teams in the contest, we're ****ed.

We need a new defensive structure over the off season, and to work on our F50 entries. We desperately need a skillful outside distributor of the footy (HFF/ Mid), another KPD, and a quality defensive forward/ small forward.
 
Malifice said:
It happened during that game.

GWS lifted their intensity at the contest to match us, which took away our one wood. They then moved the ball from the contest with more speed than us, and we fell apart.

It mentally shook the whole list and we never recovered. You could tell players were doubting our entire system.

Teams learnt that if you can match or beat us in the contest, we lack speed and defensively (as a unit) we're poor.

Offensively we almost never look for a lose player or one on the lead. We bomb it to Charlie or Harry. Its predictable.

Defensively we come off our man at the ball carrier which is also predictable, and our kicks out of D50 are long down the line (again, all too predictable).

If we cant bully teams in the contest, we're ****ed.

We need a new defensive structure over the off season, and to work on our F50 entries. We desperately need a skillful outside distributor of the footy (HFF/ Mid), another KPD, and a quality defensive forward/ small forward.
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We got ahead of ourselves.
Sure they lifted after quarter time, but when we were well on top, we got cute, and went away from doing the basics well. Very much a game we pissed away, rather than being beaten.
 
Article giving a summary of our season…

"Carlton did not play in a consistent, foolproof method throughout the season. Turnovers propelled their scoring in the opening rounds, then stoppages, then a mixture, then neither to the level that was required."

"It’s not all gloom and doom, however, as the Blues are on the up, even though they finished lower on the ladder than 2023.
They are going through a phase many clubs, including Richmond, Collingwood, Hawthorn and even Geelong, have gone through in the past 20 years. For those clubs, disappointing finals exits were followed by seasons when it all clicked."


 
found object said:
Article giving a summary of our season…

"Carlton did not play in a consistent, foolproof method throughout the season. Turnovers propelled their scoring in the opening rounds, then stoppages, then a mixture, then neither to the level that was required."

"It’s not all gloom and doom, however, as the Blues are on the up, even though they finished lower on the ladder than 2023.
They are going through a phase many clubs, including Richmond, Collingwood, Hawthorn and even Geelong, have gone through in the past 20 years. For those clubs, disappointing finals exits were followed by seasons when it all clicked."


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They also made the inexplicable – although they did try to explain it – decision to start DeKoning as the sub against the Lions while also leaving Alex Cincotta out when he appeared on paper the perfect match-up for Lions playmaker Dayne Zorko. Without Cincotta at his side, Zorko ran rampant in the first half.

Carlton’s selection in the last eight rounds was all over the shop, to be blunt.
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btdg said:
The big question for me is why can't this team lose normally? In the end, to have the injury luck we did and still sneak into finals is a good thing, and probably it ends a fair result. But look at those losses:

- r5 vs Adelaide. Unbeaten, playing at home against a bottom 4 team we kick 14.4 to 16.4, and concede 3 goals in the last two minuted to lose by 2pts. That's a shocker

- r6 vs Geelong = fair loss to a good team.

-r7 vs Collingwood = lost because we let Nick Daicos run through a last second stoppage completely unchecked. That's a shocker

-r9 vs Sydney = totally blitzed, howler of a game away from home.

- r18 vs gws = we drop Hewett totally out of no where then lose at home to a good team. Bizarre coaching, odd loss

-r19 vs Bulldogs = we randomly play two rucks, make Kennedy the sub, and Charlie goes into bizarre hero mode and selfishly goes for goal with almost every touch (literally 11 touches for 3.7) and we narrowly lose. Odd loss

-r21 vs Port = meh. Failed to show up at home

-r22 vs Collingwood = we lost because McGovern shanked a routine set shot to win after kicking 11.15 for the game

-r23 vs Hawthorn = lost 6 players to injury in one game. Nightmare

R25 vs St Kilda = nightmare end, Kemp misses a sitter from 20 out directly in front, we then concede a goal with 11 seconds left. Howler

EF = nightmare showing, almost goalless to half time.

That's 8 memorably awful or weird losses and really only 3 normal games, and sits in a pattern that goes back to the Teague years. There were a few odd wins too - the Freo game, Brisbane in rd 0, etc.

A veteran (aging?) team like ours shouldn't be doing this still. Until we can get a consistent baseline of performance, fitness and structure - both in games and across the year, we are going no where. Not sure the answer, but its going to be a long off season trying to figure it out...
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Great post, but I’d also add…why can’t we WIN normally.

The Richmond round 1 win for me was the first warning bell that nothing had changed. We’d beaten Brisbane the week before in a win for the ages. They’d got flogged in a hot day on the Gold Coast and had one less day of rest. If we were any good we would’ve beaten them into oblivion. Instead we struggled and bumbled and barely got over a clearly inferior team.

Even if you put that performance down to early season rustinesss, roll forward a few weeks to the great Gather round escape against Freo, a game by all rights we should have won comfortably given they had a first gamer on Charlie, but we only won after some highly fortunate umpiring calls late in the game. We eventually got caught out with the “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory” loss against the Crows.

If this team is serious about being successful they will come out breathing fire next year and have a Melbourne 2021 like season. There won’t be any of those nonsense Adelaide round 4 or Collingwood type losses. Equally there won’t be any of those ugly Richmond type wins and more Geelong and Port wins.

This inconsistency has plagued the current group of players throughout the rebuild. Coaching changes obviously haven’t helped but next year is Voss’ fourth year in charge so that can no longer be an excuse. 2025 is time to deliver for Carlton otherwise I think we have to accept the group don’t have it in them to achieve the ultimate success and rebuild will have been for nothing.
 
Malifice said:
It happened during that game.

GWS lifted their intensity at the contest to match us, which took away our one wood. They then moved the ball from the contest with more speed than us, and we fell apart.

It mentally shook the whole list and we never recovered. You could tell players were doubting our entire system.

Teams learnt that if you can match or beat us in the contest, we lack speed and defensively (as a unit) we're poor.
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The Age article sees it this way as well:

It was the Giants who showed the rest of the competition that Carlton can’t handle pace through the middle or forward of the football. They were exploited in that area for the rest of the season, most notably by Hawthorn, who were well on top in round 22 before the Blues decided to recreate a scene from M.A.S.H on the bench, an episode that didn’t make Martin or Lachie Fogarty laugh.
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https://archive.md/MvAiI#selection-4921.0-4925.74
 
Pros:
  • We made finals again. I know that sounds hollow and is below par for what we should have done, but history says, taking the long view, you’ve got to knock around finals for a few years before you break through.
  • Cripps was sensational. Will win his 5th BnF by a mile. Good chance to have a second Brownlow around his neck.
  • The emergence of TDK as a genuine star and game changer.
  • The exit of Russell. A move that was 1-2 years overdue.
  • Development of Cowan and to a lesser extent Ollie.
  • Elijah’s first season in navy blue.
  • Small signs from Lord, Moir and Binns.
  • The excitement of the first 15 or so rounds.

Cons:
  • The demise from round 15 onwards. A massive gut punch for everyone involved with the club. Still struggling to get my head around why.
  • The massive injury list. Second worst in the competition to Richmond. The same players breaking down. A new group of players reaching injury prone status - eg Cerra.
  • The majority of our players taking a step backwards. Not going to name them all but we didn’t get anywhere near enough out of Cerra, Walsh, Motlop, C Durdin, etc.
  • A really limp finals performance. It couldn’t have gone much worse last night really.
  • Coaching group unravelled late in the season along with the players. Some terrible selection calls and just plain silly in game decisions / non decisions.
 
Start of Year Objectives:

16 wins and top 4 -- missed by 3 games (13-10). This cost us top 3 and potentially top 2 (percentage was just 4.59% below Port Adelaide)


Grand Finalists -- anything can happen on grand final day. A premiership would have been a dream but a step further than last year the very minimum expectation of this team.

List improvement -- Failure. Although I had a feeling that the trade and free agency period would be quiet and I knew Elijah was coming I still held hope that we'd add another significant piece to our best 23. As Vossy mentioned mid-year we didn't work as hard to improve the list as we could have in preparation for the Camporeale twins this year. Ultimately, I feel that the club anticipated at least one of the Campo twins to hold a higher draft position than what the current expectations for either are. Unfortunately, that means that we gave up the opportunity to improve on our list. We also held onto the perenially injured another season too long.

Which players improved:

Patrick Cripps - the stars keep saying that there's layers to this. It might not be any more evident than in the skipper's game. This may have been the greatest carry job of his entire career. I would argue that we may have finished bottom 5 (below Gold Coast and Melbourne) without him (e: at the level he played at) this year. Absolute legend of the club who I'm going to be devastated for if we don't get him the team to win 17 with. Desperately needs to lift the cup in a navy guernsey.

Tom De Koning: I'd love for an old timer to tell me a time where a season went kaput faster than when TDK suffered his injuries. That he came back severely underdone and gave us a sniff from being 10 goals down in a final says it all about how important his impact at this club is. Sign him to whatever he needs and if he wants his brother find a way to make it happen Carlton. Please.

George Hewett: I've been critical of George in the past. Have him marked down as one of Agresta's. But what we have is a player who always busts a gut (never questioned), plays a dogged and determined brand of football, and is all heart and soul. Arguably had the healthiest year of his career which given the astronomical injury rate is a miracle. Leadership group next year (if he's not already).

Harry McKay: Harry's always been my boy on here - ever since I took him in a mid-year phantom draft in the third round. Love his work rate, love his energy, and really rate everything that he does. Plays footy the right way. Is as selfless a player as we have on the list. How he transitioned from Coleman medalist into a willing number two that works his way up and down the ground is something to be proud of. I love when he gets to expand his game into a ruckman and feel that he found his best football in this combined role this year. Suspect he'll find layers to add to his game next year. A guaranteed All-Australian season (health permitting) in 2025 awaits.

Lachie Cowan -- I hope the lure of going home and potentially captaining a debut Tassie Devils team doesn't beckon. If he stays true blue I don't see anything less than a 200+ game career where he becomes a barometer for this club. Has quickly become one of my personal favorites.

Brodie Kemp -- am happy that he got significant time to develop his defensive game over the past two years. A little disappointed in his final (low confidence after the St Kilda game, perhaps) but am excited to see if the club will transition him into the forward mix with Charlie and Harry.

Ollie Hollands -- suspect Ollie will add layers to his game over the summer and be granted greater responsibility. Some will say that he's had second-year blues and that may be true to an extent but I see a player who added different aspects to his game throughout the season and who really just needs to develop his body physically to take it to the next level.

Jack Carroll -- the off-season work that he put in with Cripps paid dividends and he was an absolute credit to himself. Whether it be at Carlton or elsewhere he's an AFL grade player now.

Which Players went backward:

I'm going to be a harsh marker here. Not necessarily players who went backward but players who had "down" years by their standards.

Charlie Curnow: Praying he gets healthier than he has been over the last year. Playing him through injury wasn't the best thing in the world for either he or the club. Needs to get right so that he can get back to his best.

Adam Saad. Unfortunately, his hamstrings have robbed him of some of his most important attributes.

Jack Martin. He was so influential in the run that we had in the back end of 2023 so the hope was that he would continue to maintain some level of health this year. 3 games and perennially injured for the worst outcome of his years at Carlton.

Mitch McGovern: He restored the faith that we have in him in a contract year, 2023. Thankfully we only extended him for two further years. Unfortunately, the injuries that have plagued him throughout his career came back in full force so now the plan to keep him fit and healthy by playing him in the back half of the field is starting to fail. 2025 is a contract year, he'll be 30 next month, so if he wants another AFL contract after next year (at Carlton or elsewhere) he's going to have to have a big summer building up his fitness leading to a healthier 2025. If not, he'll find himself on a Fantasia type deal or out of the league altogether.

Adam Cerra: I do not blame Cerra for the complete and total mismanagement of his hamstring injuries. I've heard from several people on the grapevine that he has consistently done everything that he has been asked to do in his recovery. Before he came back into the side mid-year I was firm of the belief that he needed to work his way back through the VFL. A half, followed by three quarters and subsequently a full match load and I would have been happier to see him back into the side. Unfortunately, we rushed him back into the squad and he suffered another setback. One of the few Blues who looked involved in the first quarter last night before fading out. Hopeful for a stronger 2025 and better health with McInnes.

Matt Cottrell: Started the year looking like he was ready to add layers to his game then got injured. When he came back into the team I felt like he looked lost (had a strong game against North) then suffered another injury. He'd be disappointed with his year in totality but should bounce back in 2025.

Corey Durdin: A season of decline across the board. To top it off a lack of consistent effort was rewarded with an elimination final guernsey where he again capitulated. Goalless in 9 of 14 games and 8 of his 25 tackles coming in one game (in his home state) demonstrates his inconsistent effort on a week-to-week basis. Simply not at the level required more often than not.

Jesse Motlop: A season decimated by injury and then poor form at VFL level followed by a subsequent call-up when the numbers were depleted. Wish we had turned to Moir sooner because his performance couldn't have possibly been as poor. Has gone from one of my favorite players on the list to someone who I have little empathy towards.

Marc Pittonet: Before the preliminary final last year I wasn't as critical as many on Pitto. Unfortunately, that game demonstrated to me who he truly was (see the Chicken Little thread). The injury-interrupted start to the season may have played a role in his further deterioration but at the end of the day it takes guts and effort. Two attributes you simply cannot use to describe him.

Sam Walsh: When he returned from his delayed start to the season he set the league ablaze. Really looked like he was going to take his finals form from 2023 to another level. Unfortunately, it appears as though the injury has impacted his effectiveness. Whether or not that's the case or he just had a down second half to the year only the club knows. He has too much professionalism to slide long-term but he'd be gutted with how his season transpired. Expect a huge 2025.

The perennially injured Cuningham and Marchbank (was my favorite early in his Blues career, had visions of him taking game changing intercept marks in premiership tams before injuries killed his career). Thanks for your hard work and dedication over the years. Injuries are lonely bastards and the hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated. A true shame that it ends like this but for the good of the club it must.

Which Players are you excited for next year?

Tom De Koning -- please a fully healthy year. The sky is the limit for Tom and he creates a significantly higher ceiling for the footy club. A premiership is not beyond the realms of possibility if he has a strong, full, year and we fix up our list elsewhere.

Ollie Hollands - see above

Elijah Hollands -- Loved so much of what he brought to the team. His 22 games this year is 8 games more than he had in his three years with the Gold Coast Suns combined (0, 5, 9). Hitting the wall was to be expected. Has developed the building blocks to a really promising career this year. He was easily one of our best last night which continues on from his great form in the VFL finals the year before so shows the marks as a big game player. Suspect he, like Ollie, will add layers over the summer and become a more mature, consistent, player in 2025.

Lachie Cowan -- see above

Ashton Moir -- I wish he had gotten some games earlier in the year as he could have earned a selection last night. Needs to play as many games in 2025 as what health permits. Has potential star all over him. I didn't realise he was as steady up the field as what he showed he may be. Can see him becoming our dynamic quick forward type game winner like previous premiership teams have had (Bobby Hill, Shai Bolton, etc.).

Cooper Lord -- like Moir is a natural player at the top level. Had we drafted him in the national draft he would have gotten more games and greater consideration for the final last night. Coming into the side when we desperately needed midfield depth and immediately performing was a fantastic way for him to introduce himself to the big leagues. Excited to see him become a regular in 2025.

Brodie Kemp -- see above

Jack Silvagni: I'm not expecting big things from Jack in 2025 but I am excited to see him back on the park. Think he'll settle as a depth player in 2025 but given his versatility should get plenty of action, health permitting.

Jaxon Binns -- showed that he has what it takes as an AFL player when he got his opportunity late in the year. Expect him to take the taste that he got from it and build over the summer. Really hope we keep him on the list.

The Camporeale Twins -- the last time we had a Camporeale in a debut season we came back from a bitterly disappointing end to a season to win the premiership. Lightning can strike twice.

What players should we move on from?

There's a few coming towards the end but it's not their time just yet (McGovern, Saad) while there are others who will likely leave through free agency or trade but are worth their spot on the list (i.e. Carroll, Owies)

The perennially injured -- Jack Martin, David Cuningham, Caleb Marchbank,

Orazio Fantasia -- thank you for coming to Carlton. I was really harsh on Raz early in the year. I couldn't see what those I know at the club saw and what the coaches loved. The Saints game - despite a loss - showed me why he was at Carlton. He was a truly tireless worker in a selfless role who covered the length of the ground and gave it his all. Unfortunately, he's not at the AFL level consistently enough to retain. Would love to see him transition into an off-field coaching role.

Marc Pittonet -- see above

What impressed me?

Patrick Cripps.

The development of a number of younger players (see above)

The growth of some early to mid career players who added important layers to their game in 2024 (see above but especially TDK, McKay)

Andy Russell's announced departure due to the hiring of Rob McInness. It has the potential to be a boon for the club.

What disappointed me?

The coaching staff going with a flavor-of-the-month type thing.

They'd try things that worked -- Harry McKay in a combination KPF/ruck role, moving Cincotta into a very specific lockdown role, etc. and it would work extremely successfully for a few weeks and then it'd disappear into nothingness. They'd move away from it even when they had the opportunity to go back to it instead choosing things like playing Kennedy and Cripps in the ruck. Cincotta's omission from the elimination final when he had a crystal clear role to play was one of the most disappointing things I've seen all year.

Which takes me to: the selection committee

Ugh. I genuinely lost count at how many of those 10 games that we lost were lost at the selection table. It was multiple games this year. I can accept making a bad blunder or two over the course of the season but to do so as regularly as what the club did this year is unacceptable.

Rushing players back from injury who were clearly underdone and not completely recovered from the injury that put them out of the side. Injuries like hamstring injuries can become chronic yet there was Cerra back into the team as soon as possible only to reinjure himself. He was almost All-Australian last year and now he's genuinely looking down the barrel at a ruined career thanks to our selection committee and (lack of) high performance management.

What did I think of the coaching?

Voss had the golden opportunities to add layers to the gameplan in 2024 and failed to do so for more than a few weeks at a time. The layers were there but you can't add them and then drop them as readily as what he did.

The line coaches need to be dismissed at a minimum. In all honesty, every line this year went backwards. It wasn't just a personnel issue because it was apparent even on the rare occasion that we had a healthy team.

I hated the club not playing more youngsters throughout the season. Ollie Hollands was given a complete season which gets a big tick from me and Lachie Cowan has cemented his position in the 22 but I would have liked to have seen more of Moir, Lord (VFL watchers were screaming he was ready before the club's hand was forced), Binns. The club needs to do better at finding and creating opportunities for them throughout the season and not just rush them into the side because they're the only option available.

Obviously, high performance management was a massive weakness this year. I'm optimistic about the success of McInness as long as the checks and balances are in place to help support and guide the process.

Ultimately, I believe we were a side that

1. Had developed a strong identity in the second half of last year and finally established standards

2. Firmly believed in the depth of the list and had a "next man up" mentality.

Both of these things went out the window in 2024. Both of these start with the coaching staff and the selection committee. We're now massively behind where we were 12 months ago and what once looked like a premiership window may in fact be a false dawn destroyed by bad decisions before games.

Best wins?

The Geelong game. I'm still thankful that this is the game my partner chose to go down to Melbourne for. Start of the QLD school holidays, the weather was on the decent side for a Melbourne winter (hadn't been home since the end of 2019). Carlton Respects. And the single best performance by a Carlton side that I can remember as an adult. It was the peak of our season.

In a way, I hope Geelong win the premiership this year because it should sting the club just that much more. That game proved that at our best and with similar injuries we can belt teams. For our opposition to then go on and win the premiership will be a message to the club of the opportunity wasted.

Other impressive wins: Brisbane in round 0, Port Adelaide in Adelaide -both games where we broke a ground hoodoo - and the game against Essendon stand out to me as our best for the year.

Worst losses

The elimination final. I don't care that the final result was 5 goals - I firmly believe Brisbane absolutely pounded us into the ground and took the foot off the accelerator knowing they had the game won. Once we fought back and felt like we had a sniff they snuffed it out immediately. It was the most one sided loss where we didn't have injuries all season.

The Hawthorn loss although we had plenty of valid excuses in that game.

The Collingwood losses. Mental errors. A clearly concussed McGovern being allowed to take his kick after the siren. He normally would have slotted that one through the middle.

The Adelaide and St. Kilda games. Lost late because of mental errors.

Mental errors is the consistent theme of the season. I believe they're caused by the physical weaknesses that the club has (lack of pace and burst speed)

Where to next season?

* The hiring of new line coaches and specialist assistants

* An inquiry into our medical department beyond high performance

* Delist the perennially injured (love you Marchy)

* Potentially lose a free agent (Owies)

* Make a couple of trades that help our mid-draft positioning (Carroll)

* Hopefully find another Acres or Hewett caliber player (or two) who has pace and fills a missing hole

* Free agent signing of Haynes to bolster our defense

* Hopefully drafting a KPD type in the draft and adding a pacy mid rotation who can play that high half-forward role out of the gate.


TL;DR -- I don't care. I had an entire day to stew and get this out. Still spent plenty of time with family today. It was great.
 
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