Carlton mid-season report card: Blues’ rebuild on track as youngsters help show the way
CARLTON is 17th on the table but after blooding plenty of youngsters — and enjoying some memorable wins — the Blues’ reset appears on track, writes JON ANDERSON.
Carlton
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ANY season in which you beat arch rivals Essendon and Collingwood can’t be bad, even during a rebuilding (sorry, reset) year.
And aside from the 90-point debacle against Port Adelaide in Round 5, Carlton has largely been competitive.
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“We’ve been given a pretty decent look at what our future looks like, being able to blood some players who we know are going to be good for a long period of time,” assistant coach John Barker said.
“Their exposure to some really competitive games of AFL football will hold them in good stead. But there is still an expectation of high performance from them. And there could be possibly more to debut this year.”
“More to debut” this year could refer to 200cm key forward Harry McKay and 194cm forward Patrick Kerr, both of whom have pleased the club with their form at VFL level, while perennial whipping boy Liam Jones has been a revelation at the same level since being moved to defence.
The undoubted positives, or “the future” as Barker described them, have been the game time afforded David Cuningham, Charlie Curnow, Zac Fisher, Harrison Macreadie, Caleb Marchbank, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Jack Silvagni, Jacob Weitering and Tom Williamson.
Not all of them have been first-round draft picks, with Cuningham (pick No.23), Fisher (27) Macreadie (47), Silvagni (53) and Williamson (61) shaping as astute selections.
History says that group won’t be fully ready for another three or four seasons, so for them to help the Blues remain in most games says plenty about the future.
As for their established players, most have been solid with the rejuvenated and fit ruckman in Matthew Kreuzer igniting forward thrusts from the engine room.
When he plays well the Blues seem to follow.
Sam Docherty has grown into one of the finest mid-size defenders in the game, an All-Australian squad member last year who was rewarded with the John Nicholls Medal as club best and fairest. The challenge was to match that form which he has clearly done.
Levi Casboult is still taking contested marks, but has added conversion (17 goals, 4 behinds) to his CV under the tutelage of Saverio Rocca. It has transformed him into a valuable commodity given marking forwards are so sought after in today’s AFL world.
And then there is Patrick Cripps, his 22 years belying a mature mind, competitive nature and natural ball skills that ensures he wins vital clearances.
Weitering is an interesting player given he has played largely forward this season, before looking unusually shaky in defence against North Melbourne last round. Perhaps it’s time to let him develop down back.
Another positive for the Blues is the likely return of Irish-born half back Ciaran Byrne this month, the 22-year-old being looked upon as a long-term defensive springboard.
ROBBO SAYS:
When you’re locked into the future, all fans want to see is a bright future. They see it.
The last five weeks have produced wins over Collingwood and Sydney and losses to Fremantle, St Kilda and Fremantle, so they are in the mix.
Like the change in attitude from Bolton. No longer are gallant defeats acceptable, which means he has raised the bar internally.
Ticks for Curnow, Petrevski-Seton, Cuningham last week, Marchbank and Macreadie. The leaders are leading — Murphy, Kreuzer, Gibbs and Cripps is a beauty.
No finals, but 2017 wasn’t about finals. They’re forming a gang at Carlton and Blues fans should be confident with the direction.
ADAM COONEY SAYS:
Three wins in the first half of the year against Essendon, Collingwood and Sydney is a big tick for that happy little Vegemite, Brendon Bolton. I certainly underestimated Lachie Plowman and Caleb Marchbank. The kids can play! And SPS (Sam Petrevski-Seton) will be a star.
Teams are finding it harder to score against the Blues this year with Sam Docherty and Kade Simpson patrolling the halfback line. The only concern is lockdown fullback Sam Rowe is out for the year with a torn ACL. Geez, they’d love to have big, burly key defender Mark Austin back on the list to fill that void.
SEASON SNAPSHOT (17th — 3 wins, 7 losses — 78.9%)
SO FAR ...
R1 L43 Richmond
R2 L22 Melbourne
R3 W15 Essendon
R4 L28 Gold Coast
R5 L90 Port Adelaide
R6 W19 Sydney
R7 W23 Collingwood
R8 L19 St Kilda
R9 L35 Fremantle
R10 L17 North Melbourne
THE RUN HOME
R12 GWS ES
R13 Gold Coast MS
R14 Richmond MCG
R15 Adelaide MCG
R16 Melbourne MCG
R17 Western Bulldogs MCG
R18 Brisbane Gabba
R19 Geelong ES
R20 Essendon MCG
R21 West Coast S
R22 Hawthorn ES
R23 Sydney SCG
HITS AND MISSES
MONEY MAN
Marc Murphy has been Carlton’s best player, just reminding everyone how good the captain is when uninjured. The same applies to Matthew Kreuzer, while best and fairest Sam Docherty continues on from last year.
STOCKS RISING
Alex Silvagni, the veteran defender taken from Fremantle, has surely gone past the expectations of most supporters, while former Giant Caleb Marchbank has been everything the Bluse hoped for.
IT’S A BUST
Sam Kerridge finished 10th in last year’s best and fairest, but has played just two games and been only average in both. And Dennis Armfield has played just twice despite being part of the leadership group.
TRADE FORECAST
GOING, GOING?
With the Blues playing the kids and plenty of them showing a heap of promise, some fringe players will see the writing on the wall. But Bryce Gibbs remains the most interesting case. he wanted to head home to Adelaide last year but the Blues didn’t budge. Will they in 2017?
COMING?
Carlton’s spine looks in great shape heading into the future, but what about that midfield? There’s questions as to whether they bat deep enough in there. If Gibbs does get his way and heads home, could the Blues throw some money at a big fish to help out Cripps and Murphy?
STATS LEADERS
SuperCoach Points (ave)
Marc Murphy 113
Sam Docherty 113
Bryce Gibbs 103
Matthew Kreuzer 103
Patrick Cripps 99
Disposals (ave)
Marc Murphy 30.2
Sam Docherty 27.3
Bryce Gibbs 26.6
Patrick Cripps 26.1
Kade Simpson 23.8
Kick Rating (ave)
Jacob Weitering +9%
Lachie Plowman +9%
Marc Murphy +3.9%
Matthew Wright +3.8%
Dale Thomas +2.1%
Contested Possessions (ave)
Patrick Cripps 13.6
Ed Curnow 10.9
Marc Murphy 10.8
Bryce Gibbs 10.6
Matthew Kreuzer 8.7
Uncontested Possessions (ave)
Marc Murphy 18.9
Sam Docherty 18.6
Kade Simpson 16.6
Bryce Gibbs 15.6
Patrick Cripps 12.4
Metres Gained (ave)
Sam Docherty 508
Marc Murphy 420
Kade Simpson 399
Bryce Gibbs 376
Patrick Cripps 288
Intercept Possessions (ave)
Alex Silvagni 8.4
Sam Docherty 6.8
Caleb Marchbank 6.7
Sam Rowe 5.9
Lachie Plowman 5.5
Goals
Levi Casboult 17
Matthew Wright 13
Bryce Gibbs 8
Jack Silvagni 8
Marc Murphy 7
Score Involvements (ave)
Bryce Gibbs 6
Marc Murphy 5.9
Sam Docherty 5.1
Matthew Wright 5.1
Kade Simpson 4.8
Pressure Points (ave)
Patrick Cripps 60.8
Ed Curnow 48.8
Matthew Kreuzer 46.9
Sam Petrevski-Seton 46.5
Marc Murphy 45.2
FINALS ANALYSIS
Odds for eight: $101
Odds for flag: $1001
Carlton’s best finish depends on your viewpoint, although I suggest most Carlton supporters would cop 16th-17th given it brings a top-three draft pick.
Blues fans are displaying patience after a decade and a half of nothing much, but they do require obvious development and promise.
Originally published as Carlton mid-season report card: Blues’ rebuild on track as youngsters help show the way
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