This is a tough one to write for me, so before I start the preview, I’ll come clean – at the risk of alienating the fan base in the first paragraph, I admit that I hate Carlton. Of all teams, this is the team I dislike the most.
It’s not because I follow a team with a deep-seated hatred of the Blues or anything, but rather, it’s because I have long memory… and I am fearful of what they were, and what they could one day be again.
I’m getting on, now. And when I first started taking an interest in footy, Carlton were THE team… and man, did their supporters ever let everyone know about it.
Although I started taking a passing interest in footy a coupele of years before, as the family were heavily invested, it wasn’t until 1978-79 that I started having genuine investment, and around that time, Carlton emerged as a powerhouse (yet again).
They won 19 of 22 games in 1979 and went on to win the flag. After a one-year break (winning 17 of 22 in 1980), they were at it again in 1981, with 17 home and away wins and a flag. They followed that up with another premiership in 1982 when they had 16 home and away wins.
Wanna know their record in those four years?
Me too, so I added it all up.
69 home and away wins from a possible 88 games, for a 78.4 win percentage, a 7-3 finals record, and three premierships.
This was my childhood in terms of footy, and attending an inner Melbourne primary school, the Carlton fans let everyone know about it.
Consistently.
Mercilessly.
They were not just up and about – they were lording it over anyone and everyone.
The names of the greats gracing the club rolled off the tongue – Wayne Johnston – the Dominator, Wayne Harmes, Robert Walls, Mark McClure, Val Perovic (Woof!), Alex Marcou, Rod Ashman (one of the most underrated players by modern experts), and of course, the almighty Jezza. What a bloody team!
I hated, and feared them, and that feeling has stuck with me. Haunted me, perhaps, waiting to once again emerge and send me scurrying home, to a house where those Blues supporters can’t find me. Only, now they can. The phone goes off, I answer it and it is a mate singing “da da-da da-da” after a Blues win.
Told ya it’s scary.
Coming into the 2024 season, I started to get the feeling the Blues were finally ready, once more, to ascend to the top of the mountain. Johnston, Harmes, and Jezza had been replaced by Cripps, McKay, and Curnow, and the Carlton army, so long dormant, were not just stirring, but they were starting to make a lot of noise.
This was exactly what I feared. There was a swagger abiout Carlton fans again. There was an expectation in the air. Years after they said they were coming, they had arrived in a big way. They seemed ready to deliver.
Only… 2024 did not play out the way the Blues envisioned.
This was supposed to be Carlton’s year – they’d laid the groundwork, built the list, and they’d been to the Preliminary Final in 2023. This season loomed as the drought-breaker.
However, like so many other years, it turned into more of a heartbreaker, instead.
Carlton supporters have become used to having their hopes dashed in recent times, but 2024 felt particularly cruel.
At the halfway point of the year, the Blues were on a roll. Sitting second, and only trailing the Swans, the Blues loomed as a potential premier. As late as Round 19, Carlton held second spot on the AFL ladder.
And then it all went downhill.
Consecutive losses to Port Adelaide, Collingwood, and Hawthorn shook the club, but it was the repeated ankle injuries to Charlie Curnow that all but ended the Blues’ hopes.
Like a spear without a head, the Blues struggled to kill teams off, and as they limped into the finals following a loss to the Saints in the final round, their first half against the Lions in the Elimination Final was embarrassing.
They were cooked. They looked defeated.
Carlton supporters find themselves in a familiar position heading into the 2025 season. The talent is there, but once again, there are questions about the team, the coach, and the future. Many believe that Michael Voss isn’t a great coach. Some think that the second level of Carlton players are not at the level required to step up and help the stars. Whilst others, still, subscribe to the theory that it was injuries that cost the team, and little else.
The Blues are one of the more interesting stories of the 2025 season. They could be something special, or they could fall in a deep crevasse. With a line-up boasting names like Cripps, Walsh, Curnow, Weitering, and McKay, they look like they should be contenders.
Can they be?
It’s that time of year, already.
The break after Christmas and New Year is over and 2024 is well and truly in the rear-vision mirror. The holidays are finished for AFL players, and the hard stuff starts now. Yes, the teams had been training for well over a month prior to Christmas, but as we head into 2025, the stakes are raised, and the intensity increases.
This is where premierships are won and lost. This is where improvements are made and lists come together. This is where the kids show if they’re serious or not. New faces, new colours, old heads with renewed passion… so much feeds into the making of a contender. And as the days tick down toward the intra-club clashes, practice games, and eventually the real stuff, questions are raised about each team and how they’re going to perform in this new season.
And that’s where HB and The Mongrel come in.
We don’t do things by halves here, at The Mongrel Punt. When we do a season preview, we go all out to make sure it is the best, most comprehensive coverage you’ll receive. We pride ourselves on it. If you are going to read one season preview for your team, or any team, this series will provide it.
The way it works is as follows.
Each club has a minimum of 15 questions asked about the upcoming season, their coaches, their players, and their expectations. The answers are not glossed over. We dive deep on each and every one of them – some singular answers would normally be long enough for an entire column. The first five questions/answers are free for you to consume. The next 10-14 for each club are for our members, including a special appearance from Mrs Mongrel to throw her two cents in the mix.
Isn’t it a bit early for a season preview? Well, I suppose, but do you know how long it takes to write seven-to-nine thousand words? That’s 18 x 8,000… gets out the calculator… that’s 144,000 words. The average novel is about 85,000 words, so buckle the hell up with these previews; we’re going deeper than ever.
Also, if there are any issues that arise after the publication of the preview for any team, they will be covered in standalone articles to act as additions to this preview.
You will not read a deeper season preview than this – I guarantee it. This is where we start the run to the new season, and believe me – nobody does it better than The Mongrel.
And now we come to the Baggers. Carlton, you’re up
Enjoy. And I promise not to short-change you on the review after this long-ass intro.
1 – WHO FINDS THE 30+ GOALS MATT OWIES LEAVES BEHIND?
This is the sticking point for Carlton fans, who are looking their list up and down and wondering the same thing.
With Matt Owies departing the club and heading to West Coast, Carlton enter the 2025 season without a proven small forward. They’ve got the marking options covered very well, but when the ball hits the deck, who are they looking to rely on?
Owies kicked 33 goals in 2024 – behind only the big duo of Curnow and McKay. The next best player that constitutes a small forward was Zach Williams, with 15… and his body has been a train wreck since the moment he was traded to the Blues from GWS.
Looking further down the list, Orazio Fantasia somehow remains on the Carlton list, and despite some arguing that Fantasia is Italian for “non-contact”, he is the only man fitting the description of a genuine small forward with a decent amount of goals to his name.
For the record, he had nine of them in 2024.
The Carton fans I talk to are high on Ashton Moir, who is more a medium forward, but has good hands and good wheels, but the kid is only 19 and has played two games. To expect him to play a huge role is probably unrealistic at this point. However, if he can wet his feet in the AFL waters, perhaps the club has ensured it is not going to run into the same issues with the role in a couple of years.
Jesse Motlop has played 40 games for 42 goals, which is a nice return, and I hope it’s enough to give him a good look at the role if he’s fit, and finally, there is Corey Durdin, who has played 48 games for 34 goals.
So, do you think there is one team in the league that looks at that array of small forwards and thinks oh no… we might have our hands full, here?
Nah, didn’t think so.
Carlton’s bigs will do the job, and they’ll have to. Curnow, McKay, and De Koning are going to have to carry a huge load this season in terms of scoring, as the chances of one of these smaller Blues forwards kicking big numbers looks remote.
That doesn’t mean I’m barracking against them – I would love to see one of them jump out of the box and make their name in 2025, but if we use history as our guide, this is the position that is the weakest part of the Carlton lineup.
If they get anything resembling good form from this cohort, it is a blessing. And a complete surprise.
2 – WHAT CAN JACK SILVAGNI ADD TO THE TEAM IN 2025?
There is nothing special about Jack Silvagni when you’re looking at what he provides with his play. He isn’t quick. He doesn’t have the monstrous leap at the footy like his old man did. He doesn’t outmuscle many, either.
So, if I go onto say he is vitally important to the Blues in 2025, why would that be? What does he have that will propel these Blues onwards and upwards.
Heart.
Jack Silvagni is a heart and soul player. He is the type of teammate you’d go to war for, and he’d do the same for you. Having him in the team makes others walk taller.
Need someone to jump into the ruck despite being outsized?
Silvagni’s your man.
Need someone to stand up inside 50 and offer something different when the conventional forwards are having a dirty day?
Look to Jack.
Of all the analysis I read of Carlton’s 2024 season, only one person managed to bring up Silvagni’s name, and it tells me that all the others have no bloody idea about how team dynamics work.
When you have a player like Jack Silvagni, you have a rallying point for the entire team. If you’ve got time this off-season… which is quickly starting to run out (what happened to all those things I planned to do?), chuck on an old game featuring JSoS, and watch his reactions. He is invested in every passage of play. The bloke cares so much about what is happening on the field – he can’t hide it.
Some try to do so under the guise of ‘professionalism’, but Silvagni wears his heart on his sleeve, and he lives and breathes everything to do with Carlton.
This is what the Blues need out there.
A couple of years ago, I toyed with the idea of creating an ‘IGAS’ team, featuring a player from each club. Silvagni picked himself for it – IGAS was an acronym for “I Give A Shit”.
And that’s what Silvagni does. He gives a shit about every game, every contest, every effort. When you have a player like that alongside you, his care rubs off on you.
He is the type that some would call a “glue guy” – he binds this team together. And when the Blues were falling apart in 2024, it was painfully obvious that they needed a glue guy like Jack to pull them back together.
I like the Blues a lot better with Silvagni on the field. You will never dount what he offers. He gives everything he has, every single time.
3 – CAN NICK HAYNES GIVE THE BLUES ONE GOOD SEASON?
Just one?
Yes.
Any more than that, I reckon it’s asking a bit much.
Go back a few years, and Haynes was one of the best intercept markers in the game. However, a series of injuries, as well as a very strong and settled GWS back six, made his place in the team more reliant on luck than skill. As he worked back into shape, others jumped ahead of him, and once that occured, all they had to do was play good footy to retain their place.
And so, Haynes had a look around, sent out the feelers, and assessed that he could play some good footy elsewhere. And that place was Carlton.
The Blues have a gun in defence. Jacob Weitering has been one of the best key defenders in the game for years, and he was finally rewarded with an All-Australian berth in 2024. Mind you, we had him as our Defensive Player of the Year back in 2021 – the rest of the league was just slow in catching up.
However, the supports around their defensive pillar have been a little shaky. With the departure of Liam Jones after his covid vaccination rejection, the Blues have relied on players like Lewis Young, Mitch McGovern, and Lachie Plowman to hold the fort.
Man… not the type of support that’d be your first choice, is it?
I have no question that Haynes saw a bit of a perfect storm here – a club with a glaring hole in its list, and a chance to play senior footy in a meaningful role. If he is at his best, he is a fantastic one-year addition to the Blues, and a fantastic bridge to a time when they’re able to deal for, or develop a player to work alongside Weitering.
So, what does his best season look like?
Well, whilst I want to be as optimistic as possible, I also have to remain realistic. Haynes is 32, and he is coming off an eight-game 2024 season. There is a very real possibility that he goes down in a heap at some stage, and the Blues find themselves back at square one, but if he stays healthy… well, then Carlton have themselves someone who brings a wealth of experience to the defensive end, and can grab a mark with the best of them.
If I were to say his pass mark was 15 games in the home and away season, plus finals, I reckon that would be fair. And it is probably not about his own numbers, but how much easier he makes it for the rest of the defence to function, that is the key.
4 – WHERE DOES ZAC WILLIAMS FIT NOW?
Geez, I have been disappointed with this bloke’s career at Carlton. My bet is that he hasn’t exactly been too pleased, either.
He showed up out of shape in year one, was quickly found out as a midfielder, got switched back into defence, and from that point on, his tenure has consisted of being injured until he was thrown forward in the middle of last year and snagged nine of his 15 goals for the year in just three games.
But is he still best 23?
Well, despite not really troubling those who compile Carlton’s best players on a week-to-week basis outside that three-week blast, he is still dangerous when he is on, and with the Blues struggling to muster a solid small forward line up in 2025, Williams’ output will be vital to Carlton kicking a winning score.
Can I see him consistently kicking goals?
Hmmm, well, I’d be pleased if he continually made it onto the field, if we’re being honest – he has managed 44 games in four years on the list, so I feel like he owes this team a big one. Already thirty years of age (where does the time go?) and out of contract following the 2026 season, I feel he kind of needs one big season to convince the Blues (and me) that he has something left to give. Another injury-plagued season, or another year where he fails to deliver… I’m not sure that the Blues will find a place for him after this season, let alone after 2026.
I know this is harsh, and I have heard a lot harsher from Carlton supporters about Williams. He came in with so much talent, and a fair bit of hyperbole. Whilst a knee injury is something that can derail even the best, when I watch both Williams and the departed Jack Martin, I have this nagging feeling that the Blues were sold a beautiful lie and ended up receiving the ugly truth when they got to the club.
Time to have the season of your life, Zac. The rent is due.
5 – WHERE DOES MICHAEL VOSS NEED THE BLUES NEED TO SIT AT THE BYE TO AVOID THE WOLVES CIRCLING
The wolves will be wolves. All they need is a sense that someone is wounded or vulnerable, and they’ll start salivating.
Ladies and Gentlemen… I give you the AFL Media.
The funny thing is, as long as Carlton are in touch, I don’t think it matters at all where they’re sitting on the AFL ladder at that point of the season. They were climbing up it last year, and ascended to second spot before it all came tumbling down – it’s not about where they’re sitting at Round 14. It’s about what happens on the run home that matters.
In two of the last three years, the Blues have had the finish line in sight, tripped over the hurdles and fell face-first into the ground.
2022 was a disaster, limping to the line like a wounded animal, they fluffed their lines against Collingwood in the final round, and tumbled out of the top eight.
Last year, they went from second to eighth in a matter of five weeks, and were humbled in the Elimination Final. They’re fading away like a Michael Jordan jump shot, only without the swish at the end, so Voss and his club should now only be assessed once their run has been completed.
Of course, that won’t stop the press from making huge calls, will it? It generates clicks and that’s what it’s all about. Not truth. Not facts. Just outrage and hot takes.
As soon as the Blues drop a few in succession, the press will be all over them. They’ll be questioning everything from their commitment to their pronouns, and their stance on climate change on every radio show, and in every column.
It’s at that point that Carlton supporters need to stick fat. There is no point in being the champions of June. Look at the Lions last year – many wrote them off after Round 13, they sat in 13th place.
And they finished like a train.
Let’s say the Blues are in that spot in 2025 – 13th place after 13 rounds of footy. Do you think they’ll get the benefit of the doubt from the press? Will they have learnt not to write teams off prematurely?
Of course they won’t, so if and when the heat comes for Voss, try not to buy into it. A lot of successful coaches would have been sacked right before the good times began had the media called the shots.
Let Vossy cook, and in the end, if the meal is no good, then you make the necessary call. Don’t kick him out of the kitchen while the ingredients are still being mixed together. All you’re left with is a mess.
The next 13 questions are for our members. Option to join below.
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