Carlton 2024 Predictions / Expectations

[LP]

If we dont make the top 4 next year, 95% of this sites posters will go apoplectic

@Kruddler is correct, our fate doesn't just rest on delivering, it's just an injury or two away from derailment.

Under the current AFL TPP system most clubs have weak spots on list, clubs just can't afford to have depth in every position so they are forced to accept some risk. If you are lucky you get an low rate of injuries and a team can do a Dogs, but have a bad year and the best will fail.

So I don't think we would be apoplectic under any circumstance, but only if we burn our opportunities due to waste form or lack of effort.

[northernblue]

Nothing wrong about anything he wrote. If we dont make the top 4 next year, 95% of this sites posters will go apoplectic

I agree that 95% of gooses will lose their feeble minds but anyone with 1/2 a brain should be able to figure out that 11 wins does not = a premiership…
We struggled at the end of the season with injury, mental and emotional fatigue but also because the opposition had looked us up and down and were countering our strengths.
Playing next year like the back end of 2023 will see us mid table… we need to lift and develop new strategies.
Many a team has made the 8 only to flounder the following couple of years, our goal is to play finals again and make the top 4, beyond that it’s mostly luck…

[LP]

Playing next year like the back end of 2023 will see us mid table… we need to lift and develop new strategies.

Many a team has made the 8 only to flounder the following couple of years, our goal is to play finals again and make the top 4, beyond that it’s mostly luck…

Not sure we'll ever find more intensity than we had in the later half of last season, but developing new strategies to deal with opposition tactics is a must.

The difference between true believers and ratbag fans is the last bit highlighted, the ratbags don't get it.

You can have Moneyball quality list managements, Bellyache quality coaching, but get an injury to the wrong player at the wrong time and your season is stuffed. For example, if Cripps had picked up whatever it was he picked up in Rnd 3 instead of Rnd 18 or so, we would never have recovered our ladder position last season.

The ratbag fans(We have some high profile ones) will claim we must have a backup / sub for a Cripps / Walsh type, well good luck with that. A club can find ways to support it's better players, put some foundations in place around them, but having a backup for a Cripps or Walsh type is pure fantasy.

[Lods]

My expectation is that we'll win the whole bloody thing.
Anything less, and I'll be sad  :'(

We have the side that's capable.
We just need it all to click, some natural improvement... and a bit of luck.
The thing about our side is that we have few if any players who are on the downslide.
They're either at their peak or yet to reach it.

[tonyo]

One thing for sure, this team can enter the 2024 season KNOWING that they are good enough.  Prior to this, the hype at the start of every year was more about hope than belief.

Confidence and belief is what takes a talented team from middle-of-the-pack to top-of-the-tree.

[DJC]

I think that Ralph’s article is pretty close to the mark; on paper, at least, we are a genuine contender.

Earlier in the year, I thought that list deficiencies would hold us back.  The sustained return to fitness of Walsh, Martin, McGovern, Cuningham and Marchbank, the emergence of Kemp, Motlop, Cottrell and Boyd as genuine AFL-level footballers, Cerra and De Koning stepping up a level, Acres showing his true potential (and luck), and Cincotta, Cowan and Hollands making impressive debuts, with Binns not far off, has changed my mind; Vossy has got the cattle he needs.

Moving on players who weren’t quite good enough - Philp, Fisher, Dow, Honey and O’Brien - and those whose best footy is behind them - Ed and Plow - strengthens our list; provided Nick Austin nails the replacements.

Despite some supporters expressing concerns about how we’d go if Cripps, Walsh or Weitering was injured, we have adequate replacements and the players who can step up in their absence.  Even if Mirkov, O’Keeffe and Lemmey aren’t up to AFL standard yet, we do have options in the event of our rucks or KPPs missing through injury or suspension.

If we are fortunate on the injury front, our youngsters continue to develop, Austin’s list management decisions continue to pay off, the tweaks to the gameplan work. and we have a bit of luck, we’re definitely in with a chance.

Now, if one or both of the Irish boys becomes the next Zach Tuohy …

[Blue Moon]

My view is that we will win the Premiership unless we don't. Carlton has a recent past history of smugness and self satisfaction and accepting mediocrity as to our start to last season demonstrated. I think we have all the pieces but it is what goes on inside the minds of the players, the coaches and the administration that will determine our success. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and let's just enjoy the journey.
But it would be good.

[Professer E]

Jon Ralph has about as much credibility as a tea leaf reader

[spf]

Well, I had us making a prelim based on early season form this year. We dropped off the perch then came back from the dead. If we can just play reasonably consistent football, then we can go three wins or better improvement than this year. That should ensure a top 4 position.

[Sub-Zero]

A full year with Walsh in the side will do absolute wonders for us. Will do so for a bashed up Cripps as well. Add Cerra and rotations from Hewett, Kennedy, Fogarty, Cuningham, E. Hollands and/or even Carroll, you can't stop them all.
How will Williams go next year? How much can he improve us if he gets back to full fitness? Lots of depth on the HB line. Lots of depth there.
TDK looks ready to step up another notch again. Pittonet or Silvagni will be there with him. O'Keeffe at least another year away, but we have ruck options.
Some fresh faces introduced in Kemp and Motlop, Binns could play lots of games. Who else could there be?
Acres came in as an experienced player and did his deed. Can Fantasia do the same? Hopefully he can, he is an experienced player in that area of the ground, where we only really have Martin, though he is a more general forward.
Can Young come back in to cement his spot? He's an option at least if Weitering misses games. Kemp, McGovern, Marchbank and to an extent, Cincotta for aerial intercepts, the first three, though not necessarily desirable but if need be, as a second key tall partner option.
The biggest need next year if we're to go all the way, is our two key forwards to stay fit. Not much else there. What can we do if one or jeepers, both go down? That could royally screw us next year. Options would be to swing McGovern down there, would definitely prefer him over Kemp, let Kemp settle into his role and the level first. JSOS as an smaller size key forward. de Koning can still improve his craft as well, he showed he can kick them as an emergency resting second key forward against Melbourne.
If Martin and Fantasia can stay fit, along with the two key talls, Motlop continues to improve, there's five dangerous forwards. This is where the difference to reaching a flag could rest at.
This year was a wonderful ride, makes up for last year and more than that. Now is the time to at least repeat it and with an optimistic view, go further. Yes, the expectations will be on here. Let's end this long-suffering pain again.