What went wrong and where to next? Jenkins and Maher review Carlton's late-season blues

Carlton’s season had all the promise in the world off the back of an exhilarating September dash in 2023.

But it all came crashing down at the final hour, with major injury issues and a lack of consistent footy in the back end of the calendar seeing the Blues crawl into the Finals, before being swept aside by the Lions with a degree of comfort.

SEN’s Josh Jenkins is of the belief that the Blues’ injury woes played a larger part in the club’s derailing than made out, with the club’s first team players missing over 150 combined games across the year.

“Opposition fans are not going to cop it, and that’s fair enough,” Jenkins told SEN The Run Home.

“(The injuries) crippled their year. It absolutely crippled their season. Their win in Round 15 against the Cats, 63-point win, particularly on the back of where Geelong currently sits, Walsh and Cripps had 74 combined (disposals).

“Walsh missed all of the pre-season and the first however many games and then exploded, came in straight away and exploded, but then quickly stopped and was just grinding.

“If they can get on top of that, they need to. Those two had 74 between them on that night, (Charlie) Curnow kicked five, he didn’t play in the finals we know that. (Harry) McKay kicked three.”

Both Jenkins and SEN’s Andy Maher identified one individual break-out Bagger as the club’s most important piece for the future.

25-year-old ruckman Tom De Koning played his best career footy in 2024, finding a career-high 16 disposals a game to go with 20 hit outs and five clearances.

Upon going down with a collapsed lung and a fractured foot in mid-July, which saw the beginning of the Blues’ late-season slump.

“(Tom) De Koning… when he went down, they went down,” Jenkins said.

“Because he was also the one who turned them into a scary proposition around the ball. He had 25 disposals that night, kicked a goal, 10 score involvements, seven clearances and seven inside fifties.

“We even saw his impact when he was subbed into the game (against Brisbane). He is so dynamic around the ball. He is so athletic, he’s such an energiser for them, when he went down, they went down.”

“He is a restricted free agent at the end of next year, which is, from a Carlton perspective, terrifying,” Maher added.

“He is their future; he is the future of this football club. They have got established players who are very fine footballers, and we’ve got some kids who we don’t know about at this stage.

“If this team is going to be anything in the next couple of years, Tom De Koning is central.

“Between now and sometime in the not-too-distant future, from a Carlton perspective you’re saying, ‘please give me some news that he has signed for six years, and you’ve locked him away’.

“He is the player that will make a difference to this team, more than any other player, he makes a difference to that team.”

Looking forward to 2025, both Jenkins and Maher believe they have a top four list in the AFL, however, lack a certain brand of footballer that may be vital in taking the next step.

Jenkins: “They are another team who need creative, hard running half forwards.

“(Orazio) Fantasia, (Matthew) Owies and (Corey) Durdin aren’t going to get it done for you, and Motlop, they aren’t going to get it done, I’m sorry.

“You might be able to play one or two of them, they don’t win enough of the ball, but as a group, you cannot win enough of the ball.

“They need the half forwards that all the teams that are left in it have all got.”

Maher: “They might have one, and he only played two games.

“This kid Ashton Moir… the kid at 17 was elite, top five in the country according to some judges, goes into his 18 year, has Bursitis in his hip, and goes backwards, slides, can’t play.

“I think they have got on top of that, and you see some glimpses, he looks like the higher the level, the better he’s going to go.

“You’ve got to believe in something.”

Jenkins: “I think they are a top four list. I thought there were times this year where they looked like the best team in footy.”

In Moir’s first two AFL games, entering both games as the substitute, Moir managed an average of four disposals and a goal in under 30 minutes of game time.

Plenty to do for Michael Voss and the Blues over the off-season, with expectations remaining as high as any entering 2025 and beyond.