Last season
The Blues suffered through a disastrous 2018 that saw them anchored to the bottom of the table with just two wins.
Despite all the doom and gloom, Carlton fans would have been rapt with contract extensions for star centrepieces Charlie Curnow and Patrick Cripps.
The deals tie Curnow and Cripps to the Blues until the end of 2023 and 2021 respectively.
As a result of the on-field misery, Carlton secured the No.1 overall draft pick in the draft to add ball magnet Sam Walsh to a growing core of young players that the club are confident will lay the foundation for long-term success.
Off-season grade
In: Mitch McGovern (Adelaide), Will Setterfield (GWS), Nic Newman (Sydney), Alex Fasolo (Collingwood), Sam Walsh (Pick 1, Geelong Falcons), Liam Stocker (Pick 19, Sandringham Dragons), Finbar O’Dwyer (Pick 66, Yarrawonga), Ben Silvagni (Pick 70, Oakleigh Chargers), Hugh Goddard (Rookie, St Kilda), Michael Gibbons (Preseason supplemental rookie), Matthew Cottrell (Preseason supplemental rookie)
Out: Jesse Glass-McCasker, Nick Graham, Sam Kerridge, Jed Lamb, Aaron Mullett, Cameron O’Shea, Matthew Shaw, Ciaran Byrne, Cilian McDaid, Alex Silvagni, Matthew Wright
Offseason grade: B+
Carlton will be ecstatic with the acquisition of Will Setterfield from GWS for a bargain price.
The Blues managed to pry the 2016 No.5 pick and a fourth-round pick from the Giants, in return for a 2018 third-round pick and 2019 second-round pick.
Throw in Walsh and Liam Stocker with their first-round picks and the club added three more players to its extensive list of young talent featuring Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Paddy Dow, Zac Fisher, Jacob Weitering, Caleb Marchbank, Sam Petrevski-Seton and Harry McKay.
23-year-old dual VFL Best & Fairest winner Michael Gibbons and Dandenong Stingray running machine Matthew Cottrell also join the Blues as supplemental selection period rookies.
Meanwhile, the additions of McGovern and Newman bring much-needed experience and quality to an inexperienced playing group, and the club shed some extra weight with the delistings of Graham, Lamb, O’Shea, Kerridge and Mullett.
A second season-ending ACL injury to co-captain Sam Docherty comes as a devastating blow, while an Australia Day incident will also see new recruit Alex Fasolo sidelined for six to eight weeks with a broken arm.
Defining period
Despite their horror 2018, Carlton face a surprisingly challenging fixture to begin 2019, with clashes against Richmond at the MCG, Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval and Sydney at Marvel Stadium
Round four poses as a must-win as the Blues travel to Metricon Stadium to play Gold Coast, before returning to Melbourne the following week to take on the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium in Round five. If the Blues are to make any progress this year, those are both very winnable games.
If Carlton can't win either of those games they could be looking at a 0-9 start to the season - their next four games are Hawthorn away (Tasmania), the Kangaroos and Pies in Melbourne and GWS away.
Best 22
FB: Nic Newman, Jacob Weitering, Lachie Plowman
HB: Kade Simpson, Caleb Marchbank, Dale Thomas
C: Paddy Dow, Marc Murphy, Sam Walsh
HF: Matthew Kennedy, Charlie Curnow, Zac Fisher
FF: Mitch McGovern, Harry McKay, Alex Fasolo
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Patrick Cripps, Will Setterfield
I/C: Ed Curnow, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Liam Stocker, Jack Silvagni
Strengths and weaknesses
Carlton will head into 2019 with one of the better midfields in the competition, with Matthew Kreuzer supplying the likes of Cripps, Murphy, Ed Curnow, Setterfield and Walsh.
Meanwhile, the additions of McGovern and Fasolo, when fit, provide extra jumping targets in the forward line to take some of the attention away from Charlie Curnow.
However, questions linger over the fitness of a number of players: Murphy, Kreuzer, McGovern, Fasolo and Daisy Thomas.
Charlie Curnow is an elite young talent, gifted with incredible running and marking ability, and could see his goal tally climb into he 40s this year after kicking 34 in 2018.
However, Carlton’s best 22 is still incredibly inexperienced and the young Blues will probably struggle for consistency throughout 2018.
Has the club done enough over the summer to improve a side that only managed two wins in 2018?
Prediction
17th
While Carlton’s list managers have to be commended for their ability to stack this team with so many young, high draft picks, this is still an incredibly inexperienced Blues outfit.
Carlton faithful should be prepared to exercise continued patience throughout 2019, as the club looks to mature the playing group through experience.
While you could expect improvement on last season's two wins, don’t expect too much out of this young team just yet.
