MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 30: Sam Walsh of there Blues celebrates a goal during the round 20 AFL match between St Kilda Saints and Carlton Blues at Marvel Stadium on July 30, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
There is a real sense of urgency at Princes Park following yet another disappointing season.
Failing to make finals for the eighth year in a row, the pressure is mounting on both the playing group and those staff members who have somehow escaped the boot.
Following such a poor year, the Blues looked to the off-season to try and bolster their stocks.
Throughout this time, not only did the Blues replace David Teague with Michael Voss, but they also added Adam Cerra and George Hewett to the mix.
With Blues fans eager to see how their new-look team fares, Carlton will be one of the most intriguing teams in the competition with all rival fans watching with anticipation.
Ins: Adam Cerra (Fremantle), George Hewett (Sydney Swans), Lewis Young (Western Bulldogs), Jesse Motlop, Domanic Akuei.
Outs: Michael Gibbons (Delisted), Sam Ramsey (Delisted), Liam Jones (retired), Eddie Betts (Retired), Marc Murphy (Retired), Levi Casboult (retired), Sam Petrevski-Seton (West Coast Eagles).
At the beginning of the season the Blues had, not for the first time, attracted major attention from the AFL community.
And once again, not for the first time, the Blues didn't live up to expectations, finishing the year 13th with a record of 8-14.
Whilst their season was generally filled with poor results, most notably their 95 point loss to Port Adelaide, they also had some good results which appeared to show signs of what is to come.
Among these, the Blues picked up a terrific win against Fremantle in Perth where they prevailed by 16 points. Coincidentally, their second-best win was against top-eight side Essendon where the boys from Princes Park had to dig their teeth in for another 16 point win.
However, many issues stemmed not just from tactics or personnel, rather, many of them were due to injury.
With players like Sam Docherty, Harry McKay, Patrick Cripps and most notably Charlie Curnow all either struggling to get on the ground or perform at their standard levels, the Blues selectors were left with multiple headaches on a weekly basis.
Despite 2021 being a disappointing season overall, there were still many mini-victories for the Blues.
The first and most notable strength was the arrival of big key forward Harry McKay who managed to win his first Coleman Medal after kicking 57 goals for the season.
Meanwhile, young gun Sam Walsh proved that he can end up being the best player in the competition after polling 30 votes to put himself fourth in the Brownlow Medal.
Given their age demographic, the Blues can rest on both McKay and Walsh as cornerstones for the future.
Furthermore, the Blues forward line is now filled with young talent with Charlie Curnow and Jack Silvagni joining Harry McKay as targets inside 50. This forward trio will be of great importance in 2022.
There are a variety of separate issues at the Blues which must be addressed by coach Voss in 2022.
The most glaring problem of them all is their defence which struggled to hold up to the better sides in the league. Whether this was as a result of a lack of personnel or a poor defensive system or both, it must be addressed urgently. Adding insult to injury, one of the club's best defenders, Liam Jones, retired at the beginning of their pre-season after having the best year of his career to date.
The Blues ended up conceding the second-most goals in the league in 2021, behind only North Melbourne, with 188 goals against.
Another major problem for the side from Princes Park is their lack of grunt and desperation in the contest. Boldly delineating this, the Blues finished 15th in both tackles and clearances. Since they were unable to get first use of the footy on a regular basis, it became very difficult for the defence to stop opposition forward lines from finding open space.
With the additions of ex-Docker Adam Cerra and ex-Swan George Hewett, the Blues will be looking to really improve in this area.
There are three main options for this category: Sam Walsh, Jacob Weitering and Harry McKay.
Despite McKay winning the Coleman Medal last year and Weitering being one of the most valuable defenders in the game, Walsh still gets the nod due to his sensational 2021.
As mentioned earlier, Walsh finished fourth in the Brownlow, polling 30 votes, a total that would have won in many other years.
Throughout the season, the superstar averaged 29.8 touches, 4.5 tackles and 4.8 clearances a game, while often dealing with a tag.
His ability to get the hard ball and also hurt opposition teams on the spread with brilliant skill and decision-making makes him an extremely valuable asset for the Blues.
The Blues have no shortage of young talent, with one young gun in particular primed to have a stellar season. Zac Fisher struggled with his game throughout 2021, with an ankle injury sidelining the small forward for a chunk of the season.
Upon his return to the senior side, Fisher failed to make much significant impact, though his speed around the ball once again proved to be a valuable asset.
Fisher averaged 15.9 disposals a game in 2021, but under the guidance of new coach Voss who may look to utilise Fisher more in the midfield, may be able to improve his game further, with his classy disposal valuable around the ground.
With yet another pre-season under his belt, and looking in good form following Carlton's intraclub match, the 23-year-old looks on track to develop into yet another one of Carlton's young stars.
The six-week period at the start of the year is absolutely crucial for the Blues for a number of reasons. The early win-loss factor is an obvious stressor, with a side that has its eyes on finals needing to bank up as many wins as possible.
However, on a much broader scale, some early losses will put a tonne of pressure on the newly appointed Voss and the organisation as a whole.
Voss would have spent a fair chunk of the pre-season trying to build up the mindset of the boys in blue so to lose a string of early games would leave the club in tatters.
In this six-week time frame, the Blues will face the Tigers (H), Bulldogs (A), Hawthorn (H), Gold Coast (A), Port Adelaide (H) and Fremantle (A), potentially finding themselves underdogs in more than half of those. An early loss against the Suns or Hawks and all that pre-season talk could be undone before the Blues even reach winter.
With new additions over the off-season and another year under their young players' belts, the Blues should be able to climb the ladder in 2022.
With their new-look midfield adding some much-needed grunt, all while their youngsters continue to mature and improve, it's expected that there should be a boost in the side's performance. Additionally, the Blues may end up surprising quite a few with their new toughness and edginess.
Predicted Position: 8th