Despite being 0-2 going into round three, a number of young Carlton players have elevated their game from 2018.
Former St Kilda captain Nick Reiwoldt applauds Carlton youngsters for their efforts, impressed with what he has seen so far.
“Carlton, I look at their side, and I know they’re not in the very good team bracket at the moment, but in terms of where they’re heading, I don’t see a real weakness in terms of their growth and development,” Riewoldt told SEN Breakfast.
“What I mean by that is I think their backline looks really solid with Caleb Marchbank to come back in.
“Lachie Plowman is doing a great job, Jacob Weitering’s form so far this year has been really solid. His positioning has been good. He just hasn’t been making mistakes.
“Their midfield is loaded with young players with Paddy Dow, Sam Walsh and Patrick Cripps, who’s a superstar.
“Up forward, Harry McKay has really surprised me so far this year. His ability to mark the ball in contested situations, he hits the pack hard, he plays strong in the contest.
“Mitch McGovern had a patch. Where he needs to round out as a player is where he finds that consistency because he can go missing for large chunks of games, but he had a 10 minutes that was as good as anyone’s over the weekend.”
After finishing at the bottom of the ladder in the 2018 season, Carlton are showing more promising signs of what is to come. Whilst being defeated by 16 points against Port Adelaide, Carlton’s young players impressed, with Cripps, Dow and McKay all earning a spot in Carlton’s best.
Hoping to secure their first win for 2019, Carlton host the Swans at Marvel stadium this Saturday afternoon.
