Melbourne great Garry Lyon believes Carlton coach Brendon Bolton must start showcasing Carlton's offensive talents after implementing a strong defensive focus in his first two seasons as coach.
After the AFL gave Carlton five Thursday/Friday night games this season, Lyon says it's time for the Blues to flick the switch.
“They would want to be entertaining, they have four Friday night games and a Thursday night game,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I think it is a real pivotal time for Brendon Bolton in his coaching. He laid some foundations by stripping it back, a bit like Simon Goodwin did at Melbourne.
“Get the defensive part right, don’t get scored against heavily. I think people have seen and accepted that, but they now want to see it opened up a little bit."
Carlton have finished in the bottom two in attack over the last three seasons - including two 18th placed finishes - and Lyon says they now have the personnel to expand.
“With Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, Paddy Dow and all these talented young kids, they need to start to open it up a little bit.”
Carlton CEO Cain Liddle attempted to put a lid on fans' excitement over the club's young talent, saying they were still very much in a developmental phase as a group.
“I don’t want to put a ceiling on how many wins we might have, but I think there is some realities we need to consider,” he said.
“When you’re a young, developing list, you become more resilient on some of the older players. To lose Sam Docherty half an hour into preseason doesn’t help.
“What you will see from Carlton is the continued investment in those young players and you will see continued development.
“I urge all Carlton supporters not to judge that on wins and losses, because they can be misreading.
“I think everyone would agree SOS (list manager Stephen Silvagni) and his team have done a great job at the draft the last three years and they’ve traded in well.
“Are we aiming to have more than eight wins? We certainly are, but there’s a whole range of things that contribute to that.
“You’ll see continued investment in those younger players, and continued development, to create that sustained period of success we all want, rather than jumping up the ladder for one year and then dropping back off.”
Liddle curbing expectations at this point of the year is an interesting point of view from the CEO, with the Blues set to take on the reigning premiers in the season opener on March 22.
