Much to the chagrin of supporters of the other 17 AFL clubs, Carlton are enjoying their best start to a season since 1996.
There are many reasons why the Blues are one of the bolters of season 2022 so far, along with Fremantle.
Their midfield has been bolstered significantly by recruits Adam Cerra and George Hewett, while captain Patrick Cripps is finally playing injury-free and, unsurprisingly, finds himself in Brownlow-winning form as a result.
Their twin towers up forward in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow have at long last been reunited after the latter missed more than two years of footy due to knee injuries.
Down back, Jacob Weitering and Sam Docherty find themselves in All-Australian contention while young ruckman Tom de Koning is looking every bit a future star with each passing week.
Underpinning all of this is a relentless focus on hard, aggressive footy as well as manic pressure which opposition teams almost always struggle to cope with.
And while the Blues are guilty of four dramatic second-half fadeouts already in the first 10 rounds, the damage they’ve inflicted in the first halves of those games have proven to be so significant that it holds them in good stead to hang on for the win each time regardless.
Is that trend sustainable later in the year when they will seemingly, inevitably, feature in their first finals series since 2013 (and the first one they would qualify for in their own right since 2011 given the Bombers were booted out of the top eight in 2013 due to the drugs saga)? It would be a brave punter to suggest so.
However, nearing the halfway mark of the season, Carlton are 8-2 in third spot, with only pre-season grand final favourites Melbourne and Brisbane ahead of them. It’s been quite the turnaround under new coach Michael Voss.
And as if the long-suffering Carlton faithful didn’t already have enough to be enthused about from the first two-and-a-half months of the season, their team has added another string to their bow in the past fortnight – versatility.
When reigning Coleman Medallist Harry McKay went down with a knee injury after Round 8, ruling him out for at least six weeks, many pundits viewed that as the moment that would grind the Blues’ momentum to a screeching halt.
Indeed, it seemed like a massive obstacle to overcome, especially considering how well he was combining with Curnow.
But in a masterstroke by Voss and his coaching team, they almost embraced the situation and saw it as an opportunity to try something different and employ a smaller forward line with Curnow as the centrepiece.
And with wins against GWS and Sydney since McKay was sidelined, it’s a case of so far so very good.
It wouldn’t be too bold to suggest that the Blues’ very own mosquito fleet has performed even beyond Carlton’s internal expectations over the past fortnight.
With Corey Durdin, Matthew Owies, Zac Fisher and newbie Jesse Motlop wreaking havoc in their forward 50, the opposition backlines have found themselves overwhelmed.
The quartet have been causing non-stop uncertainty with their effective ground-level work.
In fact, Carlton’s second quarter against Sydney last round was one of the most pressurised quarters of footy any team has produced so far this season, and those four players were central to the onslaught.
The Blues led the inside-50s 16-2 at one stage during the second term and Sydney’s backline totally capitulated under the relentless pressure as they conceded nine goals for the quarter.
A welcome by-product saw Curnow boot six goals for just the third time in his career.
In the past two games, Durdin, Fisher, Motlop and Owies have combined for 118 disposals, 55 contested possessions, 16 tackles, 11.10, 48 score involvements and three goal assists.
That works out to be on average 15 disposals, seven contested possessions, two tackles, 1.1 and six score involvements per player which is quite extraordinary given the small forward position is one of the hardest to play. It’s very much a ‘feast or famine’ part of the ground.
Durdin, in particular, has relished the added responsibility, winning the Rising Star nomination against GWS with 19 touches (eight contested) and 2.1, and again being one of Carlton’s best against the Swans.
One can’t help but see parallels between what Carlton are doing and what Richmond were forced to do back in 2017 with even more spectacular results.
The Tigers began that season with a forward set-up that featured two key targets in Jack Riewoldt and Ben Griffiths.
But when Griffiths was ruled out for the rest of the year, and subsequently retired, due to the prolonged effects of concussion, coach Damien Hardwick and his staff were forced to improvise and implemented a small forward line with Riewoldt serving as the focal point.
Suffice to say it proved to be a wild success as Dan Butler (30), Jason Castagna (26) and Daniel Rioli (25) combined for 81 goals, Dustin Martin bobbed up with 37, Josh Caddy chimed in with 21 and even Jacob Townsend finished up with 16 after a late flurry which began in Round 22. And, of course, Riewoldt led the pack with 54.
Richmond would go on to win the first of three premierships spread across four years that season.
This writer is not suggesting that automatically means Carlton will now win the 2022 premiership. Not at all.
Besides, unlike the Tigers of five years ago, Carlton’s second key forward McKay is scheduled to be back in a month.
But, importantly, what this past fortnight tells the Blues hierarchy is that if they do find themselves in a similar situation later in the year when the whips are cracking and one of their key forwards is unavailable, they have an ace up their sleeve and will probably be able to adapt.
Exciting for Carlton fans, nauseating for everyone else as the swagger and arrogance, that was synonymous with the Blues for decades up until the early 2000s, continue to grow with each passing week.
