One of the least fond memories of my life is the 2013 elimination final between Richmond and the Blues, where Chris Judd tore my heart out of my chest and ate it like Khaleesi in Game of Thrones.<\/p>\n
I desperately want them to be bad.<\/p>\n
Despite that, and their game against Collingwood on Friday night, I think the Blues are for real. More so than they were last year, at least.<\/p>\n
Last year Carlton was fool\u2019s gold. Picking Brisbane in that preliminary final was the easiest tip of the season. To win premierships you need to be in the top third of the league for scoring off turnovers and the Blues were 14th.<\/p>\n
In fact, they didn\u2019t score enough in general with their best score source being from stoppage where they were only 5th. They were only 11th in the expected score.<\/p>\n
They defended well, ground, scored relatively well from stoppage, and were a strong contested ball side that didn\u2019t score enough. That kind of game style just doesn\u2019t stack up in modern football.<\/p>\n
From a list perspective, they were also mostly top-heavy, resembling Australia by pushing away the middle class and fielding a team of haves and have nots.<\/p>\n
This year, they\u2019ve remedied their ills in a big way.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re still dominant at scoring from stoppage, sitting comfortably on top of the league for that stat. They\u2019re still dominant at contested ball and in the clearance game. Even though they have been relatively poor defensively lately, that will ikely be fixed as players return.<\/p>\n
\n"In really tight games, it becomes about margins and the little things, so we'll give that the attention it needs." <\/p>\n
Vossy speaks on the match.<\/p>\n
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) May 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n