If not this year, when will Carlton’s top-eight drought finally end?

After Carlton ended the 2022 AFL season in ninth place, Blues fans would have been disappointed to miss the finals losing to their arch-rivals by a solitary point and Melbourne the week before by 5 points.

But with 12 wins and a percentage of 108.3 Blues fans were content that Micheal Voss’s men were progressing nicely.

Nine rounds into 2023, results have not improved and arguably progression has gone backwards leaving fans restless.

The last time Carlton played finals was back in 2014. Ever since that point, there has been an endless rebuild consisting of awful list management decisions and the departures of Mick Malthouse, Brendan Bolton, and David Teague at Ikon Park.

Indeed, list management has been a problem at the Blues, setting back their climb to the top of the ladder. High draft picks of Paddy Dow (pick 3) Sam Petrevski-Seton (pick 6), Lachie O’Brien (pick 10) and Liam Stocker (pick 19) have all not worked out for the club. Getting these picks right is crucial for a premiership build.

Have we all forgotten the Hawthorn dynasty?

Draft picks were nailed by the Hawks, acquiring Jarryd Roughhead (pick 2), Lance Franklin (pick 5) and Jordan Lewis (pick 7) all in the same draft.

And the recycled Giants recruits over the years, with Kristian Jaksch, Matthew Kennedy, Jed Lamb, Caleb Marchbank, Rhys Palmer, Lachie Plowman and Will Setterfield, the list goes on. Yes, it may be unfair to list these players, however, the Blues have not been able to recover since.

In recent years the Blues have gone out to recruit experienced players such as Zac Williams, Mitch McGovern, Adam Saad and Adam Cerra. It is fair to say the football world has not seen the best of these players, Saad being the outlier.

The other three seem to have been overpaid from the return that they have given so far. Since joining the Blues at the end of 2018, McGovern has only played 48 games at the club whilst Zac Williams’s body has continued to let him down.

So when, if not this year, for finals?

Carlton CEO Brian Cook believes it is not the “end of the world,” if the team misses the eight this year.

Carlton player Adam Cerra said, “It’s not a failure. Every day we’re just trying to get better in progress. If we’re improving from last year as a team, not ladder position, but our connection within the group it’s not a failure.”

Expectations seem to have changed since the start of the year until now in Round 10.

This year the Blues are ranked third for disposals and 14th for inside 50s, emphasising their inability to move the ball forward, compounded by the Blues’ mids not impacting matches with Brownlow Medallist Patrick Cripps ranked 360th in the competition for impact from ball use.

But not just Cripps, with Sam Walsh ranked 355th, George Hewett 242nd, and Matthew Kennedy 110th. Ironically, Adam Cerra, being their best ball user ranked 52nd, is spending more time in a half-back role.

Does the club have enough ball elite ball users around the ground? Carlton are second in the competition for contested possession and sixth for turning the ball over with players like Sam Docherty and Nic Newman racking a heap of the ball down back but seem to do little damage when with it.

In fact, the Blues are ranked 12th for scores for, surprisingly with two key superstars forwards, Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow deep. McKay’s goal-kicking is a clear worry, with his indecisiveness on whether to kick a snap or a drop punt. McKay has kicked 12 goals and 11 behinds for the first nine games.

Many problems and too many question marks for a club attempting to contend for a flag this year.

Will their 18-22 players step up and lift the weight off their core stars? Only time will tell. The plight of Josh Honey, Matthew Owies, Corey Durdin and Matthew Cotrell will be again tested through the vigorous cycle of AFL football.

For now, the jury is still out. The time is now for this Blues side to make its mark on the competition because the AFL world has been waiting a long time to see the navy blue in full flight again.