Carlton CEO Cain Liddle has urged Blues fans to look past the win-loss category when assessing the club’s 2018 success.
The Blues enter the new campaign looking to break a four-year finals drought, but Liddle says going all-in to achieve that goal won’t be done, if it sacrifices long-term sustainability.
Since 2014, Carlton has finished 13th, 18th, 14th and 16th, but a quick climb up the table won’t be the priority.
“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,” Liddle told SEN Breakfast.
“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.”
The Blues have a slew of young talent in the system, as they had five rising star nominations last season in Caleb Marchbank, Sam Petrevski-Seton, David Cuningham, Jack Silvagni and Charlie Curnow.
Top 10 draft picks Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien add to Carlton’s influx of youth.
Over the weekend, The Age’s Jake Niall penned a column explaining how the Blues lack a connection with their fans, one that is celebrated at Richmond and other Victorian clubs.
In response, Liddle says the number of supporters Carlton has matches the largest in the league, but it is up to them, and the club, to build that relationship.
“I think the selling of the Carlton football club is everybody’s responsibility who works there, and equally as I put to our supporters on Saturday night, it’s as much their responsibility as it is ours,” he said.
“We have to continue to build that personal connection with our supporters that makes them want to convert, when the sentiment and timing is right.
“All the research suggests Carlton has a very big supporter base, and data would tell us, there is more than Richmond.
“Go back to Richmond, you talk about sentiment and timing.
“At the end of 2013, Richmond made the finals for the first time in 12 years.
“They had a massive membership campaign ready to go, joined over 5,000 members in August 2013, got to the start of 2014 and all the work was done.”
The Blues’ 2018 campaign begins on Thursday March 22 against the Tigers.