Round 1 can’t come soon enough for Blues fans after their five-point win over Melbourne on Thursday night.
Under Michael Voss, Carlton looked strong and dynamic at the contest and had a genuine gameplan, holding off the reigning premiers despite playing just 17 men in the second half.
Melbourne charged home, and many would have expected the Blues to fold as has often been the case. However, they hung on, and maybe, just maybe, this is the new Carlton.
However, both clubs were understrength, notably Melbourne in defence, and it’s difficult to make too many judgments going forward.
Here’s everything we learnt from Thursday night’s clash.
Carlton’s midfield could be the up there with the best in 2022
Four midfielders led the way for the Blues against the Demons, and all four were up there with the best players on the ground. New recruits Adam Cerra and George Hewett fitted in seamlessly and combined for some monster numbers.
The duo put up 62 disposals, 16 score involvements, 11 clearances and 10 inside 50s and were stunning both inside and outside of the contest.
As good as they were, those two were overshadowed by two other men in Blue, Matthew Kennedy and Patrick Cripps.
Kennedy has no doubt been inconsistent throughout his career, but the 24-year-old began to show what he can do when he had a clear run at it late last year. He had 37 disposals and nine marks to be a clear second-best on the ground against Melbourne.
However, all the talk post-game will be about Cripps, who posted a remarkable return to form with 30 disposals, 10 clearances and four goals. The skipper played most of 2021 sore and was well below his best, but Cripps addressed queries he wouldn’t get back to All Australian form with tough, hard footy, proving his role has a future in the game.
Of course, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. But if those four can put in performances like that consistently as a unit, and Sam Walsh returns early in the season, there’s every chance their on-ball unit ends up as one of the best.
A forgotten defender might have reinvigorated himself
Mitch McGovern no doubt had a tough season in 2021, but a positional shift may be about to show us what he can do.
A switch to defence was flagged over the pre-season for the former forward, and many would have held concerns over the chances for it to work. However, McGovern impressed last week in the first practice match in the role, and Thursday’s performance signalled the 27-year-old could play there all year.
He finished with 19 disposals, six marks and four tackles, but it was his 11 intercept posessions that will impress Voss the most.
We might have just witnessed the revival of an incredibly talented player that was almost lost to the game.
Clubs will need to be careful on the umpire interpretation rules
Melbourne gave away a whopping eight 50 metre penalties last night, six of them leading to goals to Carlton, which was ultimately the game in itself.
It was the most ever in any game of AFL, after the league has cracked down on umpire abuse and initiated a zero-tolerance policy, and the differences were stark on Thursday night. Any show of frustration, not just abuse, resulted in a 50 metre penalty, the umpires very hot on the whistle.
How the fans react will be interesting, but the AFL has set the tone early in suggesting anything that could remotely make the umpires feel uncomfortable will be punished, and like Melbourne, could result in a game-changing swing.