Carlton CEO Brian Cook has identified four key areas where things have improved for the club in 2022.
The Blues are sitting fifth on the ladder with a 10-4 record on the back of a powerful 31-point win over top-four side Fremantle last weekend.
The club has been languishing outside the top eight for the last eight seasons, but look destined to return to the post-season action this year under the guidance of Michael Voss.
Cook says the coach is one of the main reasons, among other things, why it has turned for the Blues who finished 13th last season.
“I think there’s three or four things,” he said on Sportsday.
“One is the players were certainly in a state of readiness for change and when you get a group of players who are already for change and lapping up new things that are coming their way, that’s the first thing.
“I think he (Voss) is a great leader. I think he’s managed to appoint wonderful assistant coaches that make up for things he may not be strong at, because you can’t be strong at everything.
“The other thing is, there is talent there and there is good resources at Carlton.
“If you put all those together - talent, resources, state of readiness, good coaching - you’re on a pretty good journey.”
The Blues have muscled their way into premiership calculations while dealing with a number of injuries to key personnel.
The latest is a casualty list of 17 players including Jacob Weitering, Zac Williams, Marc Pittonet and Mitch McGovern, which has drawn constant criticism towards director of high performance Andrew Russell.
Despite the frequent injuries, Cook has denied claims that Russell has underperformed during his tenure at Ikon Park.
“He sits with a lot of respect amongst our playing group and our staff,” he added.
“He is what I would call an expert in subject matter around high performance and I think he has done a marvellous job at the club since I’ve been there.
“He certainly has done very well. Some people are very critical because of the number of injuries we’ve got at the moment. People really need to look at the type of injury that they have. I think eight of those are collision injuries as distinct from overuse.
“I don’t think it’s fair to blame anyone at the club on the injuries we have. It’s been a combination of collision and overuse.
“I think he has a very good future.”
The Blues will look to push into the top four when they meet St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.