It’s the fourth year of Brendon Bolton’s coaching tenure, and there has to be some signs of progress. Photo: AFL MEDIA

CARLTON
2018 record: 2 wins, 20 losses (18th)
List age ranking (oldest to youngest): 16th
List experience ranking (most to fewest games): 15th
Footyology draw ranking (easiest to hardest): eq.3rd

THE INS
Mitch McGovern (Adelaide), Alex Fasolo (Collingwood), Will Setterfield (GWS), Nic Newman (Sydney), Hugh Goddard (St Kilda), Sam Walsh (Geelong Falcons), Liam Stocker (Sandringham Dragons), Finbar O’Dwyer (Murray Bushrangers), Ben Silvagni (Oakleigh Chargers), Matthew Owies (Seattle Redhawks – NCAA), Michael Gibbons (Williamstown), Matt Cottrell (Dandenong Stingrays)

THE OUTS
Alex Silvagni (retired), Cam O’Shea (delisted), Aaron Mullett (delisted), Matt Shaw (delisted), Jesse Glass-McCasker (delisted), Matthew Wright (retired), Ciaran Byrne (retired), Cillian McDaid (retired), Sam Rowe (delisted), Jed Lamb (delisted), Sam Kerridge (delisted), Nick Graham (delisted)

THE BEST 22
B: Lachie Plowman, Jacob Weitering, Caleb Marchbank
HB: Kade Simpson, Liam Jones, Nic Newman
C: Zac Fisher, Ed Curnow, Sam Petrevski-Seton
HF: Jarrod Pickett, Mitch McGovern, Sam Walsh
F: Alex Fasolo, Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Patrick Cripps, Marc Murphy
Inter: Dale Thomas, Jack Silvagni, Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien
Emerg: Levi Casboult, Darcy Lang, Matthew Kennedy Will Setterfield

THE PROGNOSIS
In its golden age, Carlton was a club famously impatient for success. In the modern era, the Blues and their considerable fan base have had no choice but to be patient.

That interminable wait continues in 2019, the fourth year of Brendon Bolton’s coaching tenure, but with the signs of progress no more obvious than when he began in the job, Carlton coming off statistically its worst ever season.

Last year, Carlton won just two games in a season for a third time, but from more games than on those previous occasions, the result a fifth wooden spoon in a bleak 17-season period.

The three 100-points-plus shellackings the Blues copped was the most ever, their 59.1 per cent was their lowest in 117 years, their average losing margin was 49 points, and their run of games without topping the 100-point mark extended to 55.

With that backdrop, you must forgive the scepticism of the football world about what further ground can be made in 2019, even more so since newly-appointed co-captain Sam Docherty suffered a serious knee injury for a second time and was again ruled out of the action to follow.

It’s not, however, like there isn’t any light at all at the end of the tunnel. In Patrick Cripps and Charlie Curnow, Carlton has two of the most prodigious young talents in the competition. It may soon have another, too, given how comfortable No.1 draft pick Sam Walsh has looked thus far at senior level.

There’s been a bit of encouragement in the lead-up to 2019, too, in the signs shown by Sydney recruit Nic Newman, who could well slip into the hole left by Docherty, and VFL mature age recruit Michael Gibbons.

Former Crow Mitch McGovern is a big plus also, and Carlton has the potential to put together a far more productive forward set-up featuring him, Curnow and another still largely untapped key forward prospect Harry McKay, alongside a badly-needed ground-level goalkicker in former Magpie Alex Fasolo.

But continuous improvement is probably the key word for Carlton this season. There simply has to be some more tangible signs in 2019 that the painfully slow rebuilding process is beginning to yield some serious returns.

That means a whole tier of still relative youngsters (the Blues now with the third-youngest list in the AFL) need to expedite their rate of development.

To that end, there’s been some evidence during the pre-season Jacob Weitering is ready to go up another cog after a difficult 2018, while young runner Zac Fisher continues to impress.

More keys to that equation are 2017 draftees Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien, along with the still 21-year-old former Giant Matthew Kennedy and yet another largely untapped former GWS hand in Will Setterfield.

With their like on board, Carlton might finally be starting to assemble the sort of midfield roster closer at least numerically to the better teams in the competition. With only sporadic contributions, far too much is again likely fall to Cripps and veteran former skipper Marc Murphy.

Carlton fans have been pretty good at hanging tough for a long time now, prepared to accept short-term pain for longer-term gain. But you wonder how much more they could possibly take should this season not produce considerably more about which to enthuse than did the last dismal one.

THE PREDICTION
16th. Wins rather than ladder position might be a better indicator for the Blues given how many teams aspiring to improve appear ahead of them. Six or seven of them might be acceptable.

THE LADDER SO FAR (click on team to read)
16. CARLTON
17. ST KILDA
18. GOLD COAST