Carlton’s continued ascension is taking the league by storm as it mounts a premiership case in 2024 — but its defence, not its offence, is getting the more recent plaudits.
The Blues dispatched Richmond last Sunday, marking their fifth consecutive win as they sit six premiership points clear in second spot on the ladder.
Michael Voss’ men are firming for a home qualifying final, and while Carlton’s dauting offence makes for popular conversation among pundits, two-time premiership Kangaroo David King instead chose to shine a light on the Blues’ burgeoning defence.
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“I think, when you look at Carlton and what they’ve been able to do in the last six-to-eight weeks, it’s been remarkable,” King began on Wednesday night’s AFL 360 Watch List.
“Everyone wants to talk about their scoring power, and their key forwards and the luxuries they’ve got in the midfield and how they’re in such form — and they’re doing all the things Joey (Leigh Montagna) spoke about Collingwood not doing — and the rewards are huge.
“But I want to talk about the back six or seven and what they’re doing, because this has been the big shift for me.”
“I think they’ve always had the capability of scoring because of the star-factor players, and talent can do it, but go to the men’s department down back.”
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Between Rounds 11-16, the Blues have been involved in 50 defensive one-on-one contests for just seven losses (a 14 per cent loss rate) — which is the AFL’s best defensive output.
“Five of those seven losses are in the air — only two on the ground,” King said. “It got me thinking, only two on the ground. What does that look like? How can you only lose two balls post-contest on the ground if you’re involved in 50 one-on-ones?”
King referenced to behind-the-goals vision of Carlton’s defensive organisation — in particular communication between players, as well as unrewarded gut-running by the likes of emerging defender Jordan Boyd.
“It’s a buy-in that’s just next level,” he said. “It’s communication that we’ve talked about with Melbourne 18 months ago, we talked about with Collingwood last year.
“This (vision) is nothing to do with stats. This is a level of trust in your teammates to release and go — an acceptance that you’ll do your job.
“(Boyd) works for 100 metres and gets nothing for it — (but) his teammates love it. Straight away, back, they’re all pointing again. The play’s on, they’re still communicating — I love it. Absolutely love it.
“These are levels I haven’t seen with Carlton. Carlton has been an individual team for a long time.
“It is unreal to watch. I can’t stop watching how quickly they are ready to work for one another. This is not really about numbers, because the numbers can sometimes lie, but when you see them punish like this, something’s right.”
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Since Round 11, Carlton has won the 11th-most intercepts, but it has scored the most points in the AFL from those takeaways.
The Blues are +36 in points from intercepts differential — number one in the competition.
“I just love how it looks and where it’s at now,” King told Fox Footy. “Since (Adam) Saad’s come back, they look bulletproof down back.
“Boyd’s a serious player and Weitering’s allowing them all to do that saying: ‘it’s OK, if they get through the last line, I’ve got it covered’.”
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King commended Carlton’s all-in attitude as a playing group, declaring he hadn’t seen it at Princes Park for a long while.
“No one’s worried about where they’re playing or their numbers,” he said, concluding.
“It’s just a buy-in we haven’t seen at Carlton for a long time, let’s be frank. It’s been about getting endorsed with a contract, getting big deals, going after the best talent and loading up with No.1 picks.
“This is all-team for the first time in a long time. It’s going to go deep, deep, deep.”
Boasting an 11-4 record and sitting in second spot on the ladder, the Blues travel to Western Sydney to play the Giants this Saturday night before a pair of Marvel Stadium matchups against the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne.