The Carolina Panthers, led by coach Michael Voss, are determined to finish in the top four the next season, and they have drawn “clear learnings” from the way their disastrous 2024 campaign concluded.
The team is optimistic that Rob Inness, Sydney’s well-known fitness expert, and a steady core of coaches, all of whom have contracts through 2025, will help the team address the problems that beset it in the latter part of the season.
The Blues’ injury crisis reached a breaking point in the second half of the season, causing them to lose a commanding lead in the top two of the League and barely scrape back into a spot come September.
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But considering the severity of its injury nightmare late in the season, Carlton’s general manager of football, Brad Lloyd, told AFL.com.au this week that it was hard to say whether the team had regressed.
“I think it’s a little too raw to say,” Lloyd said to AFL.com.au.
“There was some growth, but it will come from our experiences and the lessons we learnt. I believe we learnt a lot about how we want to play and how to attempt to achieve greater durability through the list, especially in the second half of the year.
“More than anything else, the growth will be found in the lessons learnt. We obviously wanted to place in the top four and win the championship, and we shown that at various points, but we also need to take lessons from it. The growth will occur there.”
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After a commanding 63-point triumph over the now-preliminary final-bound Geelong back in June, Carlton went two games clear in second place, but its injury problem quickly followed.
The Blues ended up dropping seven of their final nine games to close off the season, barely making it into the top eight before succumbing to the Lions in the heartbreaking elimination round last Saturday night.
Lloyd stated that the group’s growth opportunities were obvious given the good position Carlton had found itself in at round 16, but he would not speculate as to whether season 2024 will be remembered as a lost chance.
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“Yes and no,” responded Lloyd.
“That’s what the positive aspects are doing when you consider that point in the year and our current situation. They are able to keep it going. Geelong had a bad night, but they’ve shown for a while now that they only reach the line after a season. That is what must be done.
“We need four or five more wins a year to be at that level, so we don’t want to stop at thirteen. That’s the goal we have in mind.
We’ve wasted opportunities to realise our potential because, in my opinion, we’ve occasionally demonstrated that doing our best is sufficient; nonetheless, we need to keep trying. Given how everything worked out in the end, we are aware that significant development is necessary.”
With a fifth-place result last season, Carlton managed to end its finals skid under Voss by making it to a preliminary final. The Blues’ current goal, nevertheless, is to finish in the top four in the upcoming years.
“We started the season reasonably well and we were in really good shape throughout different periods of the year, but in the end it’s an inconsistent season over the 24 weeks,” Lloyd remarked.
“Throughout the year, we lacked that coherence and consistency going into the playoffs. We’re hoping for more consistency, but you’re hoping that everything will work out in that time frame.
“We discussed aiming to move up from 13th to the eighth place last year. Our goal was to place in the top four (this year). To accomplish it and get there on a regular basis, we must be more reliable.”
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