Carlton were one of the most Fantasy/SuperCoach relevant teams in 2022, with the likes of Patrick Cripps, George Hewett, Sam Walsh and Sam Docherty heavily owned and there’s a few in that frame in 2023.

Early indications are that Docherty and Cripps will be popular again, but there’s a few young guns and cheapies in some coaches’ plans but will they crack the team. Sam Walsh is also set to miss games early due to a back issue, which will have an impact on roles.

Carlton supporter and 2020 SuperCoach 146th rank Janath Fernando has weighed in on how he sees the Blues lining up in Round 1 this year. Follow Janath on Twitter

Defence

Under Michael Voss, the Blues are likely to employ a defensive set up build around a trio of rebounding half backs. The move of Sam Docherty into the midfield could have a flow-on effect of positive SuperCoach implications – not only does Docherty’s ceiling increase with higher tackle numbers in the midfield, but it could also open the door for an early season debut for under-the-radar rookie Lachie Cowan, especially due to Jordan Boyd’s pre-season injury. Mitch McGovern will also play a key role in defense given he stays injury free. Zac Williams‘ ACL injury has ended his 2023.

Nic Newman	Jacob Weitering	Mitch McGovern
Adam Saad	Lewis Young	Sam Docherty

Midfield

Perhaps Carlton’s point of difference last year, especially in contested possessions and clearances, the Blues will likely again play a midfield structure built around 3 types of midfielders – pure inside (e.g., Cripps/Kennedy), defensive (e.g., Hewett/Docherty), and dual inside outside (e.g., Cerra/Walsh). I am picking Adam Cerra to break out in his 2nd year in Navy Blue, similar to Adam Saad last year. The addition of Blake Acres, and Walsh missing the first couple of rounds should free up Cerra to play closer to a pure midfield role as he did in R23 2022. Keep an eye on Ollie Hollands, Carlton’s first pick in the 2022 AFL Draft who has consistently been one of the best endurance runners at the club since his arrival. A couple of poor games from Lochie O’Brien or the aforementioned Acres could open the door for his debut.

Lochie O’Brien	Patrick Cripps	Blake Acres
Marc Pittonet	Adam Cerra	George Hewett

Forwards

A fairly settled forward line for the Blues provides multiple avenues to goal – although I don’t recommend any of these six forwards as a SuperCoach classic pick, Corey Durdin and Jesse Motlop both have the potential to have personal breakout seasons and elevate the score assists of the more SuperCoach friendly midfielders. 

Zac Fisher	Harry McKay	Jack Silvagni
Jesse Motlop	Charlie Curnow	Corey Durdin

Bench

Rounding out the best 22 is a player from each line – Matt Kennedy supplements an already strong midfield, and when Sam Walsh comes back, there will be a real competition for midfield spots. Given Voss employed four ‘key’ defenders (Weitering, Young, Marchbank and McGovern) with great effect from Round 21 to Round 23 last year, albeit in losses, I expect all four to be in the best 22 to start the season. Although inconsistent, Jack Martin provides an X-factor, as seen in Round 22 2022 vs Melbourne.

Multiple others are pushing for Round 1 selection, including Matt Owies, who led the league for a long stretch for Inside 50 tackles. Similar to Jack Martin, David Cuningham has an X-factor that could change the course of a game – I expect him to begin the season in the VFL though.  Sam Walsh, Matt Cottrell and Jordan Boyd should all be a part of the best 23 when they return from their respective injuries – the harder part is determining at whose expense they would come in for.

Tom De Koning	Caleb Marchbank	Matt Kennedy
Jack Martin	Paddy Dow (Sub)

Pushing selection: Matt Owies, Oliver Hollands (R), Jack Carroll, Lachie Cowan (R), Lachie Plowman, David Cunningham

Injured: Sam Walsh, Matt Cottrell, Jordan Boyd, Zac Williams