ANOTHER year, another set of milestones to look forward to.
With 2022 officially here, why not cast an eye towards those in Navy Blue who could celebrate some big career days in the upcoming AFL and AFLW campaigns?
Patrick Cripps
Milestone — 150 AFL games
It could be a case of 150 up for the inspirational skipper in 2022.
Currently on 138 games, a dozen would make Cripps the 80th player to reach the milestone in the Navy Blue.
In what will be his ninth season of AFL football, Cripps is already in the Carlton history books as one of only eight players to win three John Nicholls Medals. He was the winner of the Leigh Matthews Trophy back in 2019, and has been co-captain of the Club alongside great mate Sam Docherty since the end of 2018.
All things going well, Cripps would achieve his milestone game against Essendon in Round 13.
Jack Newnes
Milestone — 200 AFL games, 50 Carlton games
We love a double milestone.
After arriving at Carlton just over two years ago, Jack Newnes now sits on 191 AFL games: nine more would see him reach the double century, currently scheduled to come against GWS at Giants Stadium.
He’d also need another 14 to make it a quick-fire half century in the Navy Blue.
When it comes to the standout highlight across his career and with the football club, we reckon one in particular springs to mind pretty quickly.
Lachie Plowman
Milestone — 150 AFL games
In 2020, it was 100 games in the competition. Last season, it was a century of games for the football club.
Plowman will be looking to make it three wins from three milestone games should he run out for game No.150, with 21 more games needed to reach the milestone this year.
As things stand, Carlton’s 21st game of the season comes against reigning premiers Melbourne at the MCG. To date, 109 of Plowman’s 129 games have come in the Navy Blue since arriving from GWS at the end of 2015.
Adam Saad
Milestone — 150 AFL games
It took a detour via the VFL to get Adam Saad to the elite competition, but he was wasted no time since arriving in the competition.
And it could mean a 150-game milestone may be on the cards for the excitement machine in 2022.
With 131 games under his belt, Saad’s 150th is currently scheduled for the Round 20 clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Since 2017, Saad has missed just one game in his stints at Gold Coast, Essendon and Carlton, including playing a full quota of games in his maiden seasons for the Blues last year.
Jack Silvagni
Milestone — 100 AFL games
This will be a special day.
On the back of a career-best season, Silvagni would have a special milestone in the back of his mind: an uninterrupted home-and-away campaign would see him achieve a century of Carlton games in the final round of the year.
Fittingly, that Round 23 clash would come against Collingwood: the team Silvagni made his debut against back in 2016.
Of course, the 100-game milestone would see Silvagni join dad Stephen and late grandfather Sergio on the famous No.1 locker at IKON Park.
Mitch McGovern
Milestone — 100 AFL games/50 Carlton games
What were we saying about a double milestone?
Mitch M cGovern currently sits on 81 AFL games, with 33 of those coming in the Navy Blue. As things stand, his 50th Carlton game would come against Geelong at the MCG in Round 18.
Then, in Round 20 (currently scheduled to be his century of games), it’s a familiar opposition at a familiar venue: the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Oscar McDonald
Milestone — 100 AFL games
A back injury brought down Oscar McDonald when he was just getting started at Carlton.
Now with those issues hopefully behind him, the former Demon sits on 84 AFL games, meaning the shot at 100 is within reach in 2022.
McDonald is also yet to get his first start in a Navy Blue jumper: he recorded three games after being recruited to the Blues as a supplemental selection period signing, and all of those were as the medical sub.
The streaks continue
Darcy Vescio and Nicola Stevens — Every AFLW game since its inception
The record says 39 from 39.
For Darcy Vescio and Nicola Stevens, Carlton’s dynamic forward line duo, they have yet to miss any game since debuting on that famous night in 2017.
Stevens played her first year in the black and white of Collingwood before crossing to the Blues after a best-and-fairest winning season.
Meanwhile, in the case of Vescio, they have been there every step of the way for the Game Changers from day one.
Here’s to keeping a good thing going.
Sam Walsh — Every AFL game since his debut
Of the 61 games that Sam Walsh could have played since becoming a Blue with the opening selection of the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, he has played… 61 of them.
That time in the Navy Blue has yielded a 2019 NAB AFL Rising Star, and a 2021 campaign which saw him named an All Australian, win the 2021 John Nicholls Medal and be voted the second-best player in the competition by his peers (behind Marcus Bontempelli).
At just 21 years of age, the best is still to come for Walsh, who backed up a stunning first two seasons by joining the game’s elite last year.
Where to from here? Only time will tell.
Game-Changing milestones?
We can’t wait for this.
Circling back to Vescio and Stevens, a full season and a finals berth for the Game Changers would see them record 50 games in the competition.
With the AFLW campaign extending to 10 home-and-away games this season, they will have one eye on the first week of finals should they get through every round of the season.
Inaugural Blue Breann Moody isn’t very far behind them, having played 38 games — she missed just one game in 2019.
What about the debutants?
All up, 16 players could receive their first Navy Blue nod this season, with 10 of those looking for their competition debuts.
It all kicks off a week from today, with seven new Game Changers on the list for 2022: of those, only Jess Dal Pos has featured at AFLW level before, taking part in every game for GWS since the competition’s inception in 2017.
Then, alongside Courtney Jones, there are the six draftees looking for their senior debuts: Jess Good, Annie Lee, Imogen Milford, Poppy Schaap, Keeley Sherar and Brooke Vickers.
From a men’s team perspective, Jack Carroll is joined by new Blues in Dom Akuei and Jesse Motlop as well as mid-season recruits Jordan Boyd and Alex Mirkov on the quest for their first senior guernsey. Then, there’s the trio of Adam Cerra, George Hewett and Lewis Young, who all arrived at IKON Park during the trade period.
Raise the bat
Will Setterfield — 50 AFL/Carlton games (currently 44/42)
Tom Williamson — 50 games (currently 43)
Matthew Kennedy — 50 Carlton games (currently 42)
David Cuningham — 50 games (currently 41)
Caleb Marchbank — 50 AFL games (currently 41)
Lochie O’Brien — 50 games (currently 41)
Lachie Fogarty — 50 AFL games (currently 40)
Nic Newman — 50 AFL games (currently 36)
Marc Pittonet — 50 AFL games (currently 33)
