IN WHAT he claims to have been an “up-and-down” career to date, Lewis Young looks back on 2022 with plenty of fondness. 

Playing his most games in a season so far, the key defender flourished in his first season at IKON Park, growing in confidence by the week after his Navy Blue debut in Round 3.

Finishing the season with 19 games under his belt, Young was tasked with crucial roles in Carlton’s back half, nailing the fundamentals of shutting down his direct opponent each week.

In Round 22 against Melbourne, Young broke the record for most spoils in a game with 24, demonstrating his defend-first philosophy.

Producing his most consistent football of his career, Young said it was the kind of football he knew he was capable of, but a form line which he was constantly searching for after a highly impressive debut in 2017 — incidentally, that came against Carlton when he was a Western Bulldog.

“[My football] started really hot and I was a bit taken aback by how well I started,” Young told FOX Sports News.

“Footy is a really hard game, and it hit home to me in the years when I was up and down that it’s not easy and you’ve got to work for everything you get.

“I’ve learned some great things in footy, and I hope I’m a better person due to those ups and downs.”

There’s been a change of environment for Young, and even a change in role - a lot of his football in 2021 for the Bulldogs was as a second ruck - but he attributes his improvement last year to one thing in particular.

Confidence.

“’Vossy’ instilled confidence in all of us about getting our roles done in our team: we didn’t need to do anything extra, we didn’t need to show anything over the top, you just need to play your role,” he said.

“Last year, I found real confidence in that — that if I played my role every week, then I’d play every week.”

Young’s first game for Carlton came in front of over 66,000 people at the MCG as the Blues accounted for the Hawks in a thriller, and it set the tone for the rest of the year.

With an average home crowd attendance of just shy of 50,000, Young said the support of Carlton members and fans was “crazy to me”.

“It’s a different world,” he said.

“The Blues fans are very passionate and the amount of people who get to every game is unbelievable.

“I say it every week, when I look around and it’s surreal to see all the people… even the vibe around the Club, on the streets, school visits or anything like that, there’s great excitement.

“All I want to do for this club is bring success and be part of something great. These fans are definitely due, so we’re hopeful we’re the ones to give it to them.”