THE FOMO was real.

It was hard not to get swept up in everything that Carlton was doing at the back-end of the 2023 campaign: everybody knows the story. From the brink, a stunning run of form ended in a September drought broken and pandemonium from everybody in Navy Blue.

It didn’t get better from a Blues perspective than that semi final against the Demons. When it came to that two-point win over Melbourne, no Carlton player will ever forget the feeling, no Carlton supporter will ever forget where they were.

Yet Corey Durdin was at home, fresh out of shoulder surgery. 

“I was on all these painkillers, I was a bit out of it watching it.”

At the end of the 2022 season, Durdin was riding high from a personal perspective with his footy. He was fresh off being crowned Carlton’s Best Young Player after his second season, where he missed just one game due to Covid protocols, having forged a reputation a small forward who prided himself on his unconditional pressure.

He underwent shoulder surgery at the end of that year, and that’s where his luck started to turn. Knee, shoulder and hamstring injuries all restricted Durdin in the second half of the campaign, limiting him to just one match after the mid-season bye — that came after a run of form in the first half of the year where he admitted he wasn’t playing to the level he expected of himself.

Speaking candidly to Carlton Media this week, the small forward was honest about how he looks back on 2023.

“I struggled a bit with it, to be honest. To go from not playing in the form I would’ve liked earlier in the year, to then getting injured several times, to be out for the season watching on and not feeling 100 per cent part of it, it was definitely a different feeling to what most were going through,” he said.

“I was obviously stoked for the boys and how they were going, I was just always wishing I could’ve been out there.

“I wish I could’ve been more involved with it, but we go again this year.”

The 21-year-old isn’t complaining. But what it has done is leave him with a bit of a point to prove going into 2024: a year which presents a new opportunity and a clean slate.

The question came his way — ‘do you have a point to prove?’. He chuckles to himself.

“I definitely do!

“From my second year, coming off the Best Young Player award to then last season, where I still managed 11 games but I wasn’t playing to the level I was after. After getting injured, it definitely felt like people ruled me out and switched their perspective — I get it, that happens in footy. When you’re playing well, everybody loves you and when you’re not, it can be a different story.

“I’ve just got to go after what I need to, having that team mindset. There’s that aspect that I’ve got to focus on some things for myself - in terms of getting my shoulder right, coming into full contact in January - but it’s always in my nature to be team-first.”

Keen to ensure that fear of missing out is a thing of the past, Durdin knows he can leave no stone unturned if he wants to be completely part of whatever the Blues can achieve going forward.

He’s well aware that’s a non-negotiable, given his 43 other teammates are going to be taking the exact same approach.

“There’s a big emphasis that where we’re at, we’re only just starting. We know what’s possible now: the challenge is that we had a great year, but now it’s about backing it up. It’s pretty clear for us what we’re going to be going after, so we’re going after it.

“There’s going to be more competition, everyone is going to be hungrier — it’s going to drive standards to another level. I’m pretty keen to work my way in.”

It’s an interesting dynamic that Durdin knows he’s successful in ultimately earning his spot in the team, it would have to be at the expense of one of the other small forwards.

There’s a finite amount of roles in the side, particularly from a small forward perspective. And while they’re among Durdin’s direct competitors, the small forward collective is among the tightest-knit groups at the Club.

“How does that work? It just does!

“While we all want to make each other better and have fun - that’s what we’re about - we’re also competing for spots. The same spots. It’s a huge pressure environment and we all accept that, we all respect that.

“If you’re under 180, you’re a small forward. If not, you’re a mid-forward. And all the mid-forwards go to the mids meetings. We know who they are!”