The 2011 season is over and, as Stephen Kernahan said at the Carlton Best & Fairest on Tuesday night, the focus for Carlton is firmly on 2012.

Blues are confident the growth will come from within the Club in 2012. Carlton CEO Greg Swann has confirmed Carlton is going into Trade Week in a very positive position and is not expecting to be one of the active clubs during the exchange period.

 “There has already been plenty of media speculation regarding our need to secure a key forward during the exchange period and that we will be very active,” Swann said.

“This is not the case, we have a number of players, including Matthew Kreuzer, Jarrad Waite, Simon White and Shaun Hampson to back into the team (all missed the final in Perth due to injury) and we are excited about the prospects of our young key position players, particular those drafted in the 2010 National Draft.

“We were thrilled with the players we selected in last year’s draft; we recruited for our needs and effectively recruited a spine for Carlton for the years to come. We are very confident in the natural improvement that will come from within our playing group,” Swann added.

2010 National Draft Selections
Matthew Watson -195cm (turned 19 in July)
Patrick McCarthy - 196cm (turned 19 in March)
Luke Mitchell - 198cm (turned 19 in February)
Andrew McInnes - 191cm (turned 19 in March)
Nick Duigan - 186cm - Winner Carlton’s Best First Year Player

Adding to the optimism for Carlton in regards to key position players is the form of Lachie Henderson in the second half of the season when he moved into a key defensive role. Plus of course the outstanding form of Michael Jamison prior to injuring his knee, when he was considered by most to be in All Australian form.

On Monday the AFL Trade Period commences and this provides supporters and the media with another opportunity to discuss what may happen. This is a great time for the media to look at all clubs and discuss what each may need and what players would possibly suit the club and in doing so what potential trades may be made during the Exchange Period. For Carlton we can once again expect the media in particular to provide their opinion on what is best for the Blues.

So we all need to be ready for a week of rumours and ideas from the media and supporters. Remember we cannot believe the rumours and any deals involving Carlton will be announced via the Carlton website and social media pages.

Another important thing for Carlton supporters to remember is that most years Carlton is thrown up in speculation about players and this has already happened in 2011 with Carlton rumoured to be interested in securing Jack Gunston from Adelaide. A rumour that is not true.

As a reminder to Carlton supporters of the confidence around the club following the 2010 AFL National Draft, the following article was published on the Carlton website at the conclusion of the Draft from the Gold Coast in November last year.

Carlton Website article - November 2010
For Carlton it’s very much a case of mission accomplished. The club has, with five selections in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, effectively addressed all areas down the goal-to-goal line.

Carlton’s National Recruiting Manager Wayne Hughes said that the club’s five new draftees best illustrated the Blues’ commitment to shoring up both the back half and front half with size.

“The plan specifically this year was to address some issues down our spine,” Hughes said, “so we were really focused on some key defenders and a key forward . . . and we think we’ve achieved that - two key backs, a key forward and a couple of running half-backs . . . ”

In reflecting on the selection of Matthew Watson with the club’s first round choice (No.18 overall) Hughes said he was always reasonably confident Watson would be available when the time came.

“We like the way he’s gone about his year as defender, he’s a beautiful kick, his kicks break the lines . . . and he reads the game well,” Hughes said.

Of Glenelg’s 18 year-old key defender Pat McCarthy, whom the Blues took with their second selection at 34 overall, Hughes had thought he might have gone earlier, “and I know Scotty Clayton considered him as a Gold Coast 17 year-old last year”.

Hughes said that whilst McCarthy had regularly turned out at centre half back or full-back, “I’ve actually seen him play on a wing for Glenelg reserves also”.

“He’s pretty versatile, but long-term we think he’s a key defender, a good reader of the play, good contested mark and another player who kicks the ball well,” Hughes said.

Luke Mitchell, Carlton’s third selection (42nd overall) plied his craft with Watson at Calder Cannons, and whereas Watson was a commanding presence at centre half-back, Mitchell was the go-to man at centre half-forward.

“He (Mitchell) missed the majority of the year with an injured shoulder which he had operated on earlier on,” Hughes said.

“He came back and kicked five goals in the Grand Final having managed to play the last three games of the year. I think that if he’d played all year he would have been more highly-rated than some clubs had him at, and we liked him last year because we thought he showed enormous potential.”

Dandenong’s Andrew McInnes, taken at selection 67, was rewarded for the way he went about his game throughout the course of the 2010 season.

“He was another player our recruiting staff liked a lot of,” Hughes said. “He just gets the job done, is good in a contested marking situation, is right footer and a good kick. He structurally controlled the way Dandenong went with defence this year and he was a very important omission in the preliminary final . . .”

Finally, Norwood’s Nick Duigan (pronounced Dyegan) was the smoky at selection 70, and as fate would have it, the 2000th player ever selected at the draft table.

At 26, Duigan represented the more mature player the club had sought. As Hughes said: “He can come in and play defence straight away”.

“He (Duigan) had a few issues (with injury) over the journey, but he was all clear this year, was an important player for Norwood during the finals and at this selection we wanted someone who could basically play straight away,” Hughes said.