Carlton on brink of AFL history amid unlikely finals surge

Just a few weeks ago, footy fans could be forgiven if they drew a line through Carlton's hopes of making the AFL finals this season. A fast start to the season had well and truly been squandered, with the Blues having dropped from the top four in the early running of the season to the bottom four.

Their season appeared to have reached a nadir following their 34-point loss to Essendon in round 13, which saddled them with a 4-8 record, in addition to their opening round draw against Richmond. However the turnaround since then has been dramatic.

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Wins over the likes of the Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Fremantle followed, before the Blues left the AFL world stunned last weekend by trouncing premiership fancies Port Adelaide. Not only did they shut down the Power, they did so to the tune of 50 points - a resounding win that has resurrected their finals hopes, in combination with the likes of Essendon and St Kilda at risk of dropping out of the top eight altogether.

The Blues could potentially return to the top eight when they face probably wooden spoon favourites West Coast at Marvel Stadium this weekend. Not only would a win aid their finals cause, but they have a chance to make AFL history in the process.

All four of their consecutive wins have come by a margin of 50 points or more - a fifth big win would make them the first team to win five games by that margin since Geelong in 2008. Only twice has a team done so in VFL/AFL history, with Geelong again having done so in the 1989 season.

A similar place in the AFL history books is also on the line should they make the finals, with only five teams in the competition's modern history having made the top eight after a six-game losing streak in the home and away season. Footscray (1974, 1995), Melbourne (2005), Hawthorn (2010) and Sydney (2017) are the only other teams to have done so, however all but Sydney were knocked out in the elimination final.

Voss excited by Carlton's turnaround against Port Adelaide

Coincidentally, Carlton's victory over Port Adelaide ended the Power's 13-game winning streak - albeit with the Power absent key players such as Charlie Dixon and Jason Horne-Francis. Nevertheless, head coach Michael Voss was excited by what he had been seeing from his side.

“The last few weeks we’ve been playing some good footy, but clearly when you’re playing against a side that has won 13 in a row, that’s another level," he said. "They’ve overcome plenty of challenges throughout those 13 games, so to be emphatic with the way we played was important.

"What we walk away from the game with is understanding that there’s still work to be done within our system. We had 59 inside 50s which we can’t complain about, we’ve kicked a winning score, but we’ve had 62 inside 50s against us.

"It’s not the number we want to be fighting again. Their efficiency was quite low on the night and ours was pretty good.

"Tables have turned a little bit when it comes to that considering where we were five or six weeks ago. There were a lot of facets we were really pleased with, but with some of those numbers, there are still things we need to get to work on.”

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