There's something about an AFL club on the rise after a long spell in the wilderness which is intoxicating, and though it's been a year now, Carlton's resurgence as a genuine force on the field is difficult not to admire.
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How different the situation looked after 13 rounds last season, when the Blues had just been pumped by arch-rival Essendon, their sixth defeat in a row, and the calls for the head of coach Michael Voss were reaching a crescendo.
Carlton's hierarchy, to its credit, didn't flinch, and from a position of 15th on the ladder, the Blues rose all the way to within three goals of a grand final berth, winning 11 of their last 13 games, including two cut-throat finals.
It was a remarkable turnaround then, and the story has only continued to grow subsequently, Carlton's 63-point dismantling of Geelong last week, capped off by a blistering nine-goal final term, arguably its most complete performance in that whole time.
Perhaps it was all just a question of belief for the Blues, because it's pretty hard to find any chinks in the armour these days.
Maybe the defence, which surprisingly is ranking a lowly 14th for points conceded, could be tightened up still, but mostly that is the legacy of a long injury list earlier this season which at one stage seemed to include most of Carlton's first-choice defenders.
Indeed, only a couple of weeks ago, Champion Data calculated that while Richmond had suffered a worse run with injuries numerically than Carlton, no team had missed more games from its best possible starting line-up than had the Blues.
That's as good an indicator as any that there's a depth of talent across Carlton's list that wasn't the case perhaps even a year ago.
Last year before the wheel turned, it was mostly defence which kept the Blues competitive even when they were losing games, while the attack was proving clunky and inefficient.
Not so these days. Carlton doesn't only sit second behind only Sydney on the ladder, but second to the Swans also for scores. This time last year, that ranking was a horrendous 16th .
The Blues are ramping up the potency even now, too, last week's 21.12 (138) against the Cats their highest score of 2024, and the third time in the past four games they've topped the ton.
Key forward pair Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay are a constant threat to opposing defenders, the former averaging three goals per game, the latter more than two.
Small forward Matt Owies' pressure and scoreboard contribution has been valuable, Elijah Hollands sits fourth on the goalkicking, Zach Williams has added a new dimension as a defensive forward, and skipper Patrick Cripps is also hitting the scoreboard a lot harder.
His 10 goals in 14 games thus far is already more than he kicked from 24 games last season.
Cripps is having some sort of season, as is his midfield offsider Sam Walsh, the pair currently sitting sixth and ninth respectively in the AFL Coaches Association award.
But Carlton is getting great value also from some its less-heralded players, who are performing their various roles beautifully, Alex Cincotta, for example, who has locked on to and shut down a series of key opposition playmakers.
Jordan Boyd and Brodie Kemp have stepped up, Lachie Cowan and Matt Cottrell have chipped in, and young ruckman Tom De Koning isn't just promising, but in a short space of time has rapidly become one of the most damaging big men in the game.
There's a depth of talent and an evenness of contribution across the board that has already held Carlton in good stead in 2024 and of which the benefits will be felt increasingly the longer the season takes its toll on both minds and bodies.
The Blues only have to travel interstate twice more in their remaining nine games, of which they will start a clear favourite in at least seven, only three of them against fellow top-eight teams.
No wonder their support base has stirred so dramatically, the noise at a Carlton game these days as loud as any team is capable of generating.
And why shouldn't they be excited? A proud, successful club has finally emerged from by some measure the darkest era of its history, one in which it was doomed to the only five wooden spoons of its history.
It's been nearly 30 years since the Blues' last premiership, but the dream of another flag is so close the long-suffering fan base can almost touch it.
And with bitter rivals Collingwood and Essendon also locked on 16 flags, the Pies now reigning premier and the Bombers, too, enjoying a renaissance, the race to the magic 17th for the traditional "big three" of the Victorian football scene is for the AFL a dream scenario.
There were times as recently as only 12 months ago that Carlton supporters must have wondered if their club could ever rise again.
But whatever happens in the remainder of this season, their journey to the finish line will clearly be one of the most enthralling stories of all.
Rohan Connolly is one of the most experienced and respected sporting journalists in the country, particularly passionate about football, and with a 40-year track record of observing it at close quarters in print, online, and on radio and TV.
Rohan Connolly is one of the most experienced and respected sporting journalists in the country, particularly passionate about football, and with a 40-year track record of observing it at close quarters in print, online, and on radio and TV.
