History-defying challenge facing AFL powerhouse in dynasty quest<\/a><\/p>\nFraser NOT asked to be apart of search | 00:48<\/p>\n
BACK-HALF BOUNCE FORMS CONUNDRUM<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to isolate and assess individual performance. <\/p>\n
But it helps when a team defends the ground well as a collective. <\/p>\n
Improving that has been a massive part of why the Blues have seen better outcomes in defensive metrics – and gone 4-0 without Weitering in the fold. <\/p>\n
Since Round 10 – Michael Voss\u2019 final match in charge – the Blues have ranked second in the competition for intercept-to-score against, third for score-per-inside-50 against, and third for defending ball movement. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s unquestionably been the biggest in-season turnaround of any team in the competition. <\/p>\n
But drilling down on individuals, there\u2019s a thought-provoking picture emerging at Carlton. <\/p>\n
Harry Dean\u2019s rapid emergence has been such that he\u2019s now a leading Rising Star candidate. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s already such a composed presence, but most importantly, he\u2019s playing like a reliable and accountable number-one key defender. <\/p>\n
But he\u2019s not the only big Blues backman who\u2019s caught the eye.<\/p>\n
Who are the P4P best value recruits? | 07:06<\/p>\n
Wade Derksen joined Carlton as a pre-season supplemental signing, but has soared in relevance as a capable second defender. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s playing in Weitering\u2019s place, and it must be said, the drop-off in quality from the All-Australian to the seven-gamer isn\u2019t vast. <\/p>\n
And don\u2019t forget Harry O\u2019Farrell, who made a promising impression in six games last year before tearing his ACL, while Nick Haynes remains a steady veteran presence. <\/p>\n
Maybe, just maybe, \u2018Weiters\u2019 is no longer the irreplaceable asset he once was for this Carlton team – notwithstanding the fact he remains a terrific stopper. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a small sample size, but in 12 games without Weitering since 2022, Carlton has allowed an average of just 73.7 points. In 99 games with him over the same period, it\u2019s 81.2 points allowed. <\/p>\n
It fuels an intriguing discussion over the future of the club\u2019s backline, and whether Weitering absolutely needs to be cemented in it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think percentage would say that he might finish his career out (at Carlton), but you have to look at it (trade possibility) now,\u201d Collingwood premiership captain Tony Shaw recently told 3AW. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the way they\u2019re playing, and the way that defensively they\u2019ve covered a lot of things. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good player, he\u2019s 29 years of age – if you could do something, you might do it \u2026 (but) you\u2019ve got to do it now. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a long contract, but that doesn\u2019t matter – those things can get done \u2026 five more years (he\u2019s contracted for), but people will take him on for that. And he\u2019s a key defender, he\u2019s not a midfielder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlton\u2019s hierarchy should at least have the Jacob Weitering conversation at year\u2019s end. (Photo by Michael Willson via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
DRAFT BALANCING ACT<\/p>\n
As much as it would be a move that invests exponentially in the future, it\u2019s also one that supplements the short-term draft strategy. <\/p>\n
Cody Walker remains Carlton\u2019s biggest priority in the back end of the season, because even if it makes the post-season as a wildcard finalist, it\u2019s not a premiership threat. <\/p>\n
But the Blues\u2019 win streak has rocketed them up the ladder and thus, out of a premium draft slot. <\/p>\n
And keep in mind, as per the new draft rules, Carlton can only match a rival bid for Walker using two top-36 selections – so they\u2019ve got to be good picks. <\/p>\n
As recently as Round 10, they sat 16th on the ladder, with the rights to the third overall pick – worth 2,178 draft points. <\/p>\n
Tack on their Sydney-linked 17th pick – worth 879 – and the Blues, for a while earlier in the year, had 3,057 to play with; more than enough to match a possible bid at No.1, which costs 11th-to-18th-placed teams 2,700 points with the newly-introduced 10 per cent discount. <\/p>\n
However, fast-forward through their unforeseen winning stretch, and the Blues now hold the ninth and 17th picks, equating to just 2,234 points – currently needing to accrue 3,000 as a top-10 team – with the possibility they keep surging up the ladder. <\/p>\n
Great for Carlton players, coaches and supporters, but a growing headache for the list management department.<\/p>\n
Dons, Blues coaching state of play | 04:19<\/p>\n
Now, before Weitering becomes relevant in this conversation, this isn\u2019t to say the Baggers don\u2019t still have options, because they do. They\u2019re just not as practical as the final one. <\/p>\n
Carlton, also in possession of two early second-rounders, could always look to package its later first-rounder with another pick or two – a second, or maybe a future choice – to improve its slot and get back into the Walker \u2018safe zone\u2019. <\/p>\n
The other option, if times became desperate later in the year, is to go into points deficit. It\u2019s certainly not ideal, but it\u2019s an option. <\/p>\n
The most feasible alternative, though, would come in dealing Weitering. <\/p>\n
As things stand, both of Carlton\u2019s first-round picks will be vacuumed up in a matched rival bid for Walker at the top of the draft. <\/p>\n
But a possible trade – as explored in more detail below – likely nets Carlton at least two first-rounders. <\/p>\n
That not only yields much-needed flexibility with matching a Walker bid, but it would also allow the Blues the chance to pick a second first-round talent in November. <\/p>\n
And this year\u2019s intake is more highly regarded than last year\u2019s. <\/p>\n
That part is especially important, given Tasmania\u2019s monopolisation of the 2027 draft, where it\u2019ll hold seven of the top 13 picks.<\/p>\n
“Tricky situation”: Cody Walker watch | 05:54<\/p>\n
BLUES\u2019 THINKING, AND POSSIBLE TRADE PARTNERS<\/p>\n
Chris Davies said publicly weeks ago that this list, despite its resurgence, isn\u2019t good enough to compete with the best teams in the competition. <\/p>\n
It remains to be seen whether that viewpoint is clouded by this revitalised on-field product under Fraser. <\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be a tremendous achievement if the Blues sneak into the finals via one of the wildcard spots. But think bigger picture. <\/p>\n
In the next five years – after which Weitering comes out of contract – are they in premiership contention? It\u2019s hard to say, but most would lean towards no. <\/p>\n
Weitering will have exited his prime, and Cripps likely won\u2019t be around. Those seasons will bear the formative years of Jagga Smith, Dean and Walker. <\/p>\n
And with 2027 set to be a phantom draft for most of the competition, the time to capitalise is surely this offseason – particularly when Walker\u2019s arrival alone will absorb two first-round picks. <\/p>\n
So, in the alternate universe where the Blues\u2019 list gurus decide to trade Weitering, what package would be enough to turn their heads, and what\u2019s a workable landing spot?<\/p>\n
Carlton move into wildcard contention | 03:18<\/p>\n
Two first-rounders would have to be the starting point for a player of his quality, and his long-term contracted status. Three would be mighty hard to turn down. <\/p>\n
Seven reported in late June that North Melbourne had \u201cmade inquiries\u201d about Weitering. The Roos have long needed a formidable key defender, and he is that. <\/p>\n
And for a club like North Melbourne that\u2019s finally making tangible progress up the ladder, it\u2019s in a position to deal draft picks for players to aid its ascent. <\/p>\n
In such a situation, the Blues would be eyeing off the Roos\u2019 Pick 8 – worth 1,443 points – to be right on the cusp of Walker security, plus future selections. <\/p>\n
And they could bring in another top talent with that third first-rounder. <\/p>\n
Similar goes if the trade partner was the Western Bulldogs – who also remain on the hunt for a needle-mover at the key defence post – though their first-rounder this year will fall a few picks lower. <\/p>\n
The other part of the Weitering trade discussion is that, if they dealt him, they\u2019d almost certainly need to bring someone in with experience to aid their young trio. <\/p>\n
Carlton has again been linked to the Dogs\u2019 Buku Khamis as a free agency acquisition, with his positional versatility an appealing trait. <\/p>\n
But it could also be as simple as a bargain buy in delisted free agency or the pre-season supplemental signing period. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, in amongst all of this, Weitering has to want to leave Princes Park – and to this point, he hasn\u2019t given such an indication. <\/p>\n
But that was also the case with Curnow last year … until it was. So, time will tell. And there\u2019s every chance the Blues don\u2019t pull the trade trigger on \u2018Weiters\u2019. But there are more reasons to do it than not. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trading Jacob Weitering has to be a consideration for Carlton at the end of the season. It\u2019s not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-787948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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