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The things we learnt: A winning end is fool’s gold for Carlton
Andrew Slevison • August 22nd, 2025 9:06 am
Some sections of Carlton fans would be fairly happy with a couple of wins to end a disappointing season.
But there would be other Bluebaggers seething with how 2025 played out.
The Blues entered the campaign as possible premiership contenders but finished it well out of the finals race with just nine wins.
A positive end to the season with comfortable victories over Port Adelaide and then Essendon will have some fans feeling good about themselves.
But is it fool’s gold?
Michael Voss and his coaching staff (whoever that ends up being) have plenty of work to do in the off-season.
The rabid and starving supporter base demands it. Wins in Round 23 and 24 won’t satisfy them.
What went wrong in 2025? And what will 2026 bring? Don’t worry, you’ve only got about seven months to stew on it.
It starts with list management this trade period.
For Essendon, the nightmare season continues into next week with their final fixture against the Suns on the Gold Coast.
They’ve lost 12 in a row and have been forced to debut 15 players - an unprecedented number.
The injury curse has denied the Dons any real chance of winning games in the second half of the season but at least they’ve been able to get some development into the kids.
One more game to get through then it’s tools down, take a breath and reset for next year.
