The 2024 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 161st season of competition.
It was the club's men's team's 128th season as a member of the Australian Football League, and the third under senior coach Michael Voss. A strong first half of the season which saw Carlton second on the ladder as late as round 20, before a decline in late season form saw Carlton almost miss the final eight, qualifying in eighth with a 13–10 record on the final day of the home-and-away season. Carlton finished eighth overall with an elimination final loss. Captain Patrick Cripps won his second second Brownlow Medal as league best and fairest, polling a record high 45 votes to win the award.
The club's women's team contested its ninth season in the AFL Women's, finishing 14th with a 4–7 record to miss the finals. The club also fielded its men's reserves team in the Victorian Football League and its state level women's team in the VFL Women's, failing to reach the finals in either competition.
Club summary The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 128th season contested by the Carlton Football Club. The club fielded its women's team in the ninth season of the AFL Women's competition, and fielded its men's reserves team in its seventh Victorian Football League season, and its VFL women's team in its sixth VFL Women's season.
As in 2023, Carlton's primary home ground was Marvel Stadium and secondary home ground was the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the team playing six home games at the former and five at the latter. Traditional home ground Ikon Park continued to serve as the training and administrative base, and as the home ground for AFL Women's and the men's reserves matches.
Car manufacturer Hyundai, which had been a major sponsor of the club continuously since 2008, and Great Southern Bank, which became a major sponsor during the 2021 season, continued as the club's major sponsors through the 2024 season; in March, Great Southern Bank signed an extension to its major sponsorship of the club through until the end of 2027. The club set another new club record membership tally for the season, exceeding 2023's record of 95,277 in early April, making it the seventh consecutive season that a new club record membership had been set; the final membership tally was 106,345, the second-highest tally in the league behind only . The club returned a statutory profit of $3.0 million, aided by league-high online merchanise sales and a league-high average home attendance of 58,311.
Senior personnel Luke Sayers continued in his third year as president, Brian Cook in his third year as CEO, and Michael Voss in his third year as senior coach of the club. Prior to the season, Cook and Voss signed contract extensions to remain at the club until the end of 2025 and 2026 respectively. Patrick Cripps continued in his third year as sole club captain and sixth year overall (having served as co-captain with Sam Docherty for three years). The number of vice-captains was increased from two to three to make up the broader leadership group, with Charlie Curnow appointed a new vice captain, and Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh continuing in the role. The coaching panel was mostly steady from 2023, the only change being former player Jordan Russell joining as the forward line assistant coach, with Ashley Hansen promoted to senior assistant coach.
Squad for 2024 The following is Carlton's squad for the 2024 season. Senior List No. Player Age AFL Debut Recruited from Career (to end 2023) 2024 Player Statistics Gms Gls Gms Gls B D K HB M T HO 1 Jack Silvagni 26 2016 Oakleigh (U18) 115 87 – – – – – – – – – 2 Lachie Cowan 19 2023 Devonport, Tasmania (U18) 7 0 17 1 1 211 139 72 66 50 0 3 Jesse Motlop 20 2022 33 367 6 4 54 30 24 15 15 0 4 Oliver Hollands 19 2023 Murray (U18) 19 423 5 4 322 203 119 87 79 0 5 Adam Cerra 24 2018 Eastern (U18), 116 3013 4 3 252 139 113 32 47 0 6 Zac Williams 29 2013 GWS Academy, GWS 136 3219 15 7 245 178 67 71 43 0 7 Matthew Kennedy 26 2016 Collingullie-Glenfield Park, GWS 94 4124 16 10 424 245 179 105 81 12 8 Lachie Fogarty 24 2018 Western (U18), 55 1615 9 4 175 94 81 27 45 0 9 Patrick Cripps (c) 28 2014 East Fremantle 183 9624 17 6 692 266 426 63 129 20 10 Harry McKay 204 2017 Gippsland (U18) 107 20321 49 21 274 207 67 143 52 30 11 Mitch McGovern 29 2016 Claremont, 110 10618 3 3 298 244 54 85 29 0 12 Tom de Koning 24 2018 Dandenong (U18) 60 2118 9 10 292 154 138 59 6 359 13 Blake Acres 28 2014 West Perth, , 145 4723 13 12 516 293 223 138 34 0 14 Orazio Fantasia 28 2014 Norwood, , 99 14115 9 7 127 68 59 29 22 0 15 Sam Docherty 30 2013 Gippsland (U18), 167 252 1 0 26 21 5 8 3 0 16 Jack Carroll 21 2022 East Fremantle 6 115 4 3 150 83 67 35 22 0 17 Brodie Kemp 22 2021 Bendigo (U18) 23 121 6 4 294 195 99 130 46 0 18 Sam Walsh (vc) 23 2019 Geelong (U18) 99 3720 5 9 568 268 300 60 135 0 19 Corey Durdin 21 2021 Central District 34 2714 7 5 82 43 39 21 25 0 20 Elijah Hollands 21 2022 Murray (U18), 14 822 17 10 391 250 141 100 58 0 21 Jack Martin 28 2014 Claremont, 148 1303 3 0 20 12 8 7 2 0 22 Caleb Marchbank 27 2015 Murray (U18), GWS 60 03 0 0 28 10 18 3 3 0 23 Jacob Weitering (vc) 26 2016 Dandenong (U18) 159 1122 0 1 313 245 68 142 33 2 24 Nic Newman 30 2017 Frankston, 110 1724 1 3 566 413 153 194 92 0 25 Jaxon Binns 19 — Dandenong (U18) – –3 2 0 36 25 11 6 6 0 27 Marc Pittonet 27 2016 Oakleigh (U18), 59 514 5 3 192 96 96 21 21 356 28 David Cuningham 26 2016 Oakleigh (U18) 53 295 1 2 39 18 21 7 10 0 29 George Hewett 27 2016 North Adelaide, 157 3922 7 1 514 235 279 61 101 0 30 Charlie Curnow 26 2016 Geelong (U18) 110 22421 57 41 254 214 40 125 20 0 31 Harry Lemmey 19 — West Adelaide – – – – – – – – – – – 33 Lewis Young 24 2017 Sturt, 58 29 1 1 117 80 37 56 8 5 35 Billy Wilson 18 — Dandenong (U18) – – – – – – – – – – – 42 Adam Saad 29 2015 Calder (U18), Coburg, , 177 1018 1 1 330 217 113 70 40 0 43 Ashton Moir 18 — Glenelg – –2 2 1 8 5 3 3 3 0 44 Matthew Owies 26 2020 St Kevin's, Seattle Redhawks 49 5623 33 13 199 133 66 67 52 0 46 Matthew Cottrell 23 2020 Dandenong (U18) 54 2514 9 5 152 100 52 45 270 Rookie List No. Player Age AFL Debut Recruited from Career (to end 2023) 2024 Player Statistics Gms Gls Gms Gls B D K HB M T HO 32 Matt Carroll 18 — Sandringham (U18) – – – – – – – – – – – 34 Rob Monahan 19 — Kerry – – – – – – – – – – – 36 Cooper Lord 18 – Sandringham (U18), North Melbourne reserves – –2 0 1 34 10 24 8 9 0 37 Jordan Boyd 25 2022 Western (U18), Footscray reserves 16 019 1 3 262 203 59 77 44 0 38 Sam Durdin 27 2017 West Adelaide, , Glenelg 23 11 0 0 5 4 1 1 0 0 39 Alex Cincotta 27 2023 Newtown & Chilwell, Carlton reserves 19 316 8 1 158 70 88 26 44 0 40 Hudson O'Keeffe 19 – Oakleigh (U18) – – – – – – – – – – – 41 Domanic Akuei 21 – Carlton academy – – – – – – – – – – – 45 Alex Mirkov 24 – Carlton reserves – – – – – – – – – – – Senior coaching panel Coach Coaching position Carlton Coaching debut Former clubs as coach Michael Voss Senior coach 2022 (s), (a) Luke Power Head of development, reserves coach 2020 GWS (a), AFL Academy Manager Tim Clarke Assistant coach (Midfield) 2016 (a), Coburg (s), Richmond reserves (s), (a) Aaron Hamill Assistant coach (backline) 2022 (a), (s) Ashley Hansen Assistant coach (senior) 2022 (a), Footscray reserves (s) Matthew Kreuzer Assistant coach (ruck) 2022 Jordan Russell Assistant coach (forward line) 2022 (d), (a) Tom Lonergan Development and talent manager 2023 Calder Cannons (d), Geelong Falcons (d) Brad Ebert Development coach 2023 (m) Torin Baker Carlton College of Sport and Academy and development coach 2021 Western Jets (s), (d) Aaron Greaves Coaching and performance manager 2022 (d, a), (a, d), (d), AFL umpires (s)
For players: (c) denotes captain, (vc) denotes vice-captain. For coaches: (s) denotes senior coach, (cs) denotes caretaker senior coach, (a) denotes assistant coach, (d) denotes development coach, (m) denotes managerial or administrative role in a football or coaching department
Playing list changes The following summarises all player changes which occurred after the 2023 season. Unless otherwise noted, draft picks refer to selections in the 2023 national draft.
Between seasons, Carlton saw the retirements of two long-term players: Ed Curnow, after thirteen seasons and 221 games; and Lachie Plowman after eight seasons and 125 games. Fringe midfielders Zac Fisher and Paddy Dow requested and were granted trades after seven and six years with the club respectively, seeking greater opportunities in other clubs' midfields. The club also traded for former top ten draft pick Elijah Hollands – brother of second-year player Oliver – from .
In Player Former Club League via Rob Monahan Kerry GAA GAA Category B rookie signing Elijah Hollands AFL Trade period, along with a second-round selection (provisionally No. 28) and a fourth-round selection in the 2024 AFL draft#2024 national draft, in exchange for a higher second-round selection (provisionally No. 25) and 's third-round selection in the 2024 national draft. Orazio Fantasia AFL Signed as a delisted free agent after the trade period. Ashton Moir Glenelg SANFL 2023 national draft, first round selection (No. 29 overall). Billy Wilson Dandenong Stingrays Coates Talent League 2023 national draft, second round selection (No. 34 overall). Matt Carroll Sandringham Dragons Coates Talent League 2024 rookie draft, first round selection (No. 15 overall). Cooper Lord North Melbourne reserves VFL 2024 mid-season draft, first round selection (No. 9 overall).
Out Player New Club League via Ed Curnow Lorne (as coach) Colac & District FL Retired from the rookie list. Lachie Plowman Maribyrnong Park Essendon District FL Retired. Sam Philp Bundoora Northern FL Delisted after the season. Josh Honey Keilor Essendon District FL Delisted after the season. Lochie O'Brien Wangaratta Rovers O&MFL Delisted from the rookie list after the season. Zac Fisher AFL Trade period, along with a first-round selection (provisionally No. 17), in exchange for a lower first-round selection and a second-round selection (provisionally No. 21 and 25). Paddy Dow AFL Trade period, in a four-way trade which saw Carlton give up Dow and its third-round and fourth-round selections in the 2024 national draft to St Kilda and respectively, in exchange for Essendon's third-round selection and ' and 's fourth-round selections in the 2024 national draft.
List management Player Change Matt Cottrell Elevated from the rookie list to the senior list. Lachie Cowan Changed guernsey number from No. 26 to No. 2. Oliver Hollands Changed guernsey number from No. 14 to No. 4. Jaxon Binns Changed guernsey number from No. 32 to No. 25. Matt Duffy Carlton announced Duffy's recruitment from Longford GAA as a Category B rookie signing in August 2023; but after he suffered a knee injury suffered playing Gaelic football in November 2023, his start was deferred by a year and he was left off the 2024 list.
Season summary Pre-season Carlton played two practice matches, the first deemed unofficial match simulation and the second deemed an official practice match, as part of its lead-up to the premiership season.
Date and local time Opponent Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) Venue Home Away Result Thursday, 22 February () 8.8 (56) 10.13 (73) Lost by 17 points Ikon Park (H) Wednesday, 28 February () 10.3 (63) 15.11 (101) Lost by 38 points Ikon Park (H)
Home-and-away season Following Carlton's strong second half to the 2023 season, Carlton was widely predicted to be a finalist in 2024 and opened the season fourth-favourite for the premiership. The season opened well with four straight wins – although two were against eventual bottom-four opponents – before four losses in six weeks saw Carlton drop to tenth place.