History beckons in run home for resurgent Blues

A SLICE of history beckons for Carlton.

The Blues have had an unbelievably topsy-turvy season, reflected in the type of unique records that Michael Voss’ enigmatic team could break throughout the final six weeks of the campaign.

Carlton has now won four consecutive games by 50 or more points having beaten Gold Coast by 59, Hawthorn (60), Fremantle (53) and Port Adelaide (50) over an impressive last month.

Set to face a struggling West Coast side at home on Saturday, another big victory could be on the agenda and that could also bring a new record. Only two other teams in V/AFL history have claimed five successive wins by 50 or more points.

Geelong’s team in 1989 won six consecutive matches by 50 or more, while Geelong’s 2008 side won five straight games by a margin of 50 or more. Both sides made that season’s Grand Final, making it illustrious company for Carlton to potentially be joining.

They would also join rare company should they make finals, having previously lost six consecutive matches in the same campaign. Only five other teams have also achieved that strange feat.

Footscray in 1974, Footscray in 1995, Melbourne in 2005 and Hawthorn in 2010 all did similarly, but lost in the first week of finals. Sydney in 2017 did likewise, making it through to the second week of September.

Fitzroy famously lost nine straight games in 1916 before winning the flag, but did so in a four-team era when every team made the finals. Fitzroy even finished on the bottom of the ladder before winning that premiership.

The Blues, who were undefeated after four games, then lost eight of their next nine matches including six straight to fall to a 4-1-8 record. Remarkably, though, they’re now just half a game outside the top eight.

Carlton is set to play West Coast, Collingwood, St Kilda, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney in its final six matches, and would break a decade-long finals drought should it qualify for September football.