| Club: | Carlton Football Club |
| Season: | 2017 |
| President: | Mark LoGiudice |
| Coach: | Brendon Bolton |
| Captain: | Marc Murphy |
| Home Ground: | Melbourne Cricket Ground (Training and administrative: Ikon Park) |
| Regularseason Comp: | AFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 16th (6–16) |
| Finals Series: | AFL Women's |
| Finals Result: | 4th (3–3–1) |
| Club B&Amp;F: | John Nicholls Medal |
| Best And Fairest: | Marc Murphy |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Levi Casboult (34) |
| Club Membership: | 50,326 |
| Prevseason: | 2016 |
| Nextseason: | 2018 |
The 2017 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 154th season of competition.
It was the club's men's team's 121st season as a member of the Australian Football League. The team finished sixteenth out of eighteen teams in the 2017 AFL season with a win–loss record of 6–16.
The season saw the inauguration of the club's women's team, which contested its first season as a member of the AFL Women's competition. The team finished fourth out of eight teams in the 2017 AFL Women's season with a 3–3–1 record from seven games.
The 2017 AFL season was the 121st season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 121st season contested by the Carlton Football Club. Carlton continued its alignment with the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League, allowing Carlton-listed players to play with the Northern Blues when not selected in AFL matches. Carlton's primary home ground continued to be the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the club playing six home matches there and five at Etihad Stadium; traditional home ground Ikon Park continued to serve as the training and administrative base.
The club also fielded its women's team in the inaugural season of the AFL Women's competition, running in February and March. Carlton was one of four Victorian clubs granted a license in June 2016 for the eight-team competition.[1] Ikon Park served as the home ground for women's matches.
The club's membership was 50,326, a 0.3% increase on the 2016 season.[2] Car manufacturer Hyundai continued as one of the club's two major sponsorship partners in 2017, having been a major sponsor continuously since 2008.[3] The club's second major sponsorship partner at the beginning of the season was job seekers' services provider CareerOne, which was in the final year of a three-year deal; however, the company withdrew from the sponsorship during May after cash flow difficulties related to a federal government audit of one of its clients.[4] In late May, the club signed airline Virgin Australia, which was already in a secondary level sponsorship deal with the club, as the replacement for CareerOne, with the Virgin logo replacing the CareerOne logo on the team's guernseys from Round 10 onwards.[5] The club posted a $700,000 profit for the year, its first profit since the 2013 season.[6]
Mark LoGiudice continued as club president, a role he had held since June 2014.[7] Marc Murphy continued in the role of captain for the fifth season; Kade Simpson remained vice-captain. There was one change to the club's seven-man leadership group, with Dennis Armfield elevated to the group to fill the position left by the retirement of Andrew Walker, and Ed Curnow, Bryce Gibbs, Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty holding their places.[8] Former women's exhibition series senior coach Damien Keeping joined the club as the coach of the women's team.[9]
The following is Carlton's squad for the 2017 season.
Statistics are correct as of end of 2017 season.Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.
| Senior List[10] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2016) | 2017 Player Statistics | ||||||||||
| Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO | |||||||
| 1 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 201 | 144 | 57 | 90 | 51 | 0 | |||||
| 3 | Marc Murphy (c) | 29 | 214 | 157 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 656 | 390 | 266 | 127 | 86 | 0 | ||||
| 4 | Bryce Gibbs (lg) | 27 | 209 | 120 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 590 | 362 | 228 | 114 | 129 | 0 | ||||
| 5 | 18 | – | – | 20 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 168 | 112 | 65 | 95 | 0 | |||||
| 6 | Kade Simpson (vc) | 32 | 264 | 127 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 529 | 377 | 152 | 162 | 59 | 0 | ||||
| 7 | 23 | 38 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 8 | 27 | 140 | 72 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 321 | 206 | 115 | 69 | 107 | 665 | |||||
| 9 | Patrick Cripps (lg) | 21 | 44 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 374 | 168 | 206 | 65 | 90 | 0 | ||||
| 10 | 19 | – | – | 2 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 11 | 23 | Bendigo (U18), | 48 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 238 | 120 | 118 | 55 | 48 | 0 | ||||
| 12 | 23 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 116 | 77 | 39 | 31 | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 13 | 24 | 37 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 141 | 110 | 31 | 51 | 28 | 0 | |||||
| 14 | 25 | North Hobart, | 83 | 84 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 95 | 40 | 56 | 34 | 0 | ||||
| 15 | Sam Docherty (lg) | 23 | Gippsland (U18), | 70 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 613 | 460 | 153 | 199 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 16 | 24 | Geelong (U18), | 38 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 91 | 44 | 47 | 20 | 32 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | 29 | 73 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 44 | 36 | 24 | 13 | 0 | |||||
| 18 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| 19 | 23 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 20 | 22 | 39 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 301 | 178 | 123 | 111 | 42 | 0 | |||||
| 22 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 248 | 184 | 64 | 102 | 40 | 0 | |||||
| 23 | 19 | 20 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 301 | 198 | 103 | 122 | 28 | 0 | |||||
| 24 | 27 | 122 | 95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 25 | 18 | – | – | 17 | 4 | 4 | 197 | 93 | 104 | 22 | 50 | 0 | |||||
| 26 | 18 | Henty | – | – | 8 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 35 | 26 | 17 | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 27 | Dennis Armfield (lg) | 30 | 140 | 73 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 37 | 18 | 25 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 28 | 19 | 3 | – | 8 | 6 | 1 | 103 | 63 | 40 | 27 | 34 | 0 | |||||
| 29 | 18 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 12 | 297 | 207 | 90 | 119 | 61 | 6 | |||||
| 31 | 18 | – | – | 15 | 1 | 3 | 182 | 116 | 66 | 51 | 35 | 0 | |||||
| 32 | 22 | 28 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 182 | 116 | 66 | 51 | 47 | 0 | |||||
| 33 | 20 | – | – | 10 | 6 | 5 | 91 | 56 | 35 | 20 | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 34 | 25 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 29 | |||||
| 35 | Ed Curnow (lg) | 27 | 109 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 282 | 156 | 126 | 51 | 66 | 0 | ||||
| 36 | 18 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 37 | 24 | Norwood, | 26 | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 38 |  | 22 | 12 | – | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 39 | 29 | Gippsland (U18), | 200 | 141 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 315 | 196 | 119 | 103 | 31 | 0 | ||||
| 41 | 26 | 72 | 71 | 22 | 34 | 18 | 220 | 144 | 76 | 120 | 39 | 157 | |||||
| 43 | 28 | 76 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 97 | 45 | 56 | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 46 | 27 | North Adelaide, | 116 | 85 | 22 | 30 | 12 | 357 | 236 | 121 | 96 | 64 | 0 | ||||
| Rookie List | |||||||||||||||||
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2016) | 2017 Player Statistics | ||||||||||
| Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO | |||||||
| 21 | | 26 | 4 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 40 | Jesse Glass-McCasker | 19 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 42 | Kym LeBois | 18 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 44 | 29 | Casey, | 53 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 45 | 28 | 31 | 33 | 0 | ||||
| 45 | Andrew Gallucci | 22 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 48 |  | Matt Korcheck | 25 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Senior coaching panel[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| State | Coach | Coaching position | Carlton Coaching debut | Former clubs as coach | |||||||||||||
| Senior Coach | 2016 | North Hobart (s), Tasmania (VFL) (s), Clarence (s), Box Hill (s), (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach (Stoppages) | 2011 | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Director of Coaching, Development and Performance | 2016 | Norwood (s), (s), (cs), (m) | |||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach (Midfield) | 2016 | (a), Coburg (s), Richmond reserves (s) | |||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach (Forward-line) | 2016 | Lower Plenty (s), Sandringham (U18) (a), Eastern (U18) (s), (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Dale Amos | Assistant coach (Back-line) | 2016 | South Barwon (s), (a), Geelong reserves (s) | ||||||||||||||
| Development coach | 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach | 2016 | Gold Coast reserves (s) | |||||||||||||||
The following summarises all player changes which have occurred since the conclusion of the 2016 season. Unless otherwise noted, draft picks refer to selections in the 2016 AFL draft.
Two high-profile players requested trades away from Carlton in the lead-up to the trade period: Zach Tuohy and Bryce Gibbs. Gibbs was two years into a five-year contract, but sought a return to Adelaide for family reasons, nominating the Adelaide Crows as his preferred destination.[12] Tuohy, out of contract but not a free agent, nominated as his preferred destination.[13] Carlton was also linked to young out-of-contract defender Caleb Marchbank, who was seeking to return to his home state Victoria and nominated Carlton as his preferred destination.[14] In the end, deals were secured for Tuohy and Marchbank, but Carlton and Adelaide could not come to an agreement on a trade for Gibbs and he remained on the Carlton list.
| Player | Former Club | League | via | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Trade Period, along with a fourth-round draft pick (provisionally No. 63) and 's first-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft, in exchange for Zach Tuohy and Carlton's second-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft. | ||||
| AFL Trade Period, along with GWS' second-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft, in exchange for third- and fourth-round draft picks (provisionally No. 45 and 58) and 's first-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft.[15] | ||||
| AFL Trade Period, in exchange for an eighth-round draft pick (provisionally No. 135).[16] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, first round (No. 6 overall).[17] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, second round (No. 27 overall).[18] | ||||
| Henty | AFL National Draft, third round (No. 47 overall). Eligible as a academy selection but Carlton's bid was not matched by GWS.[19] | |||
| AFL National Draft, fourth round (No. 59 overall).[20] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, fourth round (No. 61 overall).[21] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, fourth round (No. 65 overall).[22] | ||||
| Kym LeBois | AFL Rookie Draft, first round (No. 5 overall).[23] | |||
| AFL Rookie Draft, second round (No. 23 overall).[24] |
| Player | New Club | League | via | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Preston Lakeside[25] | Retired[26] | |||
| Retired[27] | ||||
| Avondale Heights[28] | Retired from the rookie list[29] | |||
| Macedon[30] | Delisted prior to the trade period | |||
| Jayden Foster | Footscray reserves[31] | Delisted prior to the trade period | ||
| Perth[32] | Delisted prior to the trade period[33] | |||
| AFL Trade Period, along with the club's second-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft, in exchange for Billie Smedts, a fourth-round draft pick (provisionally No. 63) and 's first-round draft pick in the 2017 National Draft.[34] | ||||
| Somerville[35] | Delisted following the trade period[36] | |||
| De La Salle[37] | Delisted following the trade period | |||
| Dillon Viojo-Rainbow | Port Melbourne[38] | Delisted following the trade period | ||
| Yarrawonga[39] | O&MFL | Delisted following the trade period | ||
| Delisted from the rookie list following the trade period |
| Player | Change | |
|---|---|---|
| National draft | Carlton traded 's second-round pick in the 2017 National Draft (which was obtained in the trade for Caleb Marchbank and Jarrod Pickett) to in exchange for a third-round draft pick and two fourth-round draft picks (provisionally No. 48, 66 and 70). | |
| Elevated from the rookie list to the senior list.[40] | ||
| Andrew Gallucci | Initially delisted from the rookie list following the trade period, but received permission to continue training with the club after being delisted, and was redrafted in the third round of the rookie draft (No. 39 overall). | |
| Initially delisted from the rookie list following the trade period, but received permission to continue training with the club after being delisted, and was then re-added to the rookie list as an out-of-draft selection. | ||
| Billy Gowers | Received permission to continue training with the club after being delisted, but was not re-drafted. | |
| Academy Player. Carlton bid on Setterfield in the AFL National Draft in the first round (pick No. 5 overall); GWS then matched Carlton's bid and recruited Setterfield with its next two selections (No. 15 and 37).[41] | ||
| Guernsey number changes | Jack Silvagni (No. 2 to No. 1) Jesse Glass-McCasker (No. 47 to No. 40) |
The club played three practice matches as part of the JLT Community Series.
| Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Saturday, 25 February | align=left | 0.17.14 (116) | 0.9.8 (62) | Lost by 54 points[42] | Casey Fields (A) | 7,256 | ||
| align=left | Saturday, 4 March | align=left | 0.4.6 (30) | 0.18.14 (122) | Lost by 92 points[43] | Ikon Park (H) | 15,485 | ||
| align=left | Friday, 10 March | align=left | 2.12.14 (104) | 0.12.11 (83) | Lost by 21 points[44] | Domain Stadium (A) | 6,639 | ||
The club entered the season continuing to rebuild its playing list under a youth policy, and thus despite having won seven games in 2016, the club was expected to fare poorly, with about half of all pundits across the major newspapers and media outlets predicting the club would finish last.[45] [46] The club eventually finished with a 6–16 record, one fewer win than in 2016, to finish sixteenth, one win and percentage ahead of wooden spooners .
As in 2016, the club was stronger in the first half of the year than the second, sitting with win–loss records of 3–4 after Round 7 and 4–7 after Round 13, before winning only one of its final ten games. The club's win–loss formline when compared to its opponents' finishing position was unusually erratic, with the club finishing:
Carlton was usually able to keep close in its games, and led at least ten minutes into the final quarter in eight of its sixteen losses.[47]
As in 2016, the team's strength was built on its defence, with the club continuing to build its backline with the recruitment of Caleb Marchbank from, the conversion of Liam Jones from a fringe key forward to a dominant key defender, and the continued growth of rebounder Sam Docherty, who was selected in the All-Australian team. Its biggest weakness was its inability to score, and the club was the lowest-scoring in the league (having been second-lowest in 2016 behind suspension-affected) and failed to score 100 points in any game for the first time since 1917.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Thursday, 23 March | align=left | 14.5 (89) | 20.12 (132) | Lost by 43 points[48] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 73,137 | 16th | ||
| 2 | align=left | Sunday, 2 April | align=left | 13.8 (86) | 9.10 (64) | Lost by 22 points[49] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 46,727 | 16th | ||
| 3 | align=left | Sunday, 9 April | align=left | 7.15 (57) | 6.6 (42) | Won by 15 points[50] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 48,022 | 14th | ||
| 4 | align=left | Saturday, 15 April | align=left | 12.10 (82) | 17.6 (108) | Lost by 26 points[51] | Etihad Stadium (H) | 24,968 | 14th | ||
| 5 | align=left | Friday, 21 April | align=left | 20.17 (137) | 6.11 (47) | Lost by 90 points[52] | Adelaide Oval (A) | 43,120 | 16th | ||
| 6 | align=left | Saturday, 29 April | align=left | 15.7 (97) | 11.12 (78) | Won by 19 points[53] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 32,678 | 14th | ||
| 7 | align=left | Saturday, 6 May | align=left | 8.8 (56) | 12.7 (79) | Won by 23 points[54] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 70,279 | 13th | ||
| 8 | align=left | Saturday, 13 May | align=left | 12.13 (85) | 10.6 (66) | Lost by 19 points[55] | Etihad Stadium (A) | 38,014 | 13th | ||
| 9 | align=left | Sunday, 21 May | align=left | 13.8 (86) | 7.9 (51) | Lost by 35 points[56] | Domain Stadium (A) | 30,313 | 16th | ||
| 10 | align=left | Sunday, 28 May | align=left | 15.6 (96) | 17.11 (113) | Lost by 17 points[57] | Etihad Stadium (H) | 32,802 | 17th | ||
| 11 | Bye | 17th | |||||||||
| 12 | align=left | Sunday, 11 June | align=left | GWS | 10.11 (71) | 9.16 (70) | Won by 1 point[58] | Etihad Stadium (H) | 23,194 | 16th | |
| 13 | align=left | Saturday, 17 June | align=left | 11.7 (73) | 12.11 (83) | Won by 10 points[59] | Metricon Stadium (A) | 11,936 | 15th | ||
| 14 | align=left | Sunday, 25 June | align=left | 11.18 (84) | 8.10 (58) | Lost by 26 points[60] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 64,448 | 15th | ||
| 15 | align=left | Saturday, 1 June | align=left | 12.5 (77) | 13.11 (89) | Lost by 12 points[61] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 33,433 | 16th | ||
| 16 | align=left | Sunday, 9 July | align=left | 12.10 (82) | 14.6 (90) | Lost by 8 points[62] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 47,266 | 16th | ||
| 17 | align=left | Sunday, 16 July | align=left | 9.8 (62) | 12.10 (82) | Lost by 20 points[63] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 35,157 | 16th | ||
| 18 | align=left | Sunday, 23 July | align=left | 17.10 (112) | 11.16 (82) | Lost by 30 points[64] | The Gabba (A) | 18,847 | 16th | ||
| 19 | align=left | Saturday, 29 July | align=left | 8.10 (58) | 18.15 (123) | Lost by 65 points[65] | Etihad Stadium (H) | 35,460 | 17th | ||
| 20 | align=left | Saturday, 5 August | align=left | 11.18 (84) | 11.10 (76) | Lost by 8 points[66] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 58,562 | 17th | ||
| 21 | align=left | Saturday, 12 August | align=left | 15.10 (100) | 12.11 (83) | Lost by 17 points[67] | Domain Stadium (A) | 30,491 | 17th | ||
| 22 | align=left | Saturday, 19 August | align=left | 12.5 (77) | 10.10 (70) | Won by 7 points[68] | Etihad Stadium (H) | 35,799 | 15th | ||
| 23 | align=left | Saturday, 26 August | align=left | 21.12 (138) | 8.9 (57) | Lost by 81 points[69] | Sydney Cricket Ground (A) | 38,965 | 16th | ||
The Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest awards night took place on 22 September. The John Nicholls Medal, for the best and fairest player of the club, as well as several other awards, were presented on the night.[76]
| Pos. | Player | Votes | |||
| 1st | Marc Murphy | 174 | |||
| 2nd | Sam Docherty | 169 | |||
| 3rd | Matthew Kreuzer | 164 | |||
| 4th | Bryce Gibbs | 130 | |||
| 5th | Kade Simpson | 103 | |||
| 6th | Matthew Wright | 103 | |||
| 7th | Lachie Plowman | 95 | |||
| 8th | Patrick Cripps | 92 | |||
| 9th | Liam Jones | 84 | |||
| 10th | Charlie Curnow | 81 |
Levi Casboult was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season with 34 goals.[79] It was Casboult's only time finishing as the club's leading goalkicker, after having been the second highest goalkicker in 2015 and 2016. 2016 leading goalkicker Matthew Wright was second.
| Player | width=5% | Goals | width=5% | Behinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 18 | |||
| 30 | 12 | |||
| 20 | 12 | |||
| 19 | 17 | |||
| 17 | 13 |
Under the competition's player recruitment regulations, each of the eight clubs was entitled to sign two marquee players. In July 2016, Carlton recruited St Kilda Sharks key position/midfielder and former Australian international soccer goalkeeper Brianna Davey and Darebin Falcons full forward Darcy Vescio as its marquee players.[94] Darebin midfielder Lauren Arnell also signed with the club as a priority signing due to her pre-existing relationship with the club as its Female Football Ambassador. The club drew most of its remaining recruits from the inaugural AFL Women's draft, with Cranbourne forward Bianca Jakobsson taken with Carlton's first round selection at No. 3 overall. Arnell was made the inaugural captain of the team, with Davey and Madeline Keryk serving as vice-captains.[95]
The following is the final senior squad as announced at the start of the season. Numbers in parentheses represent games played and goals kicked for Carlton in the season. Only supplementary players who played a senior match during the season are listed.
The club played each of the other seven clubs once in the home-and-away series of the inaugural AFL Women's fixture over February and March. The main highlight of the fixture was the Round 1 match against Collingwood, which saw the two traditional men's rivals play the first match in the new competition's history. The match, for which admission was free, drew a lockout crowd of 24,568 at Ikon Park, after having originally been scheduled for Collingwood's 5,000-capacity Olympic Park training oval then being transferred due to the expected crowd.[96] The team's Round 4, 5 and 6 matches against Melbourne, Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs served as curtain-raisers to the senior team's pre-season practice matches against the same clubs.
The club finished fourth out of eight on the ladder, with a final record of 3–3–1.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Friday, 3 February | align=left | Collingwood | 7.4 (46) | 1.5 (11) | Won by 35 points[97] | Ikon Park (H) | 24,568 | 1st | |
| 2 | align=left | Saturday, 11 February | align=left | GWS | 7.5 (47) | 5.4 (34) | Won by 13 points[98] | Ikon Park (H) | 8,000 | 2nd | |
| 3 | align=left | Sunday, 19 February | align=left | Adelaide | 2.5 (17) | 2.2 (14) | Lost by 3 points[99] | Thebarton Oval (A) | 9,006 | 3rd | |
| 4 | align=left | Saturday, 25 February | align=left | Melbourne | 6.6 (42) | 5.6 (36) | Lost by 6 points[100] | Casey Fields (A) | 3,965 | 4th | |
| 5 | align=left | Saturday, 4 March | align=left | Western Bulldogs | 8.6 (54) | 7.6 (48) | Won by 6 points[101] | Ikon Park (H) | 6,833 | 3rd | |
| 6 | align=left | Friday, 10 March | align=left | Fremantle | 6.7 (43) | 4.3 (27) | Lost by 16 points[102] | Domain Stadium (A) | 1,200 | 4th | |
| 7 | align=left | Sunday, 19 March | align=left | Brisbane Lions | 6.1 (37) | 5.7 (37) | Match drawn[103] | Ikon Park (H) | 5,801 | 4th | |
The following individual awards were won by Carlton players:
The Carlton Football Club had a full affiliation with the Northern Blues during the 2017 season. It was the fifteenth season of the clubs' affiliation, which had been in place since 2003. Carlton senior- and rookie-listed players who were not selected to play in the Carlton team were eligible to play for either the Northern Blues seniors or reserves team in the Victorian Football League. The club's nine home matches were split with six matches at the VFL club's traditional home ground Preston City Oval, and three matches at Carlton's traditional home ground Ikon Park.[107] The Northern Blues finished 9th out of 15 in the VFL with a record of 8–10 to miss the finals on percentage by 8.1%pts.