| Club: | Carlton Football Club |
| Season: | 2020 |
| President: | Mark LoGiudice |
| Coach: | David Teague |
| Captain: | Patrick Cripps Sam Docherty |
| Home Ground: | Melbourne Cricket Ground (Training and administrative: Ikon Park) |
| Regularseason Comp: | AFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 11th (7–10) |
| Finals Series: | AFL Women's |
| Finals Result: | Preliminary finalist |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Harry McKay (21) |
| Club Membership: | 67,035 |
| Prevseason: | 2019 |
| Nextseason: | 2021 |
The 2020 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 157th season of competition. The season was disrupted and partially curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was the club's men's team's 124th season as a member of the Australian Football League. The team finished 11th out of eighteen teams with a 7–10 record in the 2020 AFL season.
It was the club's women's team's fourth season as a member of the AFL Women's competition. The team reached the preliminary finals of the 2020 AFL Women's season, before the onset of the pandemic saw the season cancelled without the premiership being awarded.
The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 124rd season contested by the Carlton Football Club. Contractually, Carlton's primary home ground continued to be the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with many games also to have been played at Marvel Stadium, and traditional home ground Ikon Park continued to serve as the training and administrative base; however, due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing games to be moved out of Victoria, the club hosted games at Metricon Stadium and the Gabba in Queensland and Optus Stadium in Perth, hosted no games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and used the Mercure Gold Coast as a training base for much of the season.
The club fielded its women's team in the fourth season of the AFL Women's competition, running in February and March, and Ikon Park served as the home ground for AFL Women's matches. Carlton continued its alignment with the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League through the pre-season; but terminated the alignment on 26 March as a cost-saving measure during the coronavirus pandemic; as with all AFL clubs, Carlton had no reserves team or affiliation during the season, and reserves players were restricted to playing scratch matches against other AFL clubs.[1] The VFL Women's season was cancelled due to the pandemic, so the club's VFL Women's team did not compete.[2]
Car manufacturer Hyundai, which had been a major sponsor of the club continuously since 2008,[3] and airline Virgin Australia, which had upgraded from a secondary sponsor to a major sponsor during the 2017 season,[4] continued as the club's two major sponsors, under deals in place until 2022;[5] the latter sponsorship remained in place, despite the airline going into administration during the coronavirus pandemic. The club's long term on- and off-field apparel deal with Nike, which had been in place since 1998,[6] [7] came to an end in October 2019,[8] and the club signed a new 10-year apparel deal with PUMA.[9]
The club again achieved a record membership in 2020, finishing with 67,035 members for the year.[10] The club passed the full-year 2019 record in early March, before the season had even begun – as well as before the curtailment of the season was announced.[11] This was the club's third consecutive huge increase in membership numbers, having increased from 50,130 to a then-record 56,005 members in 2018, then to another record of 64,269 in 2019.[12]
The 2020 season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, eight days prior to the scheduled start of the men's premiership season and prior to Round 6 of the women's season.
Carlton's season endured the following disruptions and special arrangements:
Carlton, along with all AFL clubs, were forced to find significant cost savings to cover the loss of revenue, which in Carlton's case included gate and broadcast revenue from closed and cancelled games, as well as gaming revenue as a result of non-essential venue closures across the country;[22] the club also suffered financially as a result of joint major sponsor Virgin Australia being placed into administration, itself severely affected by travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic, although the club's partnership with Virgin continued.[23]
Among the cost saving decisions, Carlton ended its 18-year association with its, the Northern Blues, in late March; the club had been investing significant money in building up the club as a development ground for its reserves and a senior development pathway for the northern suburbs; but with money tight, opted to end the affiliation and adopt a lower-cost strategy of re-establishing a stand-alone reserves team, which would contest the VFL at the next opportunity. The Northern Blues club, which was heavily dependent on Carlton's financial support to remain viable as an entity, initially announced that it would be wound up as a result,[24] and it was not included in the ultimately cancelled plans for a shortened 2020 VFL season; but, the club regrouped and will remain in the VFL under as a stand-alone senior Northern Bullants from 2021. As with all other AFL clubs, most of the club's workforce was stood down during the height of the pandemic.[25]
During July, while based interstate, the club was fined $45,000 for an inadvertent breach of COVID-19 protocols when one member of the travelling party sought childcare services outside the league's quarantine bubble.[26]
Mark LoGiudice continued as club president, a role he has held since June 2014.[27]
David Teague entered his first full season as the appointed senior coach of the club, having served as caretaker during the second half of 2019 after Brendon Bolton was sacked.[28] Teague was appointed senior coach on a three-year contract with two rounds remaining in the 2019 season.[29] To the coaching panel over the preseason were added: assistant coach Henry Playfair, who became head of coaching performance; AFL Academy manager Luke Power, who became head of development; and Geelong Falcons coach Daniel O'Keefe in a development coaching role.[30] Power replaced Shane Watson, who departed after four years with the club.[31] Following the trade and draft periods, general manager of List Management and Strategy Stephen Silvagni departed the club after five years in the role.[32] The financial pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the termination of the affiliation with the Northern Blues, resulted in Northern coach Josh Fraser being terminated.
Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty continued in their roles as joint captains for the second consecutive season – with Docherty playing his first games as captain after having missed the 2019 season (as well as the 2018 season) due to injury.[33] Liam Jones, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh were added to the club's expanded seven-man leadership group, with Ed Curnow and Marc Murphy holding their places. Veteran Kade Simpson stepped aside from the group.[34]
Statistics are correct as of end of 2019 season.Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.
| Senior List | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | State | Player | Age < | -- At end of 2019 --> | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2019) | 2020 Player Statistics | |||||||||
| Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO | |||||||
| 1 | 22 | 60 | 45 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2 | Paddy Dow | 20 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 3 | Marc Murphy (lg) | 32 | 268 | 185 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 313 | 178 | 135 | 63 | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 4 | 20 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 5 | 21 | 64 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 155 | 62 | 49 | 36 | 0 | |||||
| 6 | 35 | 325 | 138 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 264 | 201 | 63 | 66 | 19 | 0 | |||||
| 7 | 22 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 113 | 63 | 50 | 26 | 20 | 0 | |||||
| 8 | 30 | 188 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||
| 9 | Patrick Cripps (c) | 24 | 101 | 47 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 334 | 152 | 182 | 40 | 81 | 0 | ||||
| 10 | 22 | 35 | 50 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 97 | 76 | 21 | 57 | 20 | 0 | |||||
| 11 | 25 | Claremont, | 64 | 89 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 88 | 70 | 18 | 39 | 22 | 3 | ||||
| 12 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 26 | 28 | 10 | 16 | 87 | |||||
| 13 | 19 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| 14 | Liam Jones (lg) | 28 | North Hobart, | 125 | 84 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 135 | 111 | 24 | 72 | 24 | 0 | |||
| 15 | Sam Docherty (c) | 26 | Gippsland (U18), | 92 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 298 | 216 | 82 | 83 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 16 | 24 | Geelong (U18), | 63 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 18 | Sam Walsh (lg) | 19 | 22 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 349 | 193 | 156 | 73 | 47 | 0 | ||||
| 19 | 33 | Calder (U18), | 316 | 600 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 133 | 89 | 44 | 24 | 41 | 0 | ||||
| 20 | 25 | 94 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 163 | 116 | 47 | 54 | 30 | 0 | |||||
| 21 | 24 | Claremont, | 97 | 81 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 203 | 115 | 88 | 64 | 48 | 0 | ||||
| 22 | 23 | 48 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| 23 | Jacob Weitering (lg) | 22 | 76 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 146 | 42 | 74 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 24 | 26 | Frankston, | 54 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 25 | 21 | 55 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 107 | 57 | 50 | 13 | 20 | 0 | |||||
| 26 | 21 | Henty | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 27 | 23 | Oakleigh (U18), | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 109 | 59 | 50 | 23 | 25 | 292 | ||||
| 28 | 22 | 25 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 138 | 72 | 66 | 32 | 33 | 0 | |||||
| 29 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 30 | 22 | 58 | 77 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| 31 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 158 | 103 | 55 | 48 | 28 | 0 | |||||
| 32 | 26 | 155 | 55 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 222 | 139 | 83 | 53 | 44 | 0 | |||||
| 33 | 18 | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 34 | 18 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 35 | Ed Curnow (lg) | 30 | 165 | 36 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 320 | 212 | 108 | 42 | 88 | 0 | ||||
| 37 | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 38 | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | 29 | 124 | 132 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 152 | 112 | 40 | 80 | 31 | 86 | |||||
| 43 | 21 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 243 | 146 | 97 | 29 | 83 | 0 | |||||
| Rookie List[35] | |||||||||||||||||
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2019) | 2020 Player Statistics | ||||||||||
| Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO | |||||||
| 36 | 18 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 39 | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 40 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 207 | 144 | 63 | 51 | 42 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | 22 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 45 | 23 | Geelong (U18), | 12 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 46 | 19 | – | – | 5 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 44 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| 47 | 23 | Calder (U18), | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Senior coaching panel[36] | |||||||||||||||||
| State | Coach | Coaching position | Carlton Coaching debut | Former clubs as coach | |||||||||||||
| Senior coach | 2008 | (d), Northern Bullants (s), (a), (a), (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Head of coaching performance | 2020 | (a), (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Head of development | 2020 | GWS (a), AFL Academy Manager | |||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach (stoppages) | 2011 | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach (forward) | 2018 | (a) | |||||||||||||||
| Dale Amos | Assistant coach (defence) | 2016 | South Barwon (s), (a), Geelong reserves (s) | ||||||||||||||
| Northern Blues senior coach (Until March) | 2016 | Gold Coast reserves (s) | |||||||||||||||
| Development coach (Forwards) | 2018 | North Shore (s) | |||||||||||||||
| Daniel O'Keefe | Development coach (Midfield) | 2020 | Geelong Falcons (s), Geelong reserves (a) | ||||||||||||||
| Development coach (Midfield and transition) | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||
| Specialist coach (goalkicking) | 2017 | ||||||||||||||||
| Specialist coach (ruck) | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
The following summarises all player changes which occurred after the 2019 season. Unless otherwise noted, draft picks refer to selections in the 2019 National Draft.
The club was active in negotiations during the trading period, although ultimately executed only three trades for low picks, which included the return of life member Eddie Betts, returning to the club after six years with . The club was involved in negotiations to secure Tom Papley from, but the deal was partly contingent on Sydney securing 's Joe Daniher in a separate trade which ultimately fell through.[37] Carlton also negotiated actively with to trade for uncontracted Jack Martin, offering a second-round draft pick and unable to meet Gold Coast's demands of a first round draft pick;[38] Martin then walked out on the Suns, and Carlton signed him on a five-year $3m contract through the pre-season draft – with the contract heavily front-ended in such a way that Gold Coast, who had an earlier selection in the draft but insufficient salary cap space, couldn't redraft him.[39]
| Player | Former Club | League | via | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL trade period, in exchange for a fourth-round draft selection in the 2019 National Draft.[40] | ||||
| AFL trade period, gained along with a fourth round draft pick (provisionally No. 61), in exchange for a third round draft pick and a later fourth round draft (provisionally No. 54 and 63).[41] | ||||
| Delisted free agent signing.[42] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, first round selection (No. 17 overall)[43] | ||||
| AFL National Draft, second round selection (No. 20 overall) | ||||
| AFL National Draft, third round selection (No. 47 overall) | ||||
| AFL Pre-season Draft, first round selection (No. 1 overall).[44] | ||||
| AFL Rookie Draft, first round selection (No. 3 overall).[45] | ||||
| AFL Rookie Draft, second round selection (No. 18 overall).[46] | ||||
| Recruited to the rookie list during the supplemental selection period.[47] |
| Player | New Club | League | via | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montmorency[48] | Retired[49] | |||
| Werribee[50] | Delisted at the end of the season[51] | |||
| Delisted at the end of the season | ||||
| St Kevin's Old Boys[52] | Delisted at the end of the season | |||
| Angus Schumacher | East Perth[53] | Delisted at the end of the season | ||
| Kym Lebois | North Adelaide[54] | Delisted from the rookie list at the end of the season | ||
| AFL trade period, traded along with two fourth round draft picks (provisionally No. 61 and 72), in exchange for two higher fourth-round draft picks (provisionally No. 57 and 70) | ||||
| Box Hill[55] | Delisted after the trade period.[56] |
| Player | Change | |
|---|---|---|
| Received a third round draft pick (provisionally No. 48) from in exchange for a later third round draft pick and a fourth round draft pick (provisionally No. 54 and 63).[57] | ||
| Bid for Academy player Liam Henry with the No. 9 draft selection; the bid was matched by Fremantle. | ||
| Bid for GWS Academy player Tom Green with the No. 10 draft selection; the bid was matched by GWS. | ||
| Gained a first round draft selection (No. 17) and a second round draft selection (No. 22) from in exchange for a higher first round draft selection (No. 11).[58] Pick 22 was then on-traded to along with a fourth-round draft selection (No. 55) in exchange for a higher second-round selection (No. 20).[59] | ||
| All four players received permission to train with Carlton during the 2020 pre-season ahead of the supplemental selection period;[60] Moore was ultimately added to the club's rookie list. |
The club played three full-length practice matches in the lead-up to the season and prior to the announcement of the season's curtailment. The matches against Fremantle and Brisbane were scheduled as part of the Marsh Community Series, and the match against Collingwood was arranged between the clubs in late January with the gold coin entry donation fee serving as a fundraiser for the 2019–20 Australian bushfire relief effort.[61]
| Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Thursday, 20 February | align=left | 16.10 (106) | 11.8 (74) | Won by 32 points[62] | Ikon Park (H) | N/A | ||
| align=left | Saturday, 29 February | align=left | 13.12 (90) | 5.13 (43) | Lost by 47 points[63] | David Grays Arena (A) | 5,127 | ||
| align=left | Sunday, 8 March | align=left | 10.6 (66) | 16.15 (111) | Lost by 45 points[64] | Ikon Park (H) | 7,148 | ||
Owing to the curtailment of the AFL season and uncertainty in the fixture, portions of the fixture were gradually released during the year, and sometimes changed at short notice. The only such change which affected Carlton was in Round 5: on the Monday prior to the game, Carlton's Saturday game against was rescheduled to Thursday night, to fill the television timeslot left by a cancelled vs match; the venue was changed from the Melbourne Cricket Ground to Marvel Stadium.[65]
Carlton had its best home-and-away season for seven years, carrying on from a successful second half to 2019. Carlton maintained consistent performance through the majority of the season, and had a 4–4 record through the first eight rounds, with many games decided by close margins. From Rounds 9 to 12, Carlton went into a hub in Perth, where it lost its first two matches against and after holding strong leads to fall to 4–6; but, a narrow victory against to end the hub period and a comfortable win against the following week brought the club back to 6–6, and still in a position to challenge for finals.
The season's most critical juncture was in Rounds 14 and 15, when Carlton played consecutive matches five days apart against fellow eighth place aspirants and ; but in both games, Carlton conceded four goals to none in the final quarter to lose after holding a final quarter lead, ending the club's realistic finals chances. A mathematical chance of finals remained until the Round 17 loss against wooden spooners, and a 1–4 end to the season saw the club finish 11th, with a record of 7–10.
Across the entire season, Carlton's results were mostly in line with finishing position. Against the ten teams who finished above them, Carlton had a 2–8 record, winning against 4th placed and 7th placed ; and, against the seven teams below them, Carlton had a 5–2 record, with upset losses against and . The team was consistently competitive, and its heaviest defeat for the season was only 31 points – the lowest of any team in the league for the year.
In spite of this, it was a year of wild results and momentum swings. Twice, Carlton conceded the first seven goals yet fought back – for a 1-point loss against in Round 2, and a 5-point win against in Round 16. Twice, Carlton blew huge leads: against in Round 3, Carlton led by 42 points before almost being overrun, winning by only two points; and against in Round 9, Carlton kicked the first five goals to lead by 31 points, before losing by the same amount. Two games were decided by goals after the final siren: a loss against in Round 7 and a win against in Round 12; and two wins – against in Round 4 and in Round 16 – were secured only after the opponent missed gettable set shots in the final minute.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position | ||||
| Home | Away | Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Thursday, 19 March | align=left | 16.9 (105) | 12.9 (81) | Lost by 24 points[66] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | Closed | 13th | |
| 2 | align=left | Saturday, 13 June (4:35 pm) | align=left | Melbourne | 7.11 (53) | 8.6 (54) | Lost by 1 point[67] | Marvel Stadium (H) | Closed | 16th |
| 3 | align=left | Saturday, 20 June (7:40 pm) | align=left | Geelong | 11.11 (77) | 12.7 (79) | Won by 2 points[68] | GMHBA Stadium (A) | Closed | 13th |
| 4 | align=left | Saturday, 27 June (7:40 pm) | align=left | Essendon | 8.3 (51) | 7.10 (52) | Won by 1 point[69] | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | Closed | 12th |
| 5 | align=left | Thursday, 2 July (7:40 pm) | align=left | 8.7 (55) | 11.7 (73) | Lost by 18 points | Marvel Stadium (H) | Closed | 12th | |
| 6 | align=left | Sunday, 12 July (6:45 pm) | align=left | Western Bulldogs | 16.7 (103) | 7.9 (51) | Won by 52 points[70] | Metricon Stadium (H) | 2,178 | 8th |
| 7 | align=left | Sunday, 19 July (1:05 pm) | align=left | 9.7 (61) | 9.10 (64) | Lost by 3 points[71] | Gabba (H) | 3,510 | 11th | |
| 8 | align=left | Saturday, 25 July (1:05 pm) | align=left | 9.3 (57) | 9.10 (64) | Won by 7 points[72] | The Gabba (A) | 3,655 | 11th | |
| 9 | align=left | Friday, 31 July (3:40 pm) | align=left | Hawthorn | 9.4 (58) | 14.5 (89) | Lost by 31 points[73] | Optus Stadium (H) | 12,304 | 12th |
| 10 | Bye | 13th | ||||||||
| 11 | align=left | Sunday, 9 August (1:35 pm) | align=left | 11.6 (72) | 7.8 (50) | Lost by 22 points[74] | Optus Stadium (A) | 19,092 | 13th | |
| 12 | align=left | Saturday, 15 August (6:10 pm) | align=left | 5.6 (36) | 5.10 (40) | Won by 4 points[75] | Optus Stadium (A) | 24,114 | 12th | |
| 13 | align=left | Friday, 21 August (7:20 pm) | align=left | Gold Coast | 4.3 (27) | 7.18 (60) | Won by 33 points[76] | TIO Stadium (A) | 5,172 | 10th |
| 14 | Sunday, 30 August (3:35 pm) | Collingwood | 7.6 (48) | 10.12 (72) | Lost by 24 points[77] | Gabba (H) | 9,033 | 12th | ||
| 15 | Thursday, 3 September (7:10 pm) | GWS | 6.12 (48) | 5.9 (39) | Lost by 9 points[78] | Metricon Stadium (A) | 1,469 | 12th | ||
| 16 | Tuesday, 8 September (8:10 pm) | Sydney | 8.9 (57) | 8.4 (52) | Won by 5 points[79] | Metricon Stadium (H) | 1,580 | 11th | ||
| 17 | Sunday, 13 September (1:05 pm) | Adelaide | 8.8 (56) | 10.12 (72) | Lost by 16 points[80] | Metricon Stadium (H) | 2,735 | 12th | ||
| 18 | Saturday, 19 September (7:40pm) | Brisbane | 11.12 (78) | 10.1 (61) | Lost by 17 points[81] | Gabba (A) | 14,563 | 11th | ||
The Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest awards night took place on 19 February 2021, the club opting to defer the ceremony until well into 2021 in the hope of staging it free in the usual manner and free from the tight COVID-19 restrictions present during the month after the season. The John Nicholls Medal, for the best and fairest player of the club, as well as several other awards, were presented on the night.[85]
| Pos. | Player | Votes | |||
| 1st | Jacob Weitering | 137 | |||
| 2nd | Sam Walsh | 126 | |||
| 3rd | Ed Curnow | 103 | |||
| 4th | Lachie Plowman | 95 | |||
| 5th | Liam Jones | 83 | |||
| 6th | Jack Martin | 81 | |||
| 7th | Sam Docherty | 76 | |||
| 8th | Levi Casboult | 75 | |||
| 9th | Patrick Cripps | 73 | |||
| 10th | Kade Simpson | 63 |
The 'Best Young Player' award replaced the long-standing 'Best First Year Player' award, with less stringent qualification criteria.
Harry McKay was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season, kicking 21 goals.[86] It was McKay's second consecutive season as leading goalkicker – the first time a player had achieved back-to-back leading goalkicker titles for the club since Brendan Fevola in 2008 and 2009. In the shortened season, it was the fewest goals to win the title since Ian Nankervis in 1964.
| Player | width=5% | Goals | width=5% | Behinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 15 | |||
| 16 | 8 | |||
| 13 | 13 | |||
| 13 | 4 | |||
| 12 | 11 |
Both players were defeated by Josh Daicos for the award.
The club's 2020 squad is given below. The number of games played and goals scored in the 2020 season is given in parentheses.[96]
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Friday, 7 February | align=left | 2.2 (14) | 6.12 (48) | Won by 34 points[97] | Ikon Park (A) | 15,337 | ||
| 2 | align=left | Sunday, 16 February | align=left | 3.6 (24) | 6.3 (39) | Lost by 15 points[98] | Ikon Park (H) | 7,529 | ||
| 3 | align=left | Saturday, 22 February | align=left | 4.6 (30) | 8.3 (51) | Won by 21 points[99] | VU Whitten Oval (A) | 8,259 | ||
| 4 | align=left | Sunday, 1 March | align=left | 4.4 (28) | 5.6 (36) | Won by 8 points[100] | Hisense Stadium (A) | 7,281 | ||
| 5 | align=left | Saturday, 7 March | align=left | St Kilda | 8.2 (50) | 4.5 (29) | Won by 21 points[101] | Ikon Park (H) | 3,871 | |
| 6 | align=left | Saturday, 14 March | align=left | 3.6 (24) | 6.4 (40) | Won by 16 points[102] | TIO Traeger Park (A) | Closed | ||
| 7 | align=left | Saturday, 21 March | align=left | West Coast | Match cancelled | Ikon Park (H) | ||||
| 8 | align=left | Saturday, 28 March | align=left | Match cancelled | Marvel Stadium (H) | |||||
This was to set up a preliminary final match against first placed Conference A team, but the season was cancelled before this match could be played.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | |||||
| Home | Away | Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi final | align=left | Sunday, 22 March | align=left | 6.8 (44) | 2.3 (15) | Won by 29 points[103] | Ikon Park (H) | Closed | ||
| Preliminary final | align=left | align=left | Match cancelled | |||||||
Carlton's VFL Women's team was set to contest the VFL Women's competition for the third time; however, the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.