The Blues lack pace, yet brought back Blake Acres - who opened poorly and then improved - with one-paced, flint-hard Kennedy.

If Carlton’s midfield mix has an overload of bulls and too few gazelles, the Adelaide demolition also highlighted those other problems.

The excessive reliance on Curnow and McKay was particularly notable against a Crows side whose greatest asset is their diverse, multi-threat attack, in which Taylor Walker, Darcy Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe, Izak Rankine and Josh Rachelle offer different styles.

Outside Curnow and McKay, there is no reliable goal source. Jesse Motlop has the makings of a dangerous small forward, eventually. Corey Durdin isn’t at the level yet. Jack Silvagni’s toil cannot be criticised, but he doesn’t draw the ball in this Curnow-McKay-centric attack.

Jack Martin could be a nice foil for Curnow and McKay if he ever a) played with sufficient regularity and b) played with consistency as a consequence. Martin has never been fit enough for long enough.

Williams came on a six-year deal worth close to $800,000 a season. He’s missed 26 of 47 games since he crossed to Carlton (two because of suspension). McGovern has been unavailable for 30 of those 47 matches since 2021, while Martin has been out for 21 games and counting. Martin cost the Blues about $3 million on a massively front-ended five-year contract.

McGovern, too, came on a five-year deal that expires this year. And if Marchbank cost much less, he’s played even less. He’s been available for just eight of those 47 games. Ditto for the forgotten David Cuningham, who’s been out of contention for 38 of the 47 games.

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Sam Philp, pick 20 in the 2019 draft and possessed of genuine speed, is on the inactive list with a foot stress fracture and has had a wretched run. Brodie Kemp, recovered from a knee reconstruction but unable to break into the current side, is another frustration.

Add the developing kids who aren’t up to AFL level yet and it’s evident that Carlton are picking from a heavily reduced squad, well short of the 30 “bona-fide” players that the club’s triple-premiership coach David Parkin reckoned necessary to win a flag.

Carlton are a team with fantastic foundations in terms of key positions and ball-winners. But it will be hard for the Blues to graduate with deep September honours if they can’t fix the problems of insufficient pace and player availability. At season’s end, tough calls will be necessary.

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