THE YEAR didn’t begin how Lachie Cowan would’ve wanted.

After a strong pre-season, Cowan looked set to his straps on the back of a breakthrough 2024 campaign which saw him play 17 games.

However, niggling injuries restricted him to just three full games of AFL football in the first three months of the season.

But in a year where things didn’t go as the Blues would’ve liked, Cowan refused to go down without a fight.

Returning to the side in Round 17, Cowan had five games with 20 disposals or more, reminding Carlton fans of the form he produced and why the boyhood Blue has such a bright future ahead.

“I probably didn’t start the way I wanted to start, it was a bit frustrating with a couple of injuries early on which held me back.

“I finished the year quite strong, we played a good last six weeks and it clicked for us in the last two games.

“I was playing with a bit of freedom and do what I have to do, playing off that. It was good to play with guys like ‘Jeff’ (Matthew Carroll) and Ollie, the young backs down there.”

The Tasmanian re-signed with his boyhood club until at least the end of 2028 - despite still having over a year remaining on his current deal - and he has felt the love of the fanbase ever since his arrival.

And given he averaged just shy of 19 disposals in the last eight weeks, it wasn’t a surprise that the cow call was a bit more prevalent in that time.

“I heard it a bit more [the ‘moo’ from Carlton fans] because I had the ball in my hands a tiny bit more.

“They’ve been huge this year. They kept showing up to games which was really nice, and the support and the love I’ve got has been huge.”