CARLTON was in need of a spark.

The Blues were right in the contest, but a quick look at the MCG scoreboard at the 23-minute mark of the first term saw Carlton trailing by 21 points, having kicked zero goals to Melbourne’s four.

Enter Frank.

Continuing his renaissance as a highly influential small forward, Evans might not have had the same impact with ball in hand as the previous week against Fremantle, but it didn’t stop him from giving his absolute all.

A chase-down tackle on Melbourne’s Xavier Lindsay turned a potential forward entry for the Dees into a Evans free kick. From there, the No.44 found Harry McKay inside 50, who went back and converted Carlton’s first goal of the game.

It well and truly set the Blues on the way - they kicked 10 of the final 13 goals of the game from the moment of Evans’ tackle. Speaking in the rooms post-match, fellow forward Ben Ainsworth was quick to highlight that Evans moment, saying “it probably changed the momentum for us”.

For Evans himself, he knows the scoreboard return isn’t going to come each and every week. It’s the nature of the role.

But one thing that’s unconditional is maximum effort in the defensive side of the game. That tackle was one of nine holding-the-ball tackles the Blues produced on the night.

“I’m trying to base my game off my pressure and contest, which ‘Frase’ has been really big on… I feel like when I’m doing that, my offence comes off the back of that,” Evans told Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.

“It’s been pretty simple for me and it’s working which is nice, and I feel like all the other forwards - especially the smalls - are doing the same. We’re starting to click.

“We just stick to what we know, which is our contest and pressure… we’re doing that regardless if we’re down by four goals or up by 10 goals. That’s been the one consistent thing we’ve tried to focus on… When we’re doing that, it feeds our offence and it’s something everyone can buy into.”

Now at his third club after two previous delistings, Evans is well and truly thriving in Navy Blue, becoming one of the standout small forwards in the game across recent weeks according to player ratings.

Josh Fraser started the year as Evans’ forward coach and is now his AFL Senior Coach. As Evans prepares to take on his first club on Friday night, Fraser’s comments after the win over Fremantle say it all when it comes to Frankie.

“In terms of loving players to coach, he’s one of those guys. He’s so connected to system.

“He’s so reliable, he’ll do what needs to be done for the team… He’s just a great teammate for the players.”