WITH the start of a new year comes a look forward to a number of prominent milestones for some of Carlton’s biggest names.

Here’s a glimpse of which Blues are in line for landmark games in 2020.

Kade Simpson
Milestone — 329 games

On face value, 329 seems like an obscure number for a milestone: however, it has a deeper meaning at Ikon Park. Needing just four games to reach it, the figure will see Carlton’s warrior surpass its greatest-ever player in John Nicholls in third place for Carlton’s career games tally. Similarly, 15 games for the year will see Kade Simpson move into the games top 20, equalling Andrew McLeod.

Matthew Kreuzer
Milestone — 200 games

This will be a long time coming. Matthew Kreuzer needs 12 more games to become Carlton’s 37th 200-gamer, following fellow ruckmen John Nicholls, Justin ‘Harry’ Madden and Peter ‘Percy’ Jones. ‘The Tractor’s’ 200th game is currently scheduled to be against Greater Western Sydney: the same opponent which he was best on ground against in his 150th.

Eddie Betts
Milestone — 200 Carlton games

This will be a longer time coming. The returning hero needs 16 games to reach the 200-game milestone in Navy Blue, while he could also become just the 13th player to record 300 goals in the jumper. Of course, the first time Eddie Betts runs out again in the colours where he made his name will be a milestone in itself.

Sam Docherty
Milestone — 100 AFL games, 100 Carlton games

What were we saying about a long time coming? The sight of Sam Docherty running out and leading Carlton for the first time in an AFL environment will mean everything to the boyhood Bluebagger. Stuck on 92 games, the gun defender will have his sights set on becoming an AFL centurion after a long wait. A full home-and-away season will also see Docherty play his 100th Carlton game with one game to spare.

Jack Martin
Milestone — 100 AFL games

All things going well, Jack Martin’s 100th game in the AFL will come in the Navy Blue against Essendon under Thursday night lights: it’s a not a bad way to do it. Having made his way to Ikon Park at the end of the year, Martin - who has been impressing throughout pre-season training - will be intent on making his Carlton debut a fortnight prior to that Essendon clash in the season opener.

Lachie Plowman
Milestone — 100 AFL games

Coming off the back of his best season in the AFL, Plowman looks like he will tick off the 100-game milestone in 2020. Originally starting out with Greater Western Sydney, Plowman has played 74 of his 94 games in Navy Blue and achieved a third-place finish in the John Nicholls Medal last year. At this stage, he's scheduled to bring up his century against North Melbourne the day after Anzac Day.

Caleb Marchbank
Milestone — 50 AFL games, 50 Carlton games

The classy defender has had his injury troubles in previous seasons, which has made it a longer road to 50 games than he would have envisaged. He’ll be hoping to get off the mark early as he’s just two games shy of the half century, while he’ll need eight games to play his 50th in Navy Blue.

Paddy Dow
Milestone — 50 games

Given how quickly he burst onto the scene, it’s easy to forget just how young Paddy Dow is. Having just turn 20 in October, the speedster has raced to 39 games in Navy Blue, meaning he should get to his 50th game mid-season.

Matthew Kennedy
Milestone — 50 AFL games

Matthew Kennedy’s path has been very similar to that of Marchbank’s, who he joined at Carlton after originally starting out at Greater Western Sydney. After ankle injuries delayed his start to life as a Blue, Kennedy found his niche up forward in the second half of 2019. Nine games will see him reach 50 games in 2020.

Harry McKay
Milestone — 50 games

Carlton’s leading goalkicker in 2019, you may have to be reminded that Harry McKay has played just 35 games at AFL level. Coming on the back of what was clearly a breakthrough year (particularly in terms of his contested marking), McKay will be looking to get the 50-game milestone under his belt as he springboards towards another big year in Navy Blue.

Lochie O’Brien
Milestone — 50 games

Similar to his good mate, Lochie O’Brien arrived at Ikon Park at the same time as Dow and has followed a similar journey. Both have been constant features in the AFL line-up, with O’Brien having played 35 games so far. With some impressive strides made in 2019, there’s still a lot to come from Carlton’s No.4.

The streak continues
It’s not so much a traditional milestone, but all eyes will be on four inaugural AFLW Blues throughout the 2020 season. Alison Downie, Sarah Hosking, Gab Pound and Darcy Vescio have all played in 23 games for Carlton: a 100 percent record. They’ll all be keen on keeping a good thing going when the season starts against Richmond in five weeks.

Potential debuts

Potential AFL debuts
Matthew Cottrell; Josh Honey; Brodie Kemp; Matthew Owies; Finbar O’Dwyer; Fraser Phillips; Sam Philp; Sam Ramsay; Ben Silvagni;

Potential AFLW debuts
Joanne Doonan; Grace Egan; Serena Gibbs; Katie Harrison; Courtney Jones; Vaomua Laloifi; Lucy McEvoy; Brooke Vernon; Sharnie Whiting