Carlton fans can get excited, captain Patrick Cripps has declared the Blues have the most midfield depth in his nine years at the AFL club.
Since Cripps arrived at Ikon Park via the 2013 draft, Carlton have languished in the bottom-half of the ladder.
But with Brisbane Lions great Michael Voss now in charge as coach, there is genuine optimism building as the Blues seek to end their finals drought.
The addition of Adam Cerra (Fremantle) and George Hewett (Sydney Swans) to the ranks in the off-season has given Cripps and fellow star Sam Walsh some much-needed help in the midfield.
When asked if it was the deepest midfield he has played in during his time at Carlton, Cripps replied "definitely".
"We've got a lot of depth in our midfield and even the training at the end of the summer, it's been on," Cripps said.
"The midfield group in our last pre-season match, we still had Paddy Dow, (Walsh) and Jack Newnes out.
"We feel like we've got a lot of depth in that area now.
"We know we've got to earn a lot of respect in the competition and we want to earn everything we get this year."
After being down on his elite standards during the past two years, mainly due to injury, Cripps looks set to return to his All-Australian form of 2018 and 2019.
The 26-year-old, who recently proposed to his partner back home in Perth, delivered an outstanding performance in the Blues' pre-season win against Melbourne last week.
Cripps kicked four goals and gathered 31 possessions in a display reminiscent of his form in 2019 when he was named the AFL Players Association's MVP.
He also hailed Matt Kennedy, who was been a fringe onballer in recent seasons, after the former GWS player starred with 37 possessions and pushed forward to boot two goals.
Carlton's midfield gave the star-studded Demons' premiership brigade of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca a belting in the clearances.
"You never know when some of these guys get their confidence up what they're capable of," Cripps said of Kennedy.
"We always knew he was a quality player, but his game the other night was pretty special."
The Blues are likely to be without Walsh for the early part of the season due to an ankle injury, but Carlton's reigning best-and-fairest winner is making a quicker-than-expected recovery.
Carlton will again face Richmond at the MCG in round one, with the Blues winless against their rivals since the famous 2013 elimination-final comeback.
