Meet Good Carlton, the team Blues fans have been waiting a decade or more to enjoy

It is safe to now declare, without qualification or need for obvious disclaimers, that we have seen the belated arrival of Good Carlton.

The trepidation among Blues fans and outsiders alike is completely understandable. Too many times in the past decade have moments like these proven to be false dawns, just plain-old regular Carlton wearing a new hat and glasses in an attempt to fool us.

But this time it's different, and it's not scary to say it. It's Good Carlton, just as the diehards always imagined it would be.

Now, Good Carlton isn't always going to be perfect. Nobody should delude themselves into thinking Good Carlton can just waltz on in here like they own the place and win everything without a backward step. It doesn't work that way.

But that's a good thing, because it's that struggle that should make us so confident in our declaration. This is what Good Carlton looks like, warts and all.

This game against the Western Bulldogs was billed as an early litmus test for the Blues. They were mighty impressive in their round one win over Richmond, but a week of incremental setbacks shaped this one up as an even more daunting prospect.

The Bulldogs had been slowly ground into dust by Melbourne in round one, but they remain the same team that blitzed their way to the 2021 grand final.

If ever there was a team that would put the Blues' suddenly thriving midfield to the test, it would be the Western Bulldogs. It was the right challenge at the right time for Michael Voss's — sorry, Ashley Hansen's — team.

And wouldn't you know it? Up steps Good Carlton.

The first half was something else entirely. Patrick Cripps, head bloodied and then bandaged, played football that literally nobody else in the game is capable of.

He's different to a