THE CAREER of Levi Casboult is one that has featured many twists and turns.

But the last 18 months, in particular, have been a rollercoaster.

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Casboult can precisely pinpoint the moment that led to a downward spiral that resulted in him losing his place in a young Blues forward line. But he can just as easily track the exact turning point where he was able to start resurrecting his time at Ikon Park in the backline.

The first of those two key forks in the road occurred in May 2018. Having just played his 100th match for the side he grew up supporting, the hulking key forward was in a reasonable patch of form and was starting to regain some confidence in his kicking.

That was until he cracked his ribs and punctured his lung a week later against Adelaide.

"I never recaptured any form after that and eventually got dropped to the twos," Casboult told AFL.com.au.

So long the key figurehead in Carlton's attacking unit, Casboult had watched as the club spent first-round draft picks on young forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay. It also recruited Adelaide high-flyer Mitch McGovern at the end of that particular campaign.

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Struggling with form issues upon returning to the fold, as well as suffering a frustrating finger dislocation on the eve of his return to senior footy, he was told implicitly that his position as the target man in the club's developing forward line was slipping from his grasp

Not that it needed saying. At 28 years of age, Casboult had played just three senior games – and kicked only one goal – throughout the final 12 weeks of the 2018 season. He finished the year with the Northern Blues in the VFL.

"There were conversations around my age bracket with some of the key forwards coming through," Casboult said.

"They told me they were going to play me on merit, but if it was a 50/50 call it would go with the kids.

"That really shook me to start with, but it really made me go away and reflect on what I wanted to get out of footy. I've got a young family, so for me to go away and sulk and think 'poor me' … it wouldn't have achieved anything. I wouldn't have got better as a footballer."

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So then came the next decisive and defining moment in Casboult's career.

At the end of a turbulent 2018 season – and with only one year remaining on his contract with the club – Casboult sat down with his wife Hayley as they headed to the United States on holiday for Christmas.

With their third child on the way, Casboult found perspective and discovered a newfound way to enjoy his footy and make the most out of his time in the game.

"I remember sitting down with my wife and reflecting on where we wanted to get to in life," Casboult said.

"Being able to strip it back and say, 'we'll do A, B and C outside of footy, so we can take the stress out of footy not being there' … that way, we'd have been fine without footy and it allowed footy to just be fun.

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"I was lucky enough that I had a family wedding overseas, so I left for Christmas a week early. That was good for me mentally, just to be able to get away because I probably wasn't dealing with the club moving on from me being the No.1 target.

"To be able to get away and have some family time … I'm pretty intrinsically motivated, so I could go away and still train hard on my own. I came back in good nick, but it was the mental freedom of getting away.

"I could come back and it didn't matter whether I was playing VFL or AFL, I'd be playing and having fun and training and having fun.

"I knew I was going to go down swinging and the best way to do that was to be a kid. If you strip it all back, we're all just big kids who love playing footy and having fun."

That new mindset sparked a revitalised 2019 campaign.

Still out of the team to start the year, Casboult soon returned to play 20 consecutive senior games, trigger a one-year contract extension with the Blues and earn a much deserved top-five finish in the club's best and fairest count.

He performed admirably in a range of positions, providing a crucial foil for Curnow, McKay and McGovern in the forward line, a handy chop-out for Jacob Weitering, Liam Jones and Lachie Plowman down back and a valuable partner for Matthew Kreuzer in the ruck.

But doing all of it having dealt with the emotional toll of losing his place in the Carlton side towards the back-end of 2018 was what made the experienced Casboult take a moment at year's end to consider his achievements.

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"It's definitely something that I've been able to sit down and reflect on and yeah … I am super proud," Casboult said.

"You wouldn't have known that internally I was struggling with certain things.

"I'd come to training, I'd do my work, I'd try to help others and I'd try to get in and be normal. But then I'd go home and my wife would cop the brunt of my emotions and how I was actually feeling."

Casboult's transformation from a contested marking key forward to an assured interceptor across half-back played a pivotal role in his career-best campaign with the Blues last season.

The 201cm veteran was first asked to play down back for a match simulation drill during the last off-season, with the club low on defensive depth due to injuries to Plowman, Jones, Caleb Marchbank and Sam Docherty at the time.

Little did he know that as the season eventually unfolded, he would be asked to fill a similar role for the senior team on game days.

"I loved it," Casboult said.

"I loved the change-up and the challenge of something different. Maybe it suited my attributes better. I feel like I read the flight of the ball pretty well, but then as a forward you've got a defender trying to put you off.

"As a defender, you see everything in front of you and everything is a lot freer."

As for 2020, it's expected to be more of the same for Casboult – a variety of three unique roles in every area of the field.

"I've had a good chat to 'Teaguey' around what it all looks like and I think it'll be much the same," Casboult said.

"I'll train as a forward-ruck, but there will still be that chance of playing down back and having an impact down there."