ESTABLISHING consistency is at the front of Carlton coach Mathew Buck's mind heading into the off-season.

In his second year leading the Blues, the club returned four wins and seven losses, ultimately finishing 14th on the ladder, with its inability to be reliable from quarter to quarter, and game to game, the biggest concern.

All of this comes with the caveat that Carlton ultimately had one of the toughest fixtures in the League this year, playing seven of the eventual top eight, winning one – against Fremantle – and also taking the points against 2023 preliminary finalist Geelong.

"Our consistency hasn't been there enough, and that comes with a young squad," Buck told AFL.com.au.

"We totally understand there's a gap, and we need to chase it, and what we do have is a hungry playing group who wants to be better, and they want to continue to improve all the time.

"We feel that this season hasn't reflected that on the ladder, but we've continued to make developments throughout the year, so it's certainly that consistency piece where we can't trail off in games."

The Blues won just one final quarter for the season – in week nine's last-gasp victory over Fremantle – indicating just how significant that fall away late in games was. As Buck suggested, however, the side relied heavily on a midfield contingent aged 23 or younger.

At 25 years old, Maddy Guerin was the oldest midfielder for the side, alongside Abbie McKay (23), Keeley Sherar (21), and hybrid midfield/half-back option Mimi Hill (22).

McKay, who missed the side's week five and six losses to Port Adelaide and Brisbane respectively, played much of the season with a broken toe, before being a late exclusion in week 10 with an adductor injury.

Hill was also a late out in that week 10 match against Essendon, somewhat exposing a lack of depth on the Blues' list this year.

"The truth is, the depth of our squad hasn't been there to help support us," Buck said.

"Any injury, or anyone a little bit out of form really hurts us. So, the importance of everyone continuing to improve and get better to help support our depth is huge."

Another area that Carlton is desperate to improve heading into 2025 is its chemistry in attack. The club averaged two fewer goals per game this year compared to last year.

"We have to score more. There's no doubt that we have a forward connection issue that we need to address, but that's certainly something we'll get after," Buck said.

Young guns Mia Austin and Keeley Skepper, alongside established ruck Breann Moody, each finished the season with a club-high five goals. What was evident all season was a lack of commanding key forward presence to support the 20-year-old Austin in the arc.

"Mia Austin and Breann Moody probably didn't have the years that we would have liked, but there's whole myriad of reasons for that as well," Buck said.

"Mia is a young player trying to work as a key position forward who's a little bit undersized, so she just needs time. We're accepting of that, and she's a hard worker and she'll continue to put that in.

"So, there's a little bit of personnel stuff with it, a little bit of 'Hey, this will take some time'. But the work that we need to do to get there is high standards, continuing to improve all the time."

It is no doubt an area that the Blues will work to bolster during the player movement period, and subsequent draft, while a returning player will also be a welcome addition next year.

"I think we probably underestimate the impact that Erone Fitzpatrick had for us last year, and the gap that she left in our side," Buck said.

Fitzpatrick, who ruptured her ACL in round 10 last year, was made inactive this season and the absence of her speed in the front half was keenly felt.

But throughout the trade and sign period, finding an equilibrium between exciting young talent on offer in this year's draft – including potential father-daughter selection Sophie McKay – and some added experience will be important.

"What we need to do is find that balance between a really attractive draft this year with some great talent in there… but we're also open to bringing in players as well," Buck said.

"We've only had a few mechanisms we can use to improve your list. It's draft and trade, we're a little bit hamstrung in terms of, you know, we don't have any future trading or anything like that, so we've got to be clever and understand what will work for us.

"But we can't just accept anything because it's a really great draft, so it's a real balance."