THE MOST interesting thing about the noise to have come out of Carlton over the off-season is the lack of it.

There has been no flexing of muscles at Visy Park. No talk of "We're Carlton and (expletive deleted) the rest".

The quick fixes are over at Carlton, but more to the point, there is universal recognition at the club that the days of such knee-jerk reactions have also ended.

The rules have long changed that would allow the Blues to buy their way back up the ladder, but only now, in 2015, do the Blues appear to have understood the gravity of their situation.

Chris Judd was never going to singlehandedly drag the Blues up the ladder, despite the bravado of his signing at the time. Nor were the three no.1 picks who preceded him to Carlton – Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer.

Carlton's list has been in steady decline for the last 15 years. Some middling teams under Brett Ratten played finals and Essendon's woes in 2013 allowed the Blues a similar reprieve, but a cold and calculated assessment of the list underlines how short of the mark are the Blues and not even all the guile and experience of Mick Malthouse can turn things around quickly.

Fortunately for Carlton, a bout of commonsense has overtaken those in charge of the club. The message coming out of the club is one of calm and patience.

Newly appointed list manager Stephen Silvagni talked only of "foundations" and "building blocks" being put in place at Carlton. Chief executive Steven Trigg, himself still a fresh face at the club, spelt it even more plainly.

"There are no quick fixes to the list. It's really fundamentally clear that Carlton does need to build steadily, hold its nerve, build the list with some youth," said Trigg in a highly-unusual note of candour from someone in a position of leadership at Carlton.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Carlton's 1995 premiership – an unbelievable team that lost just two games for the year. Those of us of a certain vintage remember that group as just another off the assembly line beneath the old Robert Heatley Stand that produced champion teams on a regular basis.

But the Blues know there won’t be another flag any time soon. It is a sobering thoughts, but a dose of reality the club's massive supporter base hopefully understands.

The inaugural After The Siren off-season power rankings

We know that Hawthorn won the 2014 premiership, but given the dictum that 'footy never really stops', who is winning the off-season?

What follows are some totally non-scientific power rankings. We've taken it just beyond clubs to include individuals as well.

1. The fans
Can't say they haven’t been listened to. Sunday night games? Gone. Twilight games? Off the agenda. Better match day experiences? All the AFL has talked about this summer. And the new Victorian government has played its part as well. The Western Bulldogs will be playing a selection of home games in Ballarat from 2018, around the same time as the redevelopment of the next stage at Skilled Stadium will be complete, boosting the capacity there. And to cap off a fine off-season, the Melbourne Cricket Club is planning to shorten its waiting list. 

2. Greg Swann
Arrived in the Gabba late last season declaring that with a gaping hole in their salary cap, the Brisbane Lions were open for business. The club that was reeling just 12 months ago following the loss of five emerging stars is now a destination club as demonstrated by the signing of gun pair Dayne Beams and Allen Christensen. Can a chief executive be his club's Most Valuable Player?

3. Paddy Ryder
It was inevitable that the supplements scandal at Essendon would claim a casualty but sadly for the Bombers, it was Ryder of their standout players from 2014, who left the club. Bad break for the Bombers but the perfect landing spot for Ryder. 

4. Rodney Eade
One day Rocket Eade was sitting in his office at the Westpac Centre, casting his eye over the football department spreadsheet and making the sure the balls were pumped. The next he was handed the keys to the next big thing in footy – the Gold Coast Suns. No wonder he's smiling. 

5. Tom Boyd
How many 19-year-olds, with the possible exception of app developers, can brag of a new job that pays them about a million bucks a year?

Tom Boyd is carrying twice the load of any other young player this year. Picture: AFL Media

6. Tom Hawkins
The most prized free agent in the land. Would have to be happy that Boyd earned himself a million bucks a year, based almost solely on potential. Hawkins won't need a deal of that magnitude to remain with Geelong, but his next contract will be lucrative all the same.

7. Hawthorn
Nothing beats a flag, but a $3.4 million profit, a new key defender (James Frawley) and an emerging midfielder (Jonathan O'Rourke) in the ensuing three months adds further to the good vibes out of Waverley Park.

8. Gillon McLachlan
Still in the honeymoon period, but he has delivered on the fan-friendly fixture and he got through the draft without mucking up the order, And that's coming off a flawless Brownlow count. Going well. 

9. Paddy McCartin
The Saints moved stealthily to get him, when for all money, Christian Petracca appeared set to be the No.1 draft pick. No pressure or anything, Paddy, but the Saints have tabbed you as the eventual replacement for Nick Riewoldt. 

10. Match Review Panel
The changes to the AFL's judiciary system, as outlined by footy ops czar Mark Evans a few weeks back look just too sensible. Replacing points with matches? Tick. Two types of gradings – intentional and careless – instead of three? Tick. Changes to Brownlow medal eligibility and fines for low-level offences? Ticks once again. 

11. Brendan McCartney
OK, getting sacked by the Western Bulldogs with two years on his contract was not helpful for the CV. But McCartney is a gun development coach and landing a job at Melbourne, where he will work under Paul Roos and mentor future senior coach Simon Goodwin, is a pretty good consolation prize.

12. Jesse Hogan
From all reports the young Melbourne forward is tearing it up on the track. The hype surrounding the young West Australian has been enormous, but he is on track for a round one debut against Gold Coast at the MCG and he might drag another 5000 through the gates. 

13. Sydney Swans
The mood at the SCG, already foul after the Grand Final humiliation, wasn't helped when the Swans, at the last possible moment, were told by the AFL that they were banned from taking part in the trade period because of their salary cap constraints - or perhaps more to the point, because rival clubs feared the Swans were making a play for another big name free agent. Better news for the Swans? Isaac Heeney. Remember the name.

14. Mark Thompson
Not sure what happened towards the end of the season at the Bombers but it is staggering that at this stage, he is out of the game. Lets hope it's not for long and if he chooses to spend time in the media next season, we'll be listening and watching intently.  

The football world would be the poorer in 2015 if Mark Thompson's voice is not heard. Picture: AFL Media


15. Ben Reid
Another soft tissue injury, not a great outcome for the player or his club. Who gets back on the field sooner – Reid or Michael Clarke?

QUESTION TIME

Ashley Browne: It might be that the weight of expectation will be the biggest hurdle for Port to clear next season. We often over-inflate the ability of beaten preliminary finalists – and plenty of clubs have been guilty of that in recent years – but you have to be bullish about the Power's hopes for 2015. Another year bigger, fitter and faster and with a massive home ground advantage, Adelaide Oval might be football's most fearsome venue next year. Ryder addresses perhaps Port's one remaining weakness, a mobile and athletic big man equally comfortable in the ruck or playing forward. They're now largely immune from a Matthew Lobbe injury. And then there's Michael Voss, not just the coach but the 'manager' of the midfield and a great asset to have around the club. Port would appear to have all the elements in place to win the flag next year, but at this stage it is a race in three, along with Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans.

Ashley Browne: One of the more interesting post-match media conferences in 2014 (at least when Mark Thompson wasn't front and centre) came after Fremantle's surprise semi-final loss to Port Adelaide, and featured Ross Lyon mounting a spirited defence of Fremantle's list. He was playing for the home crowd to be sure, and there is probably one more realistic premiership assault remaining with the Freo list in the shape it is in, but we are likely looking at the farewell seasons for Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin and perhaps even Aaron Sandilands. Other key Dockers who are or will turn 30 through the season include Michael Johnson, Ryan Crowley, David Mundy and Paul Duffield. If this core group can keep it going, then Fremantle's fourth favouritism for the premiership is probably justified. Get to the final four, and anything can happen. 

Ashley Browne: Yes and no. Or "yeah, nah" in the modern footy player's vernacular. Tasmania is probably the next location for a team, whether through expansion or relocation, while Canberra is a bit more unclear. Once an AFL hotbed, it has become a stronghold of both rugby codes due to the success of the Raiders and the Brumbies over time. If you were building a national league from scratch you would include both locations. Not sure that North Melbourne or Melbourne are ripe for relocation, however. The Kangas have done a wonderful job at stabilising things off the field, while Melbourne is on the mend. Neither club is going anywhere any time soon.

After the Siren will return in 2015 for the start of the NAB Challenge.