It was the club's men's team's 127th season as a member of the Australian Football League, and the second under senior coach Michael Voss.
His role as reserves coach was filled by Luke Power;[8] Tom Lonergan joined as Development and Talent Manager, bringing experience from two Talent League clubs;[9] and former Port Adelaide player and football committee-member Brad Ebert joined as development coach.
While Carlton maintained strong performance in contested ball during this period and frequently won the territory and inside-50 counts, its matches were characterised by low pressure without the ball, and a forward structure which struggled to convert territory into goals[31] – averaging below eight goals in those losses and including separate 28 and 34 point losses in matches with more scoring shots than the opponent.
[32] As the losing streak progressed, there was unrest among the club's powerbrokers and directors: on 13 May, long-time powerbroker Bruce Mathieson gave a newspaper interview critical of the club's off-field leadership;[33] and in the dressing room after the loss against Sydney, director Craig Mathieson was compelled to resign after a verbal altercation with president Luke Sayers[34] – a reaction which was seen as a strong statement by Sayers against the club's other administrative factions in support of Michael Voss as coach.
[35] In the week prior to the final loss of the streak against Essendon, the playing group organised a campfire retreat at Ed Curnow's Torquay home, which served as an honesty and bonding session, which was considered a key catalyst for the club's onfield recovery in the latter half of the year.
[36] The club's form improved significantly, and a nine-game winning streak followed – including wins against top four opponents Port Adelaide, Collingwood and Melbourne over a five-week period – characterised by record level stoppage differentials, improved efficiency of scoring from turnover, and a complete reversal of its difficulties converting territory to scores.
[37] The club secured its finals berth in round 23 Gold Coast with its ninth consecutive win – recovering from a 40-point second quarter deficit to win by four points[38] – before losing a round 24 match against Greater Western Sydney which by the time it was played had no impact on Carlton's fifth-placed finish.
The club's late season recovery was one of the most remarkable on record: only the 1945 Blues, 1959 Bombers and 2023 Giants (who also achieved the feat this year) had ever reached a preliminary final after sitting in the bottom four of a twelve-or-more team competition at or beyond midseason.
[70] The winner of the John Nicholls Medal was Jacob Weitering, who polled 210 votes to win the award for the second time in his career.
[103] VFL-listed players newly signed to the team included: former AFL senior players Luke Parks (Carlton), Liam McMahon (Collingwood) and Ben Ronke (Sydney); and Sam Grant, Blake Kuipers, Ethan Bentley, Jed Brereton, Charlie Brauer, Noah Barnes, Nathan Scollo, Ben Moyle, Will White, Jack Maruff, Jack Lefroy and Eli Pearce.
Retained from the 2022 squad were Ben Crocker, Zavier Maher, Heath Ramshaw, Michael Lewis, Mitch Moschetti, Tyreece Lieu, Patrick Dozzi, Ned Cahill, Hayden Gill, Archie Stevens, Logan Prout, Aiden Mills, Darcy Porter, Hamish Sinnott, Lachlan Swaney.
1 draft pick Harley Reid also notably played two games as the underage 23rd man, zoned to Carlton from the Bendigo Pioneers, early in the year.
Tom Stafford continued as the team's coach for the second season,[108] and Christina Bernardi took over as captain.
In the elimination final against third-placed Williamstown, Carlton recovered from a 0.0 (0) vs 1.5 (11) first quarter to win a wet weather game by four points.
[111] Then in a close first semi-final against second-placed Port Melbourne, Carlton lost by one point, to finish the season in fourth place.