Having won three games in a row by 50+ points are the Blues back in the finals mix? Nathan Buckley would like to see a little bit more.
The Collingwood great praised the way they’ve put together the wins, feeling their leaders have stood up.
“They're actually playing with some verve, you can see them (running) on top of the ground, the ball's moving well, their best players are now performing better or at expectation and their coach was pretty happy as well,” Buckley told SEN Breakfast.
“They're sitting at 11th now, seven and a half wins out of the 16 games after those last three wins.
“Yes, the leaders are playing better. (Patrick) Cripps, (Sam) Walsh, (Jacob) Weitering in particular, (Sam) Docherty has played a really consistent year.
“The ins that have come in, (Jack) Martin has been significant because he's a gap between their talls in (Charlie) Curnow and (Harry) McKay and their smalls.
“I think he and (Jack) Silvagni have been impact really impactful in that in that last little period.”
However, has Carlton’s form only come because the pressure of finals dissipated?
The Blues fell as far as the bottom four after losing eight of nine games, with many putting a line through their 2023 hopes.
Buckley believes part of their bounce back has been because of that relaxation of expectations and wants to see how they perform against the rampaging Port Adelaide this weekend.
“They play Port Adelaide this week and they've won 13 in a row, but they're beaten up at the moment and they might be gettable,” he added.
“Now they're back in the mix, what impact does that have on them?
“They weren't able to withstand (the pressure), and that was my big question with them at the beginning of the year.
“Were they going to be able to withstand the expectation and accept that expectation and then still be able to go and get it done?
“You've bottomed out and now they've been able to come back when there's nothing more to lose.
“But they've still got seven games here, they can now qualify for finals potentially.
“They're more chance now than they were earlier in the year.
“It's fascinating, it's back on their in their control and on their leaders and there's no reason why they can't have a crack from here.”
The Blues go in search of their fourth straight win when they host the Power in a huge clash at Marvel Stadium on Saturday evening.