It’s A Big Year For…. #43 Will Setterfield

Written by Ari Stamatakos

Throughout the 2022 Pre-season, Blue Abroad will be providing content to cover everything you need to know about the Carlton Football Club. For what should be an exciting and intriguing 2022, let's take an in-depth look at some players on the Carlton list and preview their 2022 season.

Why Is It A Big Year

After having a breakout year in 2020, we all thought that 2021 was the year that Will Setterfield was going explode onto the AFL scene as the inside midfield help that Patrick Cripps needed. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the case. 

Setterfield was perhaps, the biggest victim of poor coaching throughout last season. Being moved onto the wing in a role that does not suit his style of play, nor his body type and physical strengths. 

In 2020, he was a beautiful rough and ragged inside midfielder who could go forward and damage the scoreboard if necessary. In 2021, he was an anonymous, absent and vacant winger who had little to no impact on games and was a passenger for most of them. 

Having to learn a new role and position on the fly, constantly getting dropped from the senior team didn’t help his continuity, and he was constantly bouncing and shifting roles between the VFL and the senior side. 

We saw in 2020 that if he gets a consistent run at games, he can become a very good midfielder for the Blues. However, for whatever reason, he wasn't given a clear run and jump at season 2021, and this has set him back big time. 

2022 almost seems as if he is starting from scratch again. With the new coach and no season to build off, ‘Setters’ is going to have to build his profile from step one, once again. We all know his assets and we all know how good he can be, but unfortunately, it was hidden from us due to poor tactics and poor coaching. 

Unfortunately, now for ‘Setters’, the arrival of George Hewitt and Adam Cerra means that his spot in the side is now under more threat, and this could also mean that if he was to be picked, being played on the wing is perhaps the only option. 

This could do more harm than good, as he didn’t have the same impact on the wing as he did playing in the middle. However, under a new coaching regime and new tactics, maybe this could be a new lease on life for ‘Setters’. After all, Voss was a pretty handy midfielder in his day.

The reason why it's a big year for Setterfield isn’t that it's a make-or-break season like it is for Lochie O’Brien, or he failed to live up to massive expectations like Zac Williams. It's because he needs to return to that form that made him the most improved Carlton player in season 2020. And this could potentially be the only season where he still has that form in him. He isn’t getting any younger and his place in the side is only going to get slimmer as time goes on. 

The Best Case Scenario 

It's pretty simple for ‘Setters’, return to the beast he was in 2020. Now, it might be hard to quantify that. Due to the coaching and personale changes around the club. But he has the talent to be a real contributor to this ever-improving Carlton side. With the likes of Hewitt and Cerra potentially taking big midfield minutes away from him, it could be hard for him to make that profound impact that he once did. 

Regardless of where he played, he still needs to have a big impact on every game he plays, otherwise, he could be on the trade table after season 2022.