2020 Season Review | #1 Jack Silvagni

Written by Joseph Addamo

Throughout the 2020 off-season, Blue Abroad will be providing content to cover everything you need to know about the Carlton Football Club.

After an improved 2020 season, we will be reviewing every player that pulled on the famous Navy Blue guernsey in 2020.

This is the Blue Abroad Player Review for Carlton’s #1 – Jack Silvagni.

SEASON SYNOPSIS

It wasn’t the year Jack Silvagni or the Carlton faithful would have been hoping for, with an unlucky run of injuries keeping ‘JSOS’ out of action for the majority of the season. He played 3 games, kicking 2 goals. He also displayed glimpses of his effectiveness in getting the ball forward, averaging 3 score involvements across those games.

Kicking both of his goals in the season opener in front of an empty MCG, Silvagni would not return to the senior side until Round 3 in a thrilling win over Geelong. He played only a minor role that night, but held his spot the following week against the arch-enemy, Essendon.

During the first quarter of that match, a relatively innocuous hit to the ribs by Zach Merrett sent Silvagni down the race and into the rooms for assessment. He wouldn’t return to the game, and was diagnosed with a cracked rib. Four weeks was the initial diagnosis for the rib injury, however an ITB procedure on his knee later in the year ultimately brought his season to an abrupt end.

BEST PERFORMANCE & SEASON HIGHLIGHT

With only limited game time under his belt, Silvagni’s moment of 2020 came late in the Round 1 clash with Richmond. After trailing by 50 points midway through the third term, Carlton fought admirably to claw back to within 16 points of the Tigers in the final term.

Richmond kicked back, and put the game beyond doubt late in the piece. With 4 minutes to go, Silvagni baulked a Richmond defender deep inside Carlton’s forward 50 and kicked truly with a smooth outside of the foot banana. It gave the Blues a flicker of hope, but was ultimately not enough to turn the tide in the end.

OFF-SEASON & 2021 OUTLOOK

With rumours abound and trade talk heating up, Silvagni’s name – as it has in recent off-seasons – has been bandied around the grapevine. It’s difficult to put any value on Silvagni’s trade credentials as his interrupted season did not allow for a greater insight into how his game may have progressed.

At his best, ‘JSOS’ is an intelligent footballer, using his composure in traffic and slick ball use to hit targets as one of Carlton’s mid-forward connectors. He has the ability to play as a third tall in Carlton’s forward line, yet also possesses the dynamism to go into the middle and use his strength to impact around stoppages.

Depending on Carlton’s off-season movements, there may be a chance Silvagni does, in fact, get traded. However, in the likelihood he does stay on with the Blues in 2021, he looks set to be put to task to hold his starting 22 spot. The return of Charlie Curnow in the forward line and the walk-up-22 credentials of newcomer Jack Martin pose as Silvagni’s biggest obstacles. It would take considerable improvement in the consistency of his output to ensure regular senior appearances.

2020 REPORT CARD RATING

NA

STATUS HEADING INTO 2021

Fringe 22 Player