# 2015 Carlton Football Club season

The 2015 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 152nd season of competition, and 119th as a member of the Australian Football League.
Competing in the 2015 AFL season, it was a very poor season for the club and was disrupted by the sacking after only eight rounds of third-year coach Mick Malthouse. Carlton finished last on the ladder with a record of 4–18.

## Club summary

The 2015 AFL season was the 119th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 119th season contested by the Carlton Football Club. Carlton's primary home ground for games was the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the club hosting six matches at the venue and five at Etihad Stadium – a small change from the previous season, when the club had played six games at Etihad Stadium and five at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Traditional home ground at Princes Park (which was renamed from Visy Park to Ikon Park from the start of the year under a two-year naming rights deal with Ikon Services Australia) continued to serve as the training and administrative base. Carlton continued its alignment with the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League, allowing Carlton-listed players to play with the Northern Blues when not selected in AFL matches.
Following an online vote of members, the club changed the font of the CFC monogram on the front of its playing guernsey. The new monogram, more traditional in style, featured block-style letters and no gaps at the intersections between letters; it matched the design which had been used between 1927 and 1997, and which had thrice been worn as a heritage guernsey during the 2014 season.
The club's membership for the 2015 season was 47,305, a 0.4% reduction from the 2014 membership of 47,485; it was Carlton's second consecutive reduction in membership, and the club was one of only three clubs to suffer a drop in membership in the 2015 season. The club made a net operating loss of $2,700,000 for the season.

## Senior Personnel

Mark LoGiudice continued as club president, a role he has held since June 2014. Mick Malthouse began the season as senior coach, with his coaching panel unchanged from 2014; following Malthouse’s dismissal on 26 May, backline assistant coach John Barker stepped in as caretaker.
Marc Murphy continued into his third season as club captain, as part of a five-man leadership group, a reduction from the seven-man group which led the team in 2014. Bryce Gibbs, Lachlan Henderson and Michael Jamison remained in the group from 2014 – Gibbs and Jamison were named vice-captains – and Sam Rowe was elevated to the group. Leaving the group were Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson, who both stepped down from the group after serving in it for many years, and Brock McLean, who was delisted.

## Squad for 2015

Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.
Senior List :
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2014) | Career (to end 2014) | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics |
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO |
| 1 | | Andrew Walker | 28 | 2004 | Bendigo (U18) | 179 | 118 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 163 | 106 | 57 | 48 | 22 | 1 |
| 2 | | Troy Menzel | 20 | 2013 | Central District | 26 | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 130 | 87 | 43 | 46 | 24 | – |
| 3 | | Marc Murphy (c) | 27 | 2006 | Oakleigh (U18) | 185 | 143 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 510 | 291 | 219 | 79 | 65 | 1 |
| 4 | | Bryce Gibbs (vc) | 25 | 2007 | Glenelg | 177 | 98 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 209 | 112 | 97 | 21 | 54 | 7 |
| 5 | | Chris Judd | 31 | 2002 | Sandringham (U18), West Coast | 271 | 224 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 148 | 76 | 72 | 20 | 21 | – |
| 6 | | Kade Simpson | 30 | 2003 | Eastern (U18) | 222 | 121 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 460 | 285 | 175 | 118 | 42 | 1 |
| 7 | | Dylan Buckley | 21 | 2013 | Northern (U18) | 8 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 258 | 152 | 106 | 65 | 38 | – |
| 8 | | Matthew Kreuzer | 25 | 2008 | Northern (U18) | 106 | 56 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 166 | 91 | 75 | 40 | 55 | 276 |
| 9 | | Patrick Cripps | 19 | 2014 | East Fremantle | 3 | – | 20 | 6 | 13 | 471 | 158 | 313 | 64 | 98 | 39 |
| 10 | | Matthew Watson | 22 | 2011 | Calder (U18) | 19 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 23 | 9 | 18 | 8 | 1 |
| 11 | | Robert Warnock | 27 | 2007 | Sandringham (U18), Fremantle | 86 | 17 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 56 |
| 12 | | Blaine Boekhorst | 21 | 2015 | Swan Districts | – | – | 11 | 5 | 9 | 138 | 76 | 62 | 24 | 26 | – |
| 13 | | Chris Yarran | 24 | 2009 | Swan Districts | 105 | 87 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 223 | 182 | 41 | 68 | 33 | – |
| 14 | | Liam Jones | 23 | 2010 | North Hobart, Western Bulldogs | 66 | 68 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 65 | 46 | 19 | 31 | 18 | – |
| 15 | | Sam Docherty | 21 | 2013 | Gippsland (U18), Brisbane Lions | 29 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 401 | 260 | 141 | 116 | 40 | 1 |
| 16 | | Dillon Viojo-Rainbow | 18 | – | Western (U18) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | | Sam Rowe (lg) | 27 | 2013 | Murray (U18), Sydney, Norwood | 31 | 11 | 20 | 2 | – | 211 | 125 | 86 | 79 | 43 | 28 |
| 18 | | Kristian Jaksch | 20 | 2013 | Oakleigh (U18), GWS | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 62 | 39 | 23 | 26 | 8 | – |
| 19 | | Cameron Giles | 19 | – | Woodville-West Torrens | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | | Nick Holman | 19 | 2014 | Murray (U18) | 1 | – | 8 | – | – | 75 | 31 | 44 | 15 | 31 | – |
| 22 | | Jason Tutt | 23 | 2011 | Ainslie, Western Bulldogs | 26 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 218 | 128 | 90 | 55 | 35 | – |
| 23 | | Lachlan Henderson (lg) | 26 | 2007 | Geelong (U18), Brisbane | 101 | 88 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 189 | 134 | 55 | 96 | 24 | 2 |
| 24 | | Mark Whiley | 22 | 2012 | Murray (U18), GWS | 12 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 95 | 46 | 49 | 17 | 33 | 19 |
| 25 | | Clem Smith | 18 | 2015 | Perth | – | – | 7 | – | – | 55 | 24 | 31 | 11 | 9 | – |
| 26 | | Jayden Foster | 19 | – | Calder (U18) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 27 | | Dennis Armfield | 28 | 2008 | Swan Districts | 113 | 44 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 145 | 88 | 57 | 25 | 36 | – |
| 28 | | Tom Bell | 23 | 2012 | Morningside | 29 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 465 | 295 | 170 | 97 | 87 | 16 |
| 31 | | Matthew Dick | 20 | 2015 | Calder (U18), Sydney | – | – | 6 | – | 2 | 70 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 12 | – |
| 32 | | Nicholas Graham | 20 | 2013 | Gippsland (U18) | 10 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 104 | 51 | 53 | 15 | 29 | – |
| 33 | | Andrejs Everitt | 25 | 2007 | Dandenong (U18), Western Bulldogs, Sydney | 96 | 45 | 22 | 31 | 20 | 334 | 225 | 109 | 132 | 30 | 16 |
| 35 | | Ed Curnow | 25 | 2011 | Geelong (U18), Adelaide, Box Hill | 66 | 11 | 22 | – | 3 | 478 | 216 | 262 | 75 | 98 | – |
| 39 | | Dale Thomas | 27 | 2006 | Gippsland (U18), Collingwood | 177 | 133 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 70 | 42 | 28 | 20 | 6 | – |
| 40 | | Michael Jamison (vc) | 28 | 2007 | North Ballarat (U18, VFL) | 131 | 2 | 14 | – | – | 132 | 74 | 58 | 56 | 15 | 3 |
| 41 | | Levi Casboult | 24 | 2012 | Dandenong (U18) | 36 | 29 | 16 | 24 | 12 | 150 | 100 | 50 | 83 | 15 | 86 |
| 42 | | Zach Tuohy | 25 | 2011 | Laois GAA | 76 | 25 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 414 | 239 | 175 | 107 | 24 | – |
| 43 | | Simon White | 26 | 2010 | Subiaco | 45 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 156 | 93 | 63 | 42 | 26 | 7 |
| 44 | | Andrew Carrazzo | 31 | 2004 | Oakleigh (U18), Geelong | 178 | 47 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 365 | 128 | 237 | 40 | 63 | – |
| 46 | | David Ellard | 25 | 2008 | Swan Districts | 53 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 102 | 55 | 47 | 24 | 32 | – |
| Rookie List |||||||||||||||||
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Career (to end 2014) | Career (to end 2014) | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics | 2015 Player Statistics |
| No. | State | Player | Age | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Gms | Gls | Gms | Gls | B | D | K | HB | M | T | HO |
| 21 | | Ciarán Sheehan | 24 | 2014 | Cork GAA | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 29 | | Billy Gowers | 18 | – | Oakleigh (U18) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 30 | | Blaine Johnson | 19 | 2014 | South Fremantle | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 5 | – |
| 34 | | Brad Walsh | 18 | 2015 | Peel Thunder | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 19 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 5 | – |
| 36 | | Cameron Wood | 27 | 2005 | West Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Collingwood, Williamstown | 70 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 108 | 108 | 72 | 33 | 34 | 319 |
| 37 | | Tom Fields | 22 | 2015 | Labrador, South Adelaide | – | – | 2 | – | – | 21 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 8 | – |
| 38 | | Ciarán Byrne | 20 | 2015 | Louth GAA | – | – | 1 | – | – | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 47 | | Fraser Russell | 22 | – | Geelong (U18), Deakin (athletics) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Senior coaching panel |||||||||||||||||
| | State | Coach | Coaching position | Coaching position | Coaching position | Coaching position | Carlton Coaching debut | Carlton Coaching debut | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach |
| | | Mick Malthouse | Senior Coach (Rounds 1–8) | Senior Coach (Rounds 1–8) | Senior Coach (Rounds 1–8) | Senior Coach (Rounds 1–8) | 2013 | 2013 | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) | Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s) |
| | | John Barker | Assistant coach (Back-line) Caretaker coach (Rounds 9–23) | Assistant coach (Back-line) Caretaker coach (Rounds 9–23) | Assistant coach (Back-line) Caretaker coach (Rounds 9–23) | Assistant coach (Back-line) Caretaker coach (Rounds 9–23) | 2011 | 2011 | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) | St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a) |
| | | Robert Wiley | Director of Coaching and Development | Director of Coaching and Development | Director of Coaching and Development | Director of Coaching and Development | 2013 | 2013 | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) | Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s) |
| | | Dean Laidley | Assistant coach (Midfield) | Assistant coach (Midfield) | Assistant coach (Midfield) | Assistant coach (Midfield) | 2014 | 2014 | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) | Collingwood (a), North Melbourne (s), Port Adelaide (a), St Kilda (a) |
| | | Brad Green | Assistant coach (Forward-line) | Assistant coach (Forward-line) | Assistant coach (Forward-line) | Assistant coach (Forward-line) | 2013 | 2013 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Matthew Capuano | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | 2009 | 2009 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Michael Osborne | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | 2013 | 2013 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Luke Webster | Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach | Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach | Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach | Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach | 2011 | 2011 | | | | | | | | |
* For players: (c) denotes captain, (vc) denotes vice-captain, (dvc) denotes deputy vice-captain, (lg) denotes leadership group.
* For coaches: (s) denotes senior coach, (cs) denotes caretaker senior coach, (a) denotes assistant coach, (d) denotes development coach.

## Playing list changes

The following summarises all player changes between the conclusion of the 2014 season and the conclusion of the 2015 season.

### In

| Player | Previous Club | League | via |
| Fraser Russell | Deakin Athletic Club | Athletics Victoria | Signed as a Category B rookie late in the 2014 season; as a formality, he was drafted in the AFL Rookie Draft, fourth round (No. 58 overall) |
| Kristian Jaksch | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | AFL Trade Period, with Mark Whiley and a second-round draft pick (No. 19 overall), in exchange for a first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) |
| Mark Whiley | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | AFL Trade Period, with Kristian Jaksch and a second-round draft pick (No. 19 overall), in exchange for a first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) |
| Liam Jones | Western Bulldogs | AFL | AFL Trade Period, in exchange for a third-round draft pick (No. 46 overall) |
| Matthew Dick | Sydney | AFL | Signed as a delisted free agent |
| Blaine Boekhorst | Swan Districts | WAFL | AFL National Draft, first round (No. 19 overall) |
| Dillon Viojo-Rainbow | Western (U18) | TAC Cup | AFL National Draft, second round (No. 28 overall) |
| Clem Smith | Perth | WAFL | AFL National Draft, fourth round (No. 60 overall) |
| Jayden Foster | Calder (U18) | TAC Cup | AFL National Draft, fourth round (No. 63 overall) |
| Jason Tutt | Western Bulldogs | AFL | AFL Pre-season Draft, first round (No. 2 overall) |
| Billy Gowers | Oakleigh (U18) | TAC Cup | AFL Rookie Draft, first round (No. 6 overall) |
| Brad Walsh | Peel Thunder | WAFL | AFL Rookie Draft, second round (No. 24 overall) |
| Tom Fields | South Adelaide | SANFL | AFL Rookie Draft, third round (No. 41 overall) |

### Out

| Player | New Club | League | via |
| Nick Duigan | Towns | Greater Northern FL | Removed from the list following his retirement in December 2013 |
| Heath Scotland | Doncaster | Eastern FL | Removed from the list following his retirement in May 2014 |
| Josh Bootsma | Peel Thunder | WAFL | Removed from the list following his sacking in June 2014 |
| Andrew McInnes | Norwood | SANFL | Delisted after the season |
| Tom Temay | | | Delisted after the season |
| Jaryd Cachia | Richmond reserves | VFL | Delisted from the rookie list after the season |
| Luke Reynolds | Port Adelaide reserves | SANFL | Delisted from the rookie list after the season |
| Jarrad Waite | North Melbourne | AFL | Signed as an unrestricted free agent |
| Jeff Garlett | Melbourne | AFL | AFL Trade Period, with a fifth-round draft pick (No. 83 overall), in exchange for fourth-round and a higher fifth-round draft pick (No. 61 and 79 overall) |
| Kane Lucas | West Coast | AFL | Delisted after the Trade Period; later recruited by West Coast in the rookie draft. |
| Brock McLean | Aberfeldie | EDFL | Delisted after the Trade Period |
| Mitch Robinson | Brisbane Lions | AFL | Delisted after the Trade Period; signed by Brisbane Lions as a free agent |

### List management

| Player | Change |
| National draft | Carlton received no free agency compensation draft picks, as the loss of Jarrad Waite was not deemed sufficient to justify one |
| Jason Tutt | Resigned from the Western Bulldogs on 7 November and received permission to train with Carlton. |
| Guernsey number changes | Patrick Cripps (No. 16 to No. 9) Ciarán Sheehan (No. 47 to No. 21) Blaine Johnson (No. 45 to No. 30) Ciarán Byrne (No. 48 to No. 38) |
| Chris Judd | Judd retired from playing on 9 June 2015, following an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in Round 10. |

## Season summary
### Pre-season matches

The club's three scheduled pre-season matches were played as part of the 2015 NAB Challenge series.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Friday, 27 February (4:10 pm) | West Coast | 1.9.15 (78) | 2.4.5 (47) | Lost by 31 points | Rushton Park, Mandurah (A) | 10,000 (approx.) |
| 2 | Sunday, 15 March (4:40 pm) | Collingwood | 1.7.13 (64) | 1.9.8 (71) | Won by 7 points | Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo (A) | 9,542 |
| 3 | Sunday, 22 March (4:10 pm) | Geelong | 2.10.14 (92) | 0.17.9 (111) | Lost by 19 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 10,631 |
| Source: ||||||||

### Home and away season

Carlton performed very poorly in the early part of the home-and-away season. The club fell to last place after Round 7, won one of its first eight games – against defending wooden spooner St Kilda in Round 4 – and lost four games by more than ten goals. The turndown in form placed significant pressure on Carlton's off-field organisation. The club had engaged in optimistic preseason marketing, which included Mick Malthouse telling the media that "it’s very, very difficult to see where we’re going to lose a game"; but after only the second round, a 69-point loss against West Coast, Steven Trigg and Mark LoGiudice publicly declared that the club was in a phase of rebuilding. The following weeks were characterised by poor performances and low crowds, which resulted in speculation about Malthouse's coaching future with the club. Early in the season, LoGiudice guaranteed that Malthouse would retain his job until the end of the season, but on May 25, he announced a revised position that Malthouse's tenure would be reviewed during the Round 11 bye week. The following morning, Malthouse gave an interview on SEN 1116 in which he was openly critical of the club's administration: he blamed the club's poor performances in part on the psychological effect of Trigg's and LoGiudice's talk of rebuilding; he said he believed LoGiudice's administration had never intended to retain him as coach even before the season began; and he made allegations that Adelaide, during Carlton CEO Steven Trigg's tenure there, had illegally signed a contract with Eddie Betts eighteen months before he became an eligible free agent (Betts had transferred from Carlton to Adelaide at the end of 2013 as a restricted free agent, and the AFL dismissed Malthouse's allegations). Consequently, Malthouse was dismissed that afternoon.
Backline assistant coach John Barker was installed as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. The club's performances improved over the following six weeks, with two wins and two close losses, but the end of the season was little better than the start, and Carlton won only one of its last ten matches, finishing last on percentage. It was Carlton's first last place finish since 2006, and the fourth in the club's VFL/AFL history.
Across the season, Carlton had a record of 3–3 in six matches against other clubs in the bottom six, all of whom won seven or fewer games for the season. Against all other clubs, Carlton's record was 1–15, the sole win coming against 9th-placed Port Adelaide.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position |
| 1 | Thursday, 2 April (7:20 pm) | Richmond | 11.12 (78) | 15.15 (105) | Lost by 27 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 83,493 | 16th |
| 2 | Friday, 10 April (6:10 pm) | West Coast | 20.11 (131) | 9.8 (62) | Lost by 69 points | Domain Stadium (A) | 34,588 | 16th |
| 3 | Saturday, 18 April (1:45 pm) | Essendon | 11.18 (84) | 16.9 (105) | Lost by 21 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 54,854 | 17th |
| 4 | Saturday, 25 April (1:10 pm) | St Kilda | 12.9 (81) | 18.13 (121) | Won by 40 points | Westpac Stadium, Wellington (A) | 12,125 | 14th |
| 5 | Friday, 1 May (7:50 pm) | Collingwood | 6.9 (45) | 18.12 (120) | Lost by 75 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 71,759 | 17th |
| 6 | Sunday, 10 May (3:20 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 11.9 (75) | 12.12 (84) | Lost by 9 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 20,273 | 17th |
| 7 | Saturday, 16 May (4:35 pm) | GWS | 9.3 (57) | 19.21 (135) | Lost by 78 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 16,676 | 18th |
| 8 | Friday, 22 May (7:50 pm) | Geelong | 22.8 (140) | 9.9 (63) | Lost by 77 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 32,032 | 18th |
| 9 | Friday, 29 May (7:50 pm) | Sydney | 19.8 (122) | 9.8 (62) | Lost by 60 points | Sydney Cricket Ground (A) | 32,105 | 18th |
| 10 | Saturday, 6 June (1:40 pm) | Adelaide | 14.6 (90) | 14.15 (99) | Lost by 9 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 32,035 | 17th |
| 11 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 18th |
| 12 | Saturday, 20 June (1:40 pm) | Port Adelaide | 17.8 (110) | 16.10 (106) | Won by 4 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 27,693 | 16th |
| 13 | Sunday, 28 June (3:20 pm) | Gold Coast | 14.19 (103) | 9.15 (69) | Won by 34 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 30,207 | 16th |
| 14 | Saturday, 4 July (7:30 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 9.10 (64) | 7.11 (53) | Lost by 11 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 31,445 | 16th |
| 15 | Friday, 10 July (7:50 pm) | Richmond | 10.11 (71) | 5.11 (41) | Lost by 30 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 52,564 | 16th |
| 16 | Saturday, 18 July (5:40 pm) | Fremantle | 13.17 (95) | 8.5 (53) | Lost by 42 points | Domain Stadium (A) | 33,581 | 16th |
| 17 | Friday, 24 July (7:50 pm) | Hawthorn | 4.11 (35) | 27.11 (173) | Lost by 138 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 26,815 | 16th |
| 18 | Saturday, 1 August (7:20 pm) | North Melbourne | 8.6 (54) | 18.10 (118) | Lost by 64 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 25,251 | 16th |
| 19 | Saturday, 8 August (1:45 pm) | Collingwood | 16.9 (105) | 13.9 (87) | Lost by 18 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 48,133 | 17th |
| 20 | Saturday, 15 August (7:20 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 20.11 (131) | 9.13 (67) | Lost by 64 points | Gabba (A) | 17,744 | 18th |
| 21 | Sunday, 23 August (3:20 pm) | Melbourne | 12.6 (78) | 7.13 (55) | Won by 23 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 33,962 | 17th |
| 22 | Saturday, 29 August (1:45 pm) | GWS | 20.12 (132) | 7.9 (51) | Lost by 81 points | Spotless Stadium (A) | 9,538 | 17th |
| 23 | Saturday, 5 September (4:40 pm) | Hawthorn | 17.11 (113) | 8.8 (56) | Lost by 57 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 33,182 | 18th |

## Ladder

2015 AFL ladder :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
| 1 | Fremantle | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1857 | 1564 | 118.7 | 68 | Finals series |
| 2 | West Coast | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2330 | 1572 | 148.2 | 66 | Finals series |
| 3 | Hawthorn (P) | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2452 | 1548 | 158.4 | 64 | Finals series |
| 4 | Sydney | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2006 | 1578 | 127.1 | 64 | Finals series |
| 5 | Richmond | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1930 | 1568 | 123.1 | 60 | Finals series |
| 6 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2101 | 1825 | 115.1 | 56 | Finals series |
| 7 | Adelaide | 21 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 2107 | 1821 | 115.7 | 54 | Finals series |
| 8 | North Melbourne | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2062 | 1937 | 106.5 | 52 | Finals series |
| 9 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2002 | 1874 | 106.8 | 48 | |
| 10 | Geelong | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1853 | 1833 | 101.1 | 48 | |
| 11 | Greater Western Sydney | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1872 | 1891 | 99.0 | 44 | |
| 12 | Collingwood | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1972 | 1856 | 106.3 | 40 | |
| 13 | Melbourne | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1573 | 2044 | 77.0 | 28 | |
| 14 | St Kilda | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 1695 | 2162 | 78.4 | 26 | |
| 15 | Essendon | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1580 | 2134 | 74.0 | 24 | |
| 16 | Gold Coast | 22 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 1633 | 2240 | 72.9 | 18 | |
| 17 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1557 | 2306 | 67.5 | 16 | |
| 18 | Carlton | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1525 | 2354 | 64.8 | 16 | |
* 1 2 The round 14 match between Adelaide and Geelong was cancelled due to the death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh, and both teams were awarded two premiership points each.

## Team awards and records
### Match records

* Rounds 6–9 – Carlton recorded 13 consecutive losing quarters, starting with the third quarter in Round 6 and ending with the third quarter in Round 9; it set a new record as the longest such streak in the club's history.
* Round 7 – Greater Western Sydney's score of 19.21 (135) and winning margin of 78 points against Carlton both set new records for the highest in GWS's history.
* Round 14 – Western Bulldogs's score of 9.10 (64) was the lowest winning score by any team against Carlton since Round 19, 2002.
* Round 17 – Carlton's 138-point losing margin against Hawthorn was the heaviest defeat in the club's history.
* Round 17 – Carlton's score of 4.11 (35) against Hawthorn was its lowest in any match since Round 8, 2006.
* Round 22 – For the second time in the season, Greater Western Sydney's winning margin of 81 points against Carlton set a new record for the highest in GWS's history.

### Other

* Round 4 – Carlton won the 2015 Simpson-Henderson Trophy with its 40-point win over St Kilda. The trophy was awarded to the team which won St Kilda's then-annual Anzac Day home match in Wellington.

## Individual awards and records
### John Nicholls Medal

The Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest awards night took place on 17 September. The John Nicholls Medal, for the best and fairest player of the club, as well as several other awards, were presented on the night.

#### John Nicholls Medal

The winner of the John Nicholls Medal was Patrick Cripps, who polled 68 votes to narrowly beat captain Marc Murphy (67 votes) and Zach Tuohy (64 votes). It was Cripps' first John Nicholls Medal in only his second season, having played only three senior games before the start of the season. At age 20 years 6 months, Cripps was the second-youngest winner of the Carlton best and fairest behind only John Nicholls who won aged 20 years 1 month in 1959.
| Pos. | Player | Votes |
| 1st | Patrick Cripps | 68 |
| 2nd | Marc Murphy | 67 |
| 3rd | Zach Tuohy | 64 |
| 4th | Tom Bell | 57 |
| 4th | Ed Curnow | 57 |
| 6th | Sam Docherty | 48 |
| 7th | Kade Simpson | 45 |
| 8th | Andrejs Everitt | 37 |
| 9th | Simon White | 35 |
| 10th | Andrew Carrazzo | 23 |

#### Other awards

The following other awards were presented on John Nicholls Medal night:-
* Best First-Year Player – Blaine Boekhorst
* Best Clubman – Simon White
* Women of Carlton Player Ambassador – Kade Simpson
* Spirit of Carlton Award – Ed Curnow
* Inner Blue Ruthless Award – Patrick Cripps
* Carltonians Achievement Award – Tom Bell
* Blues Coterie Most Improved Player – Tom Bell
* Hyundai MVP Award (the most valuable player as voted by fans in an online poll) – Patrick Cripps

### Leading Goalkickers

Andrejs Everitt was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season, with 31 goals. It was the first and only time Everitt won Carlton's goalkicking.
| Player | Goals | Behinds |
| Andrejs Everitt | 31 | 20 |
| Levi Casboult | 24 | 12 |
| Tom Bell | 17 | 14 |
| Lachlan Henderson | 16 | 10 |
| Dennis Armfield | 13 | 10 |

### Other awards
#### NAB AFL Rising Star

Patrick Cripps was nominated for 2015 NAB AFL Rising Star award after his Round 4 performance against St Kilda. He was the favourite to win the award, but was ultimately voted to second place.

#### Honorific teams

* Patrick Cripps was named as the centreman in the 2015 22 Under 22 team, made up of players aged 22 or less on Grand Final Day. Sam Docherty was named in the 47-man squad but was not selected for the final team.
* Zach Tuohy was named as the small defender in the 2015 AFL Coaches Association All-Australian team, by virtue of polling the most votes of any small defender in the AFL Coaches Association MVP award.

#### Miscellaneous

* Dennis Armfield won the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award, which was awarded at the Brownlow Medal Count, in recognition of his work with the Odyssey House Drug and Rehabilitation Centre.
* Chris Judd won the Madden Medal for his on-field excellence, personal development and community spirit throughout his career.
* Round 4 – Marc Murphy won the Crowl-McDonald Medal as best on ground in Carlton's Anzac Day game against St Kilda. The newly established medal was named for Claude Crowl (St Kilda) and Fen McDonald (Carlton) on the hundredth anniversary of their deaths in the landing at Anzac Cove.

### Player and coach records

* Round 5 – Mick Malthouse coached his 715th career VFL/AFL game (comprising 132 for Footscray, 218 for West Coast, 264 for Collingwood and 50 for Carlton) to pass the long-standing record of 714 games set by Jock McHale (Collingwood) to become the all-time record holder for VFL/AFL games coached.

## Northern Blues

The Carlton Football Club had a full affiliation with the Northern Blues during the 2015 season. It was the thirteenth season of the clubs' affiliation, which had been in place since 2003. Carlton senior- and rookie-listed players who were not selected to play in the Carlton team were eligible to play for either the Northern Blues seniors or reserves team in the Victorian Football League. The club's nine home matches were split three ways, with three matches at the VFL club's traditional home ground Preston City Oval, four matches at Carlton's traditional home ground Ikon Park, and two matches played as curtain-raisers to Carlton AFL matches at Etihad Stadium. The Northern Blues finished 14th out of 15 in the VFL with a record of 4–14. Carlton's Brad Walsh won the Laurie Hill Trophy as Northern's best and fairest.