Sometimes statistics can lie, sometimes they can confirm suspicions, and sometimes what you're seeing with the naked eye is so stark you know the sorts of numbers you're going to be looking at before you even do so.
Right now, for Carlton, it's very much a case of the latter. And while it mightn't have needed the extra proof, the Blues' 28-point defeat at the hands of GWS served only to capitalise, bolden and underscore a major problem which isn't going away.
Forward efficiency, that is converting those scoring chances which come your team's way, must surely be the single most important area of the game. And Carlton, not for the first time in its fourth season under Michael Voss' coaching, these days is terrible at it.
It's a familiar tale for Blues' fans, whose eyes will probably start rolling as they read this. But the extent of the problem and the ramifications it continues to have on Carlton's ailing win-loss ledger can't be emphasised strongly enough.
It was déjà vu on Saturday afternoon at Marvel Stadium, the Blues racking up 58 inside 50 entries (11 more than GWS) for just 22 scoring shots, a dismal strike rate of less than 38%, less than Carlton's season average of 40.9%, which was already the worst in the competition despite the Blues having had more inside 50s in 2025 than all bar three rivals.
It was the fourth of seven losses this year in which Carlton has had more inside 50s than its opponent. In a fifth loss, it as good as broke even. And in one of those defeats (against Richmond) the Blues had no fewer than 25 more entries.
The figures on conversion say plenty. The Blues have kicked more behinds than goals in five games, four of them losses. Only Melbourne goes at worse than Carlton's 51%.
It's also about the quality of entries, though. On Saturday, the Blues managed just eight marks from those 58 entries inside the forward arc, at 13.8%, the Giants 14 from their 47 (29.8%).
Carlton's ranking of 10th for marks inside 50 and its lowly 12th for points scored is more significant given the presence of two Coleman medallists in Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
And perhaps, there's another even more significant factor at play here in a competition which continues to evolve swiftly, namely the Blues' chronic lack of quality ground-level forwards.
After 11 rounds of this season, every team in the top eight is also among the top-ranked eight teams for scoring. Now look at the personnel doing the scoring. It's more than noteworthy.
Ladder leader Collingwood has Jamie Elliott miles ahead on the goalkicking charts, he and Bobby Hill two of the Pies' top three. At Brisbane, Charlie Cameron, Callum Ah Chee and Zac Bailey are doing plenty of damage.
Gold Coast's Ben Long, re-made as a small forward, is in All-Australian form for the Suns. At Adelaide, Ben Keays, Josh Rachele and Izak Rankine are just as important to the Crows' potency as key forwards Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker.
At Geelong, there's now an army of small and medium-sized players swarming around key targets Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale. And so on. Even the undermanned Giants found a small forward to be the Blues' nemesis on Saturday, Toby Greene superb in his 250th game.
Carlton? Well, last year the Blues did have Matt Owies, who finished third in the goalkicking, but were happy to let him go to West Coast last year for some draft capital, confident they had enough in hand via Jesse Motlop and Corey Durdin (the long-term prospects).
The Blues also had the likes of Elijah Hollands, Zac Williams, Lachie Fogarty, and two late supplementary pick-ups in Will White and Francis Evans. But Hollands has had his personal issues, Williams and Fogarty injuries, and the others have shown just the odd flash of form. The impact of that has been more pronounced with Curnow hardly on-song and McKay having dealt with his own mental health battles.
The difference in Carlton's rankings in forward half and territory statistics now and coming into last year's Round 16 clash against the Giants, when the team's latest downturn really began (they've gone 6-14 since, including that loss), is revealing indeed.
Efficiency? At that moment last season, Carlton was efficient indeed, ranked 15th for time in forward half differential and 13th for forward half intercepts, but nonetheless still ranked second for points from forward half turnovers. The Blues were a resultant second for points scored and first for scores per inside 50.
Now? The Blues are fourth for time in forward half and third for forward half intercepts. But points from those intercepts? They rank only 11th, that tale of the tape a complete mirror image. Consequently, Carlton is 12th for scoring and last for scores per entry, a dismal story.
What's also significant is how precarious is the Blues' structure balance. The good teams seem to be able to cope with injuries so much better in one key area. But when Carlton suffers in one part of the ground, its entire performance seems to fall away.
Last year, it was the defence which suffered while the forward line flourished. Now, the backline has remained reasonably solid, as are the midfield markers like contested ball and clearances, while the forward line is a shambles.
And if that rings a bell for Blues fans, it's what was going on in 2023, the forward line a mess, the backline holding up, before that remarkable run of nine wins in a row then two finals triumphs took Carlton to within one win of a Grand Final.
Back then, like now, the bye break was also a potential flashpoint in the Blues' season, their thrashing of Gold Coast headed into the bye just their second victory over a 10-week period. Before the Suns win, Carlton had been 4-8 with a draw.
Can they do it again? Of course, it's a longshot. And like I've written previously, I suspect that golden period in 2023 has raised expectations over this list to unrealistic levels.
But if it is to happen, it's pretty clear where Carlton and Voss are going to have to find the improvement. While Cripps, Weitering, Curnow and McKay are obviously important, it might actually be the names Motlop, Durdin, Williams, and Fogarty who end up determining whether the Blues even get another crack at September.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.