A concussion late in the season could have spelled the end of Francis Evans' AFL journey.
Instead, the small forward recovered quickly after colliding with Melbourne defender Steven May and immediately came back into the Carlton team.
Since his return, Evans has strung together the best four-week patch of his 44-game career, putting him in a strong position to be rewarded with another contract at Ikon Park.
The 24-year-old and the Blues are in talks about a new deal, less than 12 months after he initially signed with the club's VFL team following his delisting by Port Adelaide.
Months later, Evans was added to Carlton's rookie list.
"I didn't really do the pre-season," the former Geelong and Port player told AAP.
"It probably took a little bit of time, but the boys and all the coaches were super so I felt at home straight away.
"It took a few more weeks than I would have liked to gel, but we got there."
Evans finished off the season with 11 goals from four games, including a career-best four in a close loss to Gold Coast.
His previous best return in an entire season was 10 goals for Port Adelaide in 2023, coming in 10 games.
Instantly a popular teammate, Evans' surge was one of the feelgood stories of Carlton's promising end to a miserable season.
"I've just tried to be a good teammate and focus on my pressure as a small forward," Evans said.
"The bigs do such a great job getting the ball to ground and finding a good contest, so I just try to get to their feet.
"I've been getting on the end of a few, which is nice, but I tried to build it off my pressure."
Coach Michael Voss's face lit up when asked about Evans following the 34-point season-ending win against Essendon last Thursday, exclaiming "wow".
"He's just popped as a player in the second half of the year," Voss said.
"He made a couple of little adjustments in his game, and from there, his confidence has just grown.
"He's got some great attributes.
"You've seen his finish, he's a great finisher.
"This game is about earning the right, and sometimes people can surprise.
"He struggled in the first half of this year, and we struggled as a team a little bit.
"But we've loved his energy and what he's brought to us in the back half of this year."
