Without a formal Pre-Season Cup this year, the Blues embarked on a 3 game NAB Challenge series.
The Blues clearly missed the experience of Marc Murphy, Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs, Lachie Henderson, Michael Jamison and Dale Thomas. Ed Curnow was busy in the midfield for Carlton collecting 18 touches, 15 of them contested. Tom Bell provided some run and dash and kicked their only goal of a poor first quarter. Chris Yarran showed some class in defence. Simon White and Levi Casboult worked hard around the ground throughout the night but there were few winners for the Blues.
West Coast took advantage of the strong breeze in the opening term. Kennedy slotted a set shot from the pocket before launching another from 60m for the game’s first supergoal. The Blues struggled to get past the centreline for large parts of the first term and only Bell's late goal cut the margin to 20 points at the first change. Carlton could only break even with West Coast in the second term despite the aid of the breeze. Ex Blue Kane Lucas also had his first hit with his new club the West Coast Eagles.
The Eagles midfield took control in the third with Priddis, Gaff and Shuey running amok to double the margin to 40 points at three-quarter time. If the West Coast forwards had kicked more accurately in the second half the margin could have been far greater.
The Blues depth really drops away when you take out the likes of Murphy, Judd, Gibbs, Henderson, Jamison and Thomas. They got slaughtered through the midfield with no one gathering more than 19 possessions and were stretched at both ends. There were plenty of recruits on show but none had a major impact. Blaine Boekhorst took the game on with some bold run. Liam Jones soccered a goal in the second term but was well held otherwise. Kristian Jaksch worked hard in defence. Tom Fields, Matthew Dick, Clem Smith, Jason Tutt and Dillon Viojo-Rainbow flashed in and out of the game.
Best for the Blues were; Curnow, Bell, Yarran, White, Casboult.
Substitutes: Viojo-Rainbow replaced Watson in the third quarter; Johnson replaced Fields in the third quarter.
First Pre-Season Game for the Blues: Sam Docherty, Blaine Johnson, Ciaran Sheehan
First Time for the Blues: Kristian Jaksch, Liam Jones, Jason Tutt
First Goal for the Blues: Liam Jones
First Game as Acting Captain: Sam Rowe
First Game as Coach: Robert Wiley
Interesting Fact - Blarney Boys: For the first time the Blues had 3 Irishmen play in the same senior game when Tuohy, Byrne & Sheehan were all playing in the defensive six for the Blues during the first quarter.
Super Goal Star: Zach Tuohy's super goal was his third pre-season game in a row in which he has kicked a supergoal for the Blues (and they have been progressively in the 2nd, 3rd and final quarters). This goal on the final siren has now placed Tuohy as the equal highest scorer at Carlton with 3. On recent history you would think he is only a game away from becoming our most prolific!
This was Carlton's fourth win from their six night/preseason matches against Collingwood, (the magpies had won the last 2 games).
Carlton only went into this match with 24 players (from a possible 26 players that they were able to use) and didn't use the two Substitutes players with the reasoning that the players get 'match miles' into their 'legs', Collingwood used one substitute in their 25 players.
In the last quarter only three field umpires were used with Robert Findlay sitting on the bench, for the other three quarters and their first round game four field umpires had been used in each quarter.
Best for the Blues were; Judd, Yarran, Carrazzo, Everitt, Jaksch, Simpson, Jamison.
First Game as Acting Captain: Bryce Gibbs
NAB Challenge, Round 1 (Game 2)
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| Venue: | Rushton Park, Mandurah WA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Friday February 27, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 31 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 7,719 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | Z. Tuohy 1.0.1, C. Wood 1.0.1, D. Armfield, 0.1.0, T. Bell 0.1.0, L. Jones 0.1.0, S. White 0.1.0, L. Casboult 0.0.2, M. Dick 0.0.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Dean Margetts, Jeff Dalgleish, Robert O'Gorman, Andrew Mitchell | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
The Eagles easily accounted for the Blues in front of a full house in Mandurah, 1.9.15 (78) to 2.4.5 (47). The Eagles controlled the match with ex Blue Josh Kennedy starring up forward kicking four goals, one of which was a supergoal. Mark LeCras showed his class with two goals. Matt Priddis was dominant in the midfield with 24 touches, seven tackles and a goal, while the running power of Andrew Gaff and Luke Shuey was prevalent throughout.The Blues clearly missed the experience of Marc Murphy, Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs, Lachie Henderson, Michael Jamison and Dale Thomas. Ed Curnow was busy in the midfield for Carlton collecting 18 touches, 15 of them contested. Tom Bell provided some run and dash and kicked their only goal of a poor first quarter. Chris Yarran showed some class in defence. Simon White and Levi Casboult worked hard around the ground throughout the night but there were few winners for the Blues.
West Coast took advantage of the strong breeze in the opening term. Kennedy slotted a set shot from the pocket before launching another from 60m for the game’s first supergoal. The Blues struggled to get past the centreline for large parts of the first term and only Bell's late goal cut the margin to 20 points at the first change. Carlton could only break even with West Coast in the second term despite the aid of the breeze. Ex Blue Kane Lucas also had his first hit with his new club the West Coast Eagles.
The Eagles midfield took control in the third with Priddis, Gaff and Shuey running amok to double the margin to 40 points at three-quarter time. If the West Coast forwards had kicked more accurately in the second half the margin could have been far greater.
The Blues depth really drops away when you take out the likes of Murphy, Judd, Gibbs, Henderson, Jamison and Thomas. They got slaughtered through the midfield with no one gathering more than 19 possessions and were stretched at both ends. There were plenty of recruits on show but none had a major impact. Blaine Boekhorst took the game on with some bold run. Liam Jones soccered a goal in the second term but was well held otherwise. Kristian Jaksch worked hard in defence. Tom Fields, Matthew Dick, Clem Smith, Jason Tutt and Dillon Viojo-Rainbow flashed in and out of the game.
Best for the Blues were; Curnow, Bell, Yarran, White, Casboult.
Team
| B: | 21 Ciaran ‘Gus’ Sheehan | 17 Sam Rowe (a/c) | 37 Tom Fields |
| HB: | 13 Chris Yarran | 18 Kristian Jaksch | 38 Ciaran 'Casey' Byrne |
| C: | 12 Blaine Boekhorst | 6 Kade Simpson | 31 Matthew Dick |
| HF: | 22 Jason Tutt | 41 Levi Casboult | 27 Dennis Armfield |
| F: | 10 Matthew Watson | 14 Liam Jones | 7 Dylan Buckley |
| Ruck: | 36 Cameron Wood | 9 Patrick Cripps | 35 Ed Curnow |
| Interchange: | 15 Sam Docherty | 25 Clem Smith | 28 Tom Bell |
| Interchange: | 32 Nick Graham | 42 Zach Tuohy | 43 Simon White |
| Substitutes: | 16 Dillon Viojo-Rainbow | 30 Blaine Johnson | |
| Emergencies: | 29 Billy Gowers | 2 Troy Menzel | 34 Bradley Walsh |
| Coach: | Robert Wiley | ||
Substitutes: Viojo-Rainbow replaced Watson in the third quarter; Johnson replaced Fields in the third quarter.
Milestones
First Game: Blaine Boekhorst, Ciaran Byrne, Tom Fields, Matthew Dick, Clem Smith, Dillon Viojo-RainbowFirst Pre-Season Game for the Blues: Sam Docherty, Blaine Johnson, Ciaran Sheehan
First Time for the Blues: Kristian Jaksch, Liam Jones, Jason Tutt
First Goal for the Blues: Liam Jones
First Game as Acting Captain: Sam Rowe
First Game as Coach: Robert Wiley
Interesting Fact - Blarney Boys: For the first time the Blues had 3 Irishmen play in the same senior game when Tuohy, Byrne & Sheehan were all playing in the defensive six for the Blues during the first quarter.
Super Goal Star: Zach Tuohy's super goal was his third pre-season game in a row in which he has kicked a supergoal for the Blues (and they have been progressively in the 2nd, 3rd and final quarters). This goal on the final siren has now placed Tuohy as the equal highest scorer at Carlton with 3. On recent history you would think he is only a game away from becoming our most prolific!
NAB Challenge, Round 2 (Game 18)
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| Venue: | Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Sunday March 15, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 7 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 9,542 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | A. Everitt 1.2.1, L. Jones 0.2.1, T. Bell 0.1.2, B. Boekhorst 0.1.1, A. Carrazzo 0.1.0, J. Tutt 0.1.0, S. White 0.1.0, T. Menzel 0.0.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Jordan Bannister, Robert Findlay, Simon Meredith, Robert O'Gorman | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | R. Warnock (left shoulder), B. Gibbs (shoulder), C. Judd (eye) | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
After Bell’s scored Carlton’s first goal in the first minute of the game the next six Carlton goals were scored by Carlton players who had previously played for ‘the Dogs’ (Footscray).This was Carlton's fourth win from their six night/preseason matches against Collingwood, (the magpies had won the last 2 games).
Carlton only went into this match with 24 players (from a possible 26 players that they were able to use) and didn't use the two Substitutes players with the reasoning that the players get 'match miles' into their 'legs', Collingwood used one substitute in their 25 players.
In the last quarter only three field umpires were used with Robert Findlay sitting on the bench, for the other three quarters and their first round game four field umpires had been used in each quarter.
Best for the Blues were; Judd, Yarran, Carrazzo, Everitt, Jaksch, Simpson, Jamison.
Team
| B: | 38 Ciaran 'Casey' Byrne | 40 Michael Jamison (vc) | 42 Zach Tuohy |
| HB: | 13 Chris Yarran | 18 Kristian Jaksch | 6 Kade Simpson |
| C: | 22 Jason Tutt | 5 Chris Judd | 35 Ed Curnow |
| HF: | 33 Andrejs Everitt | 41 Levi Casboult | 28 Tom Bell |
| F: | 23 Lachie Henderson | 14 Liam Jones | 2 Troy Menzel |
| Ruck: | 11 Robert Warnock | 4 Bryce Gibbs (a/c) | 44 Andrew Carrazzo |
| Interchange: | 9 Patrick Cripps | 12 Blaine Boekhorst | 15 Sam Docherty |
| Interchange: | 17 Sam Rowe | 25 Clem Smith | 43 Simon White |
| Emergencies: | 7 Dylan Buckley | 10 Matthew Watson | 27 Dennis Armfield |
| Emergencies: | 31 Matthew Dick, 32 Nick Graham | ||
| Coach: | Mick Malthouse | ||
Milestones
First Goal for the Blues: Blaine Boekhorst, Jason TuttFirst Game as Acting Captain: Bryce Gibbs
NAB Challenge, Round 3 (Game 26) vs Geelong
Sunday 22nd March at Etihad Stadium.
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| Venue: | Dome | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Sunday March 22, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 19 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 10,631 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | T. Menzel 1.2.2, L. Jones 0.2.1, L. Henderson 0.2.0., M. Watson 1.0.2, P. Cripps 0.1.1, S. Rowe 0.1.0, T. Bell 0.1.0, D. Thomas 0.1.0, A. Everitt 0.0.2, M. Murphy 0.0.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | David Harris, Andrew Mitchell, Shaun Ryan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Team
| B: | 43 Simon White | 40 Michael Jamison (vc) | 15 Sam Docherty |
| HB: | 42 Zach Tuohy | 18 Kristian Jaksch | 31 Matthew Dick |
| C: | 33 Andrejs Everitt | 5 Chris Judd | 39 Dale Thomas |
| HF: | 28 Tom Bell | 23 Lachie Henderson | 12 Blaine Boekhorst |
| F: | 17 Sam Rowe | 14 Liam Jones | 2 Troy Menzel |
| Ruck: | 36 Cameron Wood | 9 Patrick Cripps | 44 Andrew Carrazzo |
| Interchange: | 3 Marc Murphy (c) | 10 Matthew Watson | 35 Ed Curnow |
| Interchange: | 38 Ciaran 'Casey' Byrne | ||
| Substitutes: | 22 Jason Tutt, 25 Clem Smith | ||
| Emergencies: | 7 Dylan Buckley | 13 Chris Yarran | 27 Dennis Armfield |
| Coach: | Mick Malthouse | ||