|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Venue: | Marvel Stadium. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Saturday 25 May 2024 (1.45 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 29 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 39,597 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | C. Curnow 4.4, Z. Williams 4.0, H. McKay 1.1, M. Kennedy 1.1, E. Hollands 1.1, M. Owies 1.0, G. Hewett 1.0, P. Cripps 1.0, B. Acres 1.0, O. Hollands 0.1, O. Fantasia 0.1, J. Boyd 0.1, L. Fogarty 0.1, Rushed 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nic Newman was reported for striking Gold Coast's Jack Lukosius, it was his first offence, and was fined $1250 with a guilty plea. Jack Lukosius (Gold Coast) was reported for striking Blue Mitch McGovern, it was his first offence, and was fined $2500 with a guilty plea. |
||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Daniel Johanson, Brett Rosebury, Andrew Heffernan, Martin Rodger. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 8th. | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Career-high Williams as Blues eclipse Suns
Carlton produced its seventh win of the season, beating Gold Coast by 29 points. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton MediaBack in business. Carlton produced its seventh win of the season at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, eclipsing Gold Coast by 29 points in a back-and-forth contest under the roof. Overturning last week's loss to Sydney, Patrick Cripps was at his bullocking best with 31 disposals and 13 clearances, while Charlie Curnow matched Zac Williams' career-high tally of four goals as the Blues stormed home with a 15.12 (102) to 11.7 (73) victory.
Quarter one
For the fourth straight week, the Blues came out in the first time well and truly up for the fight. Winning the first five clearances of the game against an outstanding clearance side in their own right, Carlton was putting Gold Coast to the sword, with two defenders-turned-forwards reaping the rewards. Playing the half-forward role for the second straight week, Zac Williams - wearing the guernsey designed by his cousin - opened the Blues’ account, while Alex Cincotta was also stationed inside 50 and got his hands on the ball in the early going. It was no surprise that Patrick Cripps (10 disposals, five clearances) was leading from the front in the first term, but he wasn’t alone, with the Blues spreading the load brilliantly in the first term with 44 more disposals in the opening term than the Suns. Matt Owies finished the brilliant work of 2022 draftees Lachie Cowan and Ollie Hollands. Mitch McGovern was excellent in the back half (four intercepts), while Williams’ second soon had the Blues 21 points in front: however a pair of late goals to the Suns meant it was a nine-point lead the home side at the first change.
Quarter two
The Blues continued their statistical dominance around the ground, finishing the first half leading in all the key categories: disposals (+67), marks (+20), contested possessions (+18), clearances (+9) and inside 50s (+9). However, the Blues weren’t able to muster high quality shots on goal throughout the second quarter and found some opportunities go begging, with only Harry McKay able to register a major in the second term while the Suns took their half chances. After McKay’s goal, the Blues were only able to record four behinds, with the majority of those coming from long range or tight angles. The midfield group continued to stand up at the contest, with Cripps, Sam Walsh and George Hewett combining for 52 disposals and 16 clearances between them — Cripps had 10 alone to half time. Jacob Weitering largely nullified Ben King outside of his first-term goal, while Williams continued to pose a threat higher up the ground. But the Blues found it difficult to get past Gold Coast’s Mac Andrew, who ensured the Suns only trailed by seven points at the main break, despite Carlton having seven more scoring shots.
Quarter three
Carlton needed a bit of a spark to start the third term, with Gold Coast starting to trouble the home side going forward. So often the man for occasion in third quarters this year, it was once again Charlie Curnow who fired things up. Well-held to half time, the third-quarter specialist wasn’t going to be denied, hauling in three contested marks and kicking two goals when the Blues needed. After a first half which saw eight goals split between the two sides, the game well and truly opened up, with the Suns kicking four goals, but the Blues answering with six of their own. Blake Acres was crucial in giving the Blues some drive, recording seven disposals and kicking a goal in the third quarter alone, while Tom De Koning continued his big battle with Jarrod Witts, recording three clearances for the term. It was a tense end to the quarter, with the game delicately poised, but Matthew Kennedy stood up with a left-footed snap in the dying seconds to give the Blues a handy gap at the final change.
Quarter four
In front of what was comfortably a record crowd between these two sides, the biggest roar of the afternoon came from the boot of the inspirational Carlton skipper. Inside the opening minute, Cripps - who had been an inside bull all day - recorded his first of the afternoon, in the process giving the Blues a game-high lead. The Blues didn’t stop from there, with new forward Williams kicking a career-high fourth goal — Curnow soon matched that tally as the Blues ran away with the game. De Koning continued his strong clearance performance, taking his tally to 10 for the contest, while Walsh didn’t stop running with 32 disposals for the game. Carlton dominated possession all day, eclipsing the 400-disposal mark while having 140 more than their opposition, sharing the load brilliantly with the six major ballwinners of the day and nine individual goalkickers as they secured their seventh win of the campaign.
Best: P. Cripps, Z. Williams, T. De Koning, B. Acres, S. Walsh, N. Newman, M. McGovern.
Carlton charges to big win as Suns' away blues continue
The Blues have proven too good for the Suns - By Michael Whiting.Carlton huffed and puffed and eventually blew Gold Coast's doors off to get its season back on track with a commanding 29-point triumph at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Blues held sway in general play for much of the afternoon, but it took a five-goal burst early in the fourth quarter to guarantee victory. Gold Coast fought it out right until the end, but Carlton deserved its 15.12 (102) to 11.7 (73) triumph to arrest a worrying slide of three losses from four matches. It is now 7-4 and entrenched in the top eight. The Blues had to look no further than skipper Patrick Cripps to inspire victory, manhandling the in-form Suns midfield with his 31 disposals that included 13 clearances. His dominance led Carlton's ascendency at clearances (44-32) which resulted in a lopsided disposal count (408-270) that finally took its toll.
Carlton led by just nine points at the first change, seven at the half and 17 at three-quarter time after a late goal from Matt Kennedy gave it breathing room. The five-goal burst early in the fourth put paid to any faint notion the Suns had of fighting back. Charlie Curnow vaulted to the top of the Coleman Medal race with four goals, but not before a thrilling duel with Mac Andrew. The young Sun held sway for the entire first half, keeping his team in the contest as a virtual one-man wall inside defensive 50. However, after the break, Curnow moved to the goalsquare, and with the match-ups getting jumbled, became a major influence and reason for Carlton's success. Zac Williams kicked four goals as a forward, Tom De Koning (25 disposals, 10 clearances) probably had the better of his battle with Jarrod Witts, while Sam Walsh, Blake Acres and Kennedy were all strong contributors. Gold Coast could never get its nose in the contest, often second to the ball early on. Despite the landslide of possession against it, it still had a chance to get within one straight kick late in the third quarter before set-shot misses by Ben King (who kicked three goals) and Jack Lukosius dashed its charge. Carlton kicked the first three goals of the game and for most of the first half dominated without putting the advantage on the scoreboard. With some poor entries and Andrew proving an impassable presence, the Suns remained afloat. Although regularly outnumbered and second to the ball, Damien Hardwick's men kept scrapping and fighting to remain in the game. Patrick Cripps showed his experience this afternoon around the stoppages with 13 clearances as the Carlton midfield unit kept Matt Rowell to a season-low two clearances. The Blues managed to put the Suns away in the second half as they became accurate in front of goal. They kicked 11 goals and three behinds despite only 42% of play in their forward half during this time.
Zac into attack and goes whack!
He was shifted forward during the last-start loss against Sydney and, given a full game there this week, Zac Williams proved he could be just the answer to Carlton's small forward problems with a superb performance. Williams finished the game with a career-high four goals, proving a nice foil at the feet of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay and alongside Matthew Owies. He kicked two in the first quarter to get the ball rolling, then added two more after the main break to have a huge impact on victory.
Suns remain winless on the road
For the fifth time in five attempts this season, Gold Coast has lost when playing away from home. And just like it did in earlier defeats from the Western Bulldogs, Greater Western Sydney, Sydney and Brisbane, a lot of the damage was done in the first quarter. While Carlton had only a nine-point lead at the first change, it dominated the Suns around the contest and laid the platform for victory. Gold Coast hung in for large patches despite the lack of possession, but the physical toll eventually caught up as it was overrun late.
Best: P. Cripps, S. Walsh, C. Curnow, J. Weitering, T. De Koning, Z. Williams
Collective mindset fuels Blues win, says Voss
See how Michael Voss summed up the Round 11 win over Gold Coast. - By Carlton MediaA great response. Michael Voss laid the challenge down to his side during the week, and they responded in kind, recording a gritty 29-point win against a persistent Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium. The Blues once again stormed out of the blocks but were able to stay in front for the entirety of the contest, ultimately kicking away late for their seventh win of the season. It continued Carlton's good run of form under the roof with Voss at the helm, now recording 13 wins from 19 games at the venue during his tenure: this is what he had to say.
On how he saw the game as a whole:
“It’s a game of persistence. It’s where you’ve got to believe in the manner you’re playing. Does it look like us, even though the scoreboard might not be ticking over? There were probably a few opportunities lost, on the other side a couple of great goals kicked by the opposition kept them in it. “It was a matter of persistence, to keep believing in the way we were playing. We were setting up the game the way we wanted it, and hopefully with the weight of that, eventually something happened. In the last quarter, we were able to get the scoreboard ticking over. “We probably put the game to bed a little bit further out, which was a nice point of difference for us! To be able to finish off the game strongly, essentially by persisting with what we needed to do and the way we were playing, was particularly pleasing.”
On the Blues’ overall profile:
“We had some great moments with ball in hand. It hasn’t been something we’ve been scoring a lot from in more recent times, but I thought what the players did really well was take what they gave us. If the mark’s there, we were able to change the angles. “Uncontested possessions I think we won by over 100, that’s significant, and to win contested possession as well made it really difficult for Gold Coast to get their hands on the ball. There was a lot to like with the way we moved the ball tonight, and it was something that’s been a work in progress for us over the last little while. “We’ve had plenty of feedback from recent performances against extremely good sides, and we’ve gone to work on some aspects of our game. It was set up in the first three quarters and settled well in the last.”
On the midfield battle against a talented Gold Coast outfit:
“They’re a very talented group of players. With Witts as the main ruckman as well, it was super important. Our mids are a very proud group and we lowered our colours in that area last week to a pretty handy team to be fair, that have shown that against anybody they’re stacking up well. “There were clear things we needed to get after last week: most of it was about our heat on the ball and their ability to extricate it without enough pressure on the ball. At the end of the day, the best way to be able to beat teams that build pressure is create your own. That’s something we didn’t bring to that game, and it was something that when we needed our turn, we did. “Our tackle count was down, but when you weigh that up against all the other numbers with our contested possession, ground ball and our ability to keep possession of the ball, it’s probably not a number we need to pay too much attention to.”
On Charlie Curnow’s performance:
“We didn’t do him any favours in the first half. Our inside-50 entries early were a little bit troublesome. We had to get some better balance going forward, and clearly Andrew had a really big say on that. That contest was an intriguing one in some ways, looking at two very athletic individuals. “Fortunately with our forwards, they went to work on it a fair bit. We went to work on how we entered inside 50, a bit smarter on where we went to, worked a bit better as a team and we were able to get that contest more in our favour. He’s a talented young man.”
On two different roles in the team:
“We’ll look at our performance like we always do, with clarity. We’ll chase some things we want to keep getting better at and reinforce the things that we did really well. There were some great roles played, some changes that we got. “Having Zac go forward and play the role he played, we almost had a dual win being able to bring in Cowan and have him play down back. To have a young, developing half-backer be able to come in and play his role, and then have Zac go forward and hit the scoreboard was a pretty big win for us. “There were some roles we needed, and guys really stepped up and took ownership of those . . . It’s amazing when you have some challenges, you find your opportunities. There are a couple of guys that have taken their opportunities and been able to get their jobs done.”
On Alex Cincotta’s role on Touk Miller:
“He’s probably taken a few more of the smalls that have been in the forward line, he’s had some really important roles with Hill and Pickett, Papley last week as well, and done some great jobs. “He’s a hungry young man that’s desperate to play for the Navy Blue. He loves to play for the jumper and he’s got a long history here, he’ll fight to the death no matter what. You love having those people in your team. “They’ve got some great talent in their midfield, you could’ve chosen two or three to be fair, but we felt Miller was a pretty important player.”
On Tom De Koning’s showing:
“It’s unfortunate for ‘Pitto’ that he’s not in the team because they’ve combined extremely well. But we knew exactly what we were getting with TDK, in terms of him being able to get the job done. “Where he’s really matured as a player is his consistency to be able to do it over four quarters and bring that energy, it’s something he’s grown. He does grow with that responsibility. He was playing against a very good ruckman and held his own and gave our midfield a good look at the ball. That’s all we ever ask. “He’s played against some really good oppo rucks and competed pretty hard: it gives us a lot to think about.”
On Mitch McGovern and Jacob Weitering, who received knocks during the game:
“Wears of the season. It’s now Round 11 and at this point in time, you’re going to have a couple of bang-up spots and those boys had a couple. “‘Weiters’ had the corky last week and got a direct knock there again, which is never nice in the exact same spot. The same with ‘Gov’ in the contest where he got a bit sore, he was managed a little bit but got through the game okay. “We do have a short turnaround, but it looks like everyone else has pulled up pretty well.”
On any potential returns for Thursday night:
“Motlop got through his run in the VFL, which was a run he absolutely needed. He’s the main one that stands out. “Whether we go down that path or not, I felt like our group played a really good team brand of football today. There was a really good spread of performance across the group. “When you looked at our game, it was more us and the way we wanted to play. I’ll be the grumpy coach and say I would’ve loved to defend harder for longer, but I’m really proud of what we were able to do today.”
Captain Cripps is Carlton's barometer
Following three losses from its previous four starts, Carlton needed to flex its muscles early against the travel-vulnerable Gold Coast on Saturday. It was little surprise to see captain Patrick Cripps setting the tone. The 2022 Brownlow medallist taught the Suns midfield a lesson, amassing 10 of his 13 clearances in the first half to establish a physical dominance around the contest that filtered through his team. While Charlie Curnow, Zac Williams, Sam Walsh and others helped separate the teams after the main break, it was Cripps quietening Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Touk Miller, and in turn re-establishing his team as a legitimate premiership contender this season, that proved to be the difference. – Michael Whiting
Team
| B: | 42 Adam Saad | 23 Jacob Weitering | 2 Lachie Cowan |
| HB: | 17 Brodie Kemp | 11 Mitch McGovern | 24 Nic Newman |
| C: | 4 Ollie Hollands | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 13 Blake Acres |
| HF: | 6 Zac Williams | 10 Harry McKay | 20 Elijah Hollands |
| F: | 14 Orazio Fantasia | 30 Charlie Curnow | 44 Matt Owies |
| Ruck: | 12 Tom De Koning | 18 Sam Walsh | 7 Matt Kennedy |
| Interchange: | 37 Jordan Boyd | 29 George Hewett | 39 Alex Cincotta |
| 8 Lachie Fogarty | |||
| Substitute: | 16 Jack Carroll | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 25 Jaxon Binns | 19 Corey Durdin | 33 Lewis Young |
Substitute: Jack Carroll (replaced Matt Owies in the fourth quarter).
In: Lachie Cowan, Lachie Fogarty, Adam Saad
Out: Marc Pittonet (finger), Caleb Marchbank (managed), Corey Durdin (omitted).
Interesting Facts
1. Zac Williams kicked a career-high 4 goals.2. Lachlan Cowan had a career-high 19 possessions.
Free Kicks
Carlton 11Gold Coast 16
Front Runners
Oliver Hollands 14.9kmBlake Acres 14.5km
Elijah Hollands 14.0km
AFLCA Votes
10 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)8 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
4 - Charlie Curnow (CARL)
4 - Tom De Koning (CARL)
2 - Mac Andrew (GCFC)
2 - Zac Williams (CARL)
Brownlow Votes
3 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)2 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
1 - Zac Williams (CARL)
Best and Fairest Votes
Video
Round 10 | Round 12