Round 14, 2013

Carlton 0.3 3 1.5 11 4.10 34 5.13 43 Sydney 4.6 30 5.9 39 6.11 47 8.17 65
Venue:	Sydney Cricket Ground
Date:	Friday night, June 28, 2013
Result:	Lost by 22 points
Crowd:	25,349
Goalkickers:	D.Armfield, J. Bootsma, B. Gibbs, K. Lucas, Z. Tuohy (1).
Reports:
Umpires:	R. Findlay, S. McInerney, B. Rosebury
Injuries:
Ladder:	9th

Game Review

In monsoon-like conditions under lights on a Friday night at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Carlton’s finals hopes suffered another heavy blow when the Swans prevailed by 22 points in an intense, physical contest. Having jumped their visitors from the first bounce, Sydney led by 27 points at quarter-time. From then on, the Blues reeled them in - closing to within two kicks early in the final term - before the Swans steadied and scored the last two goals of the game.

Ahead of their third Friday night match in succession, and rested after a mid-season bye, Carlton made two changes to the team beaten by Hawthorn in round 12. Captain Marc Murphy couldn’t be considered because of a cheekbone fracture, while big man Sam Rowe was omitted. Into the side came defender Simon White, and utility Chris Yarran – who had served his penance for some well-publicised petulance late in Carlton’s loss to Essendon in round 11. To reinforce the lesson, Blues coach Mick Malthouse handed Yarran the substitute’s vest again, with an unspoken message; “this time Chris, do it right.”

Given the conditions - cold and very wet after days of rain throughout the region - a healthy crowd of 25,000 turned up to the SCG for the opening bounce, only to be greeted by another heavy downpour. Playing his 100th game for the Navy Blues, full-back Michael Jamison was handed the daunting task of controlling the Swans boom recruit Joel Tippett, and did well in the opening exchanges.

Carlton opened the scoring with a behind to Kane Lucas (after some clever lead-up play on the boundary line by Andrew Walker) before Sydney’s Jude Bolton snapped the first major of the match after ten hectic minutes. That sparked a run-on by the Swans, and they added three more before the quarter-time siren to seize the initiative. Despite the conditions, the big men of both sides were influential; White, Pyke and Tippett for Sydney, and Henderson and Kreuzer for Carlton.

During the break, the heavens opened further and the ground became a rain-lashed lake. Still, players from both teams continued to throw themselves into the contest and the intensity was compelling. Tippett’s brilliant snap shot across his body from 45 metres out at the 22 minute mark put Sydney 33 points up, before an horrendous umpiring decision - given against Sydney defender Malceski for deliberately rushing a point for Carlton – gifted Josh Bootsma with Carlton’s first goal just a minute or so before the long break. At half-time, Sydney led by 28 points and it was a long road back for the Blues.

However, the rain eased back to steady showers as the second half began, and Carlton came out with real purpose. A desperate kick off the ground by Mitch Robinson was marked by Andrew Walker, and his pass to Armfield brought up a goal after nine intense minutes. Shortly afterwards, Simon White was subbed off with an ankle injury, and Chris Yarran took his place with immediate impact. After snapping a point with his first possession, Chris delivered the final pass in a chain that ended with Bryce Gibbs kicking Carlton’s second goal of the term after 21 minutes. Another major to each side, finished off by a great coast-to-coaster involving Judd, Betts, McLean and Lucas - cut Sydney’s advantage to 13 points at the last break, and Carlton were by no means out of contention.

When Zach Tuohy pounced on the ball and hooked it over his shoulder from a long way out for a sensational goal in the first minute of the last quarter, it got the Blues away to a perfect start. Suddenly, Carlton was only seven points adrift, but as the rain continued to pelt down and fatigue began taking a heavy toll, mistakes and fumbles became ever more costly. A string of near-misses by the Swans during the middle part of the quarter was a portent of things to come, and when their busy half-forward McGlynn brought up full points at the 19 minute mark, Carlton’s resistance finally broke.

The coup de grace was provided by Sydney youngster Tom Mitchell (son of former Swan and Blue Barry Mitchell) who threaded through a neat set-shot from deep in a forward pocket. Misses from Bolton for Sydney and Waite for Carlton were incidental, and the final margin was a true indication of the difference between the two teams.

Sydney won this game in the first quarter, when they kicked four of their eight goals for the match. By then it was painfully obvious that many Carlton players were unable to implement the game plan devised by coach Malthouse, and it was only when the team reverted to the basics of wet-weather football that a few outstanding individuals combined to drag the team back into the contest.

Chiefly responsible were Bryce Gibbs (26 disposals, 8 tackles) Chris Judd (22 disposals, 9 tackles) Lachie Henderson (21 disposals, 9 marks) Andrew Walker (19 disposals, 6 tackles) Kade Simpson (22 disposals, 4 marks) and Matthew Kreuzer (16 disposals, 40 hit-outs). And in his brief cameo late in the game, Chris Yarran went some way to redeeming himself with five possessions and seven tackles.

Subs: Chris Yarran replaced Simon White during the 3rd quarter.

Team

B:	43 Simon White	40 Michael Jamison	23 Lachlan Henderson
HB:	6 Kade Simpson (Acting Captain)	42 Zach Tuohy	1 Andrew Walker
C:	5 Chris Judd	4 Bryce Gibbs	9 Kane Lucas
HF:	19 Eddie Betts	12 Mitch Robinson	38 Jeffery Garlett
F:	41 Levi Casboult	30 Jarrad Waite	14 Brock McLean
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	37 Jaryd Cachia	35 Ed Curnow
Interchange:	21 Josh Bootsma	27 Dennis Armfield	29 Heath Scotland
Substitute:	13 Chris Yarran
Emergencies:	28 Tom Bell	31 Marcus Davies	10 Matthew Watson
Coach:	Mick Malthouse

Milestones

100 Games: Michael Jamison

Brownlow Votes

3. Ryan O'Keefe, Sydney
2. Craig Bird, Sydney
1. Bryce Gibbs, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

Lachie Henderson 8, Kade Simpson 5, Jaryd Cachia 4, Bryce Gibbs 4, Chris Judd 4, Ed Curnow 3, Joshua Bootsma 1, Matthew Kreuzer 1

Footnote

The Carlton team wore black armbands into this match as a mark of respect for the late Corporal Cameron Baird of the 2nd Commando Regiment, who had been fatally wounded during a firefight in the Khod Valley, Afghanistan, on the previous Saturday afternoon. 32 year-old Corporal Baird was the son of Doug Baird, a six-game Carlton player through 1969 and the Premiership year of 1970.
Lest We Forget.

Ladder

Posn	Team	P	W	L	D	For	Ag	U/D	Strk	%	Pts
1	Hawthorn	13	12	1	0	1573	1085	+0	W 12	144.98	48
2	Geelong	13	11	2	0	1474	1144	+0	W 1	128.85	44
3	Essendon	13	10	3	0	1365	1054	+1	W 3	129.51	40
4	Sydney	13	9	3	1	1263	963	+1	W 1	131.15	38
5	Fremantle	13	9	3	1	1101	884	-2	L 1	124.55	38
6	Richmond	13	9	4	0	1321	1062	+0	W 4	124.39	36
7	Port Adelaid	13	8	5	0	1229	1040	+1	W 3	118.17	32
8	Collingwood	13	8	5	0	1203	1148	-1	L 1	104.79	32
9	Carlton	13	6	7	0	1254	1101	+0	L 3	113.90	24
10	West Coast	13	6	7	0	1329	1208	+0	L 2	110.02	24
11	Adelaide	13	6	7	0	1219	1153	+0	W 1	105.72	24
12	North Melbourne	13	5	8	0	1307	1144	+1	W 1	114.25	20
13	Gold Coast	13	5	8	0	1114	1225	-1	L 2	90.94	20
14	Brisbane	13	4	9	0	1017	1368	+0	L 1	74.34	16
15	St Kilda	13	3	10	0	1059	1237	+0	L 1	85.61	12
16	Western Bulldogs	13	3	10	0	1015	1350	+0	L 3	75.19	12
17	Melbourne	13	2	11	0	896	1659	+0	W 1	54.01	8
18	GWS Giants	13	0	13	0	920	1834	+0	L13	50.16	0

---

Round 13 | Round 15