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Venue: MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: Sun 17 July 2005 | Result: 35 point loss | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: Donlon, Davis, Schmitt | Crowd: 16,076 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: Fisher, Simpson 3, McGrath, Longmuir, Waite 2, Scotland, Prendergast, Koutoufides, Stevens, Bryan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: Nil | Injuries: Thornton (calf) | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
The press had forecast an empty MCG for the game between last placed Carlton and perennial disappointments Fremantle. The Dockers had fallen well outside of the top 8 and little did people realise that they were on the cusp of putting together a late season resurgence to challenge the top 8, but consistent with the luck of the Blues in 2005 (ex-injuries, in which we were very fortunate), we would not only face them as they hit some form but whilst they were kicking freakily skilled goals to maintain a significant margin against us during the game.The one star that the Dockers truly have is Matthew Pavlich, and he was partnered with Luke McPharlin in the goal square as the Dockers went all out to win. Carlton, with the defence priving a problem in 2005, attempted to match these two up with normal wingman and spare ruckman Ian Prendergast and Luke Livingston respectively, in a real compeition for these two. In midfield, Andrew Carrazzo moved from defence to take on Haselby, whilst Kouta, Stevens and Camporeale all started around the centre.
The Pavlich star shone brightly in the first quarter, with 4 goals from as many kicks. The Dockers midfield was earning a lot of contested possession and in the ruck Longmuir (Justin) was well on top of first year Blue Chris Bryan. The move was made and Prendergast was taken off Pavlich to start a steady succession of players who would take Pavlich, including forward Waite. To be fair to Prenders, some of these goals were fantastic, others were just from straight marks in front of goal. The second quarter was no better for Carlton, with the Dockers kicking 6 goals straight to increase the margin to 35 points. The Blues looked good in possession, with Heath Scotland having a day out on the wing and Scott Camporeale earning the ball with his customary ease, but could not get close. The one significant plus for the Blues despite the margin was returning forward Brad Fisher, with two to the half.
The Pavlich show continued in the second half, with Fevola moved from a barren game at full forward to take on the big man. All the while Livingston had beaten McPharlin, keeping him to a single goal all game, but he was not tried on the rampant Pavlich.
As hard as it sounds, a run of goals early in the last quarter brought the Blues within 3 goals, as Anthony Koutoufides and Scotland remained prominent (Kouta kicked 2.3). But the Dockers would pull away and take the game by about 6 goals. Carlton would again rue missed shots at goal, and at the end of the day both teams would have 32 scoring shots and again highlight our bad kicking for goal throughout the season.
Fisher remained one of the best, with 22 possessions, 10 marks and 3 goals 3 in a welcome return from a knee reconstruction. Kade Simpson with 3 goals would show some dash and real skill from the wing, with Kouta, Stevens and Scotland the best in midfield. Carrazzo would out-point Hasleby with 25 possessions.
Pavlich would end with 9, highlighting our lack of a real star defender against the power forwards of the competition. Until someone can break even with Pavlich, Hall and Gehrig, the Blues are likely to continue to struggle. In addition, relative unknowns Crowley and Peake would kick 6 against us with relative ease from the midfield.
Team
| B: | 32 Bret Thornton | 4 Luke Livingston | 15 David Teague |
| HB: | 1 Andrew Walker | 28 Ian Prendergast | 12 Matthew Lappin |
| C: | 6 Kade Simpson | 44 Andrew Carrazzo | 29 Heath Scotland |
| HF: | 30 Jarrad Waite | 8 Lance Whitnall | 16 Scott Camporeale (vc) |
| F: | 21 Troy Longmuir | 25 Brendan Fevola | 19 Eddie Betts |
| Ruck: | 27 Chris Bryan | 43 Anthony Koutoufides (c) | 24 Nick Stevens |
| Interchange: | |||
| 10 Brett Johnson, 20 Cory McGrath, 18 Glen Bowyer, 14 Brad Fisher | |||
| Coach: | Denis Pagan | ||
| Emg: | Ryan Houlihan | Jordan Russell | Trent Sporn |
| In: | Eddie Betts, Brad Fisher | ||
| Out: | Ryan Houlihan, Jordan Russell | ||
Milestones
300 Games as AFL Coach: Denis PaganLast game: Glen Bowyer and Brett Johnson
Score Records: This was a record score for Fremantle against Carlton, but was surpassed in Round 13, 2007 when Fremantle would kick 27.11.173 to thrash the Blues
Brownlow Votes
3: Matthew Pavlich (FRE)2: Josh Carr (FRE)
1: Anthony Koutoufides (CARL)
Best & Fairest Votes
Heath Scotland (41), Brad Fisher (39), Lance Whitnall (36), Scott Camporeale (35), Anthony Koutoufides (34), Kade Simpson (31), Andrew Carrazzo (28), Luke Livingston, David Teague, Jarrad Waite (24), Cory McGrath (4)Round 15 | Round 17