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| Venue: | Engie Stadium, Sydney. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Saturday 6 July 2024 (7.30 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 12 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 11,730 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | H. McKay 5.0, Z. Williams 3.0, M. Kennedy 2.2, P. Cripps 2.0, C. Curnow 1.2, O. Fantasia 1.0, A. Cerra 1.0, B. Acres 1.0, M. Owies 0.1, M. Cottrell 0.1, Rushed 0.2. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Toby Greene (GWS) was reported for striking Brodie Kemp in the third quarter, it was graded as intentional conduct, low impact, body contact. With an early plea he was fined $3750 by the MRO. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Andrew Stephens, Nicholas Brown, Peter Bailes, Martin Rodger. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 2nd. | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Blues succumb to hot Giants
The Blues fall to the Giants by 12 points on the road. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.Carlton has fallen by 12 points to Greater Western Sydney, ending a five-match winning run. The Blues made an outstanding start to proceedings in enemy territory, kicking eight first-quarter goals, but had no answers in the middle portion of the game as the Giants dominated. A late charge by the Blues at one point had them in a position to steal a comeback win against all odds, but they ultimately left themselves too much to do, struggling to contain the Giants’ attacking firepower in the 18.8 (116) to 16.8 (104) defeat. Patrick Cripps again led from the front with 32 disposals and two goals, while Harry McKay recorded his second five-goal haul of the season.
Quarter one
Two of the key talking points coming into the game were the respective roles of taggers Toby Bedford and Alex Cincotta. Bedford went straight to Sam Walsh, while Cincotta spent his time with Stephen Coniglio — and the Blue had a key win early. A holding-the-ball tackle set the ball in motion for a Harry McKay opening goal, and the 2021 Coleman Medallist was the hot hand early, kicking the first three goals for Carlton. Tom De Koning showed the benefits of freshening up last week with a brilliant start, surging the Blues forward from stoppages: Carlton ended the term with eight goals, five of those coming from clearances. Patrick Cripps was a key beneficiary with 11 disposals and a goal, while Zac Williams had quite the homecoming, kicking three first-quarter goals against his old side to match McKay’s return. Nic Newman and Jacob Weitering had crucial one-on-one victories down back, with the Blues holding up well despite conceding a late goal from a turnover. However, the Blues would’ve been wary of the Giants being able to generate attacking opportunities, conceding 14 inside 50s for the term. At the other end, the Blues were efficient going forward on the back of their clearance dominance (18-7), registering 12 scoring shots from 17 inside 50s.
Quarter two
If the first term was well and truly dictated by the Blues, it was clear from the outset the second was on the Giants’ terms. The Blues were unable to arrest any momentum from the home side, with their defence unable to cope with a flurry of inside 50s. Mitch McGovern was off the ground in the early part of the term after receiving treatment during quarter time, while Weitering spent nearly 20 minutes on the bench following a cork in the dying stages of the first quarter. The Blues went from having a contested possession differential of +7 to -5, as the Giants got their running game going and converted off the back of it. Carlton conceded seven goals for the quarter and could only manage seven inside 50s compared to the Giants’ 14, with the home side scoring freely and looking likely with every entry. The Blues had a brief moment of respite in the middle of the term, with Cripps providing an inspirational solo goal and Fantasia nailing an opportunistic snap moments later. The Giants had nine of the top 10 ball-winners for the quarter, as the Blues went from having a 33-point lead to a two-point ascendancy at the main break.
Quarter three
The third term started in a similar manner to the second, with the Giants dominating at the source and scoring off the back of it. The home side had kicked three unanswered goals - leading for the first time in the night in the process - before the Blues could muster a clearance or inside 50, well and truly putting the team on the back foot and get a hold on the game. Jesse Hogan loomed as the danger man, kicking five goals to three-quarter time, as the home side dominated time in possession. Tom De Koning, Ollie Hollands and Sam Walsh were the most prolific Blues of the quarter with five disposals apiece, with one positive for the Blues being the return of Jacob Weitering to the ground. Harry McKay ended what had been a barren run for the Blues, kicking his fourth from a 50-metre penalty to give the Blues a reprieve.
Quarter four
After the form shown in last quarters in recent weeks, the Blues still needed something special if they were to overturn a five-goal deficit at the main break. They weren’t able to get the wheel turning immediately, but the game was back in an arm wrestle — something the Blues hadn’t been able to do throughout the middle two quarters. Eventually, the Blues started to get some positive momentum, with Matthew Kennedy - playing against his old side - providing a target in attack and converting. Despite a Callan Ward goal seemingly putting the game beyond doubt, Carlton rallied and refused to say lay down, at one point drawing within 12 points with minutes still on the clock. Elijah Hollands had more midfield minutes and performed strongly while Cripps (10 disposals) and Walsh (seven disposals) looked to lift their side, but it wasn’t enough, left to rue a middle portion of the game where they had no answers in a 12-point defeat.
Blues need to stay present, says Voss
Michael Voss urged the Blues to keep focused for four quarters after their Round 17 loss. - By Carlton Media.Work to do.
AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss admitted that his side still needs to work on their fallback structures when it comes to momentum swings in games. Conceding that the Blues let themselves down, Voss still acknowledged the fightback that was shown to the final siren. Here's what he had to say.
On the game as a whole:
"It was a game of momentum. For how well we played in the first, we could equally say the opposite for the next two quarters. We were completely dominated in the second and third quarters. It was more ‘how do we turn off the scoreboard?'. Because we just couldn’t get our hands on it for large periods of the second and third quarter. "We certainly felt like that momentum was against us. Not a hell of a lot was working in the things we were trying to adjust because we couldn’t get our hands on it. "That started to change probably in the backend of the third quarter just a little but then in the last quarter, the guys were able to play out really strong and we could’ve got to three-quarter time and say 'it's too hard' but didn’t and we stuck at it. "Maybe a bounce of the ball one way or the other could’ve got that closer. Despite the day not being ours, I'm pleased we were able to play it out right to the end.
On conceding 70 points from stoppages:
"Normally it’s a real strength of ours. Coming in with the way that they’d picked, we thought they were trying to activate a bit of speed, we’ve been able to manage that pretty well over the course of the whole year, not just in recent weeks. "It’s not often we concede 70 points from stoppage. That’s an enormous number, so that’s something we have to look at. Clearly they got territory from that part of the game. The run was one part but when you concede that many points from stoppages, you’re not getting territory and it’s very hard to generate your game from your back half like we were having to do."
On Jacob Weitering's time on the bench:
"He was quite limited in his movement. There were a couple of things we were managing there for a little while, not the right part of the game, unfortunately. They battled along and they’ll pull up okay. In the game itself, it was a bit difficult for them to manage, but they forged on."
On the Giants' forward dominance:
"We probably didn’t support enough. I felt like it’s not too often we look at a scoreboard where we conceded 100 points like that and when you’re getting that clean ball through, your defenders are left one-on-one and you can’t get the support. "We’ve been really good at being able to support one another and I felt like we let our defenders down a little bit, couldn’t get any delay on it and like every defence, that puts you under pressure. "At the end of the day, we weren’t able to play our method for long enough. You don’t expect to have that big a time in a game where you can’t get your method going, where you can’t get your hands on the ball."
On what happened after quarter time:
"We need to stay present. In some ways, you could argue the scoreboard shifted where our focus was. Over a long period of time now, we have a great clarity and feel for when things work for us and when things don’t. "We’ve spent a hell of a lot of time on what our identity looks like and we’ve got enough experience to know what we value and what’s really important to us. "The reality is we drifted away from that and when pressure comes, that’s what we go back to, that’s our fallback point. Unfortunately, that wasn’t strong enough for us and GWS was able to hit the scoreboard as a result and we ended up losing that connection."
On the result:
"What it shows is that this game is extremely hard, and the competition is extremely even. We knew coming up here what kind of challenge GWS would be. "They’re a good footy team and we’re playing on their home venue, so it was always going to be a challenge. We’re trying to become a very consistent football team and that's what we’re still trying to achieve. "I feel like we’ve got some confidence from the public that we can perform and perform when we need to, but we let ourselves down today."
A Giant upset! GWS stuns Blues in boilover
The Giants have climbed back into the top eight with a huge upset win over Carlton. - By Martin Pegan at Engie StadiumGreater Western Sydney has blown away Carlton with a nine-goal blitz then hung on in the dying stages to breathe fresh life into its campaign with a 12-point triumph at Engie Stadium. The Giants trailed the Blues by as much as 39 points in the opening term but in a stunning turnaround then booted 14 of the next 16 goals to set up a 18.8 (116) to 16.8 (104) win on Saturday night. The Blues made a late charge to reduce the margin to two goals with less than four minutes remaining but the Giants were able to hold on to clinch a victory that lifts them back into the top eight.
Jesse Hogan was dominant in the air with five majors and six contested marks, as the Giants brushed off their scoring woes that had seen them score fewer than 80 points in their past eight matches. The Giants spearhead might have had a bigger haul as he passed off some gettable shots before the Blues’ belated fightback, after making the most of lining up against an out-of-sorts Blues defence with Jacob Weitering restricted by a corked thigh. There were few hints of the Giants goal rush that was to come when Harry McKay got the Blues off to a flying start with three majors in the opening 12 minutes of the match.
Former GWS defender Zac Williams then added three goals of his own as the Blues piled on eight majors for the highest-scoring opening term for any side this season. But after the Blues had dominated the clearances 18-7 in the opening term, the Giants got the game back on their own terms as their intense pressure and rapid ball movement flipped the contest. Giants ruck Kieren Briggs (22 disposals, 10 clearances, 40 hitouts) was critical to the change of fortunes after lowering his colours early to Tom De Koning (24, 11, 20), while Tom Green (33 disposals, six clearances, one goal) and Stephen Coniglio (28, six, one) started to win more of the ball at stoppages. Brent Daniels (29, 11 tackles) and Finn Callaghan (24) added a spark and polish for the Giants, while skipper Toby Greene booted two goals when the match was still on the line early. Giants forward-turned-tagger Toby Bedford clamped down on Sam Walsh for much of the match and limited the Blues midfielder to 22 disposals while gathering 16 and booting a goal himself Bedford later moved to run with Patrick Cripps as the Blues skipper threatened to carry his side towards their own comeback with 33 disposals and two goals. Key forward McKay finished with five goals but Charlie Curnow was well held and only found a single goal late in the game as the Blues’ winning streak was snapped at five matches.
Bedford blankets star Blues duo
Toby Bedford has already taken on some of the biggest assignments in the game since moving into a run-with role but is unlikely to have faced two of the best midfielders going around in the one match. The forward-turned-tagger lined up on Sam Walsh from the opening bounce and mostly limited his opponent’s impact while finding enough of the ball and booting a goal himself. Bedford was later sent to Patrick Cripps as the Blues skipper set out to make it a tense finish even while the Giants stopper showed that he can challenge all types of onballers.
Zac sends Giants a reminder from Blues’ attack
Zac Williams broke through as a dashing defender across 113 matches with GWS before heading to Carlton as a free agent at the end of 2020. The 29-year-old had been hit hard by injury in his first two years with his new club, as he had been at times with the Giants, but has been rejuvenated as a high-pressure forward in recent weeks. Williams booted three goals in the first term to send his former club a reminder of his many talents, and now has 14 in seven matches since making the move to add to the Blues’ firepower in attack.
Best: P. Cripps, H. McKay, N. Newman, M. Kennedy, T. De Koning
Team
| B: | 17 Brodie Kemp | 23 Jacob Weitering | 37 Jordan Boyd |
| HB: | 42 Adam Saad | 11 Mitch McGovern | 24 Nic Newman |
| C: | 4 Ollie Hollands | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 13 Blake Acres |
| HF: | 7 Matt Kennedy | 10 Harry McKay | 6 Zac Williams |
| F: | 20 Elijah Hollands | 30 Charlie Curnow | 8 Lachie Fogarty |
| Ruck: | 12 Tom De Koning | 18 Sam Walsh | 5 Adam Cerra |
| Interchange: | 2 Lachlan Cowan | 46 Matt Cottrell | 39 Alex Cincotta |
| 14 Orazio Fantasia | |||
| Substitute: | 44 Matt Owies | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 22 Caleb Marchbank | 27 Marc Pittonet | 29 George Hewett |
In; Tom De Koning, Matt Cottrell
Out: Marc Pittonet (omitted), George Hewett (omitted)
Substitute: Matt Owies (replaced Orazio Fantasia in the fourth quarter)
Interesting Facts
1. Patrick Cripps across the last three weeks, has piled up a total of 77.1 AFL Player Ratings points – Champion Data's most definitive statistic to measure influence on a match – the third-most by any Carlton player across three weeks on record.2. Patrick Cripps over these three weeks also won 39 clearances, breaking Brett Ratten's record of 38 in 1999 as the most by any Carlton player across three matches.
3. Patrick Cripps 114 disposals are the most by any Blues player across three matches on record.
Free Kicks
Carlton 13GWS 9
Front Runners
Oliver Hollands 15.4kmSam Walsh 15.2km
Blake Acres 15.0km
Elijah Hollands 14.8km (BA The Ratings)
AFLCA Votes
10 - Jesse Hogan (GWS)4 - Kieren Briggs (GWS)
4 - Callan Ward (GWS)
4 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
4 - Jack Buckley (GWS)
4 - Brent Daniels (GWS)
Brownlow Votes
3 - Tom Green (GWS)2 - Jesse Hogan (GWS)
1 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
Best and Fairest Votes
Video
Round 16 | Round 18