Round 2, 2014

Carlton 2.4 16 5.5 35 9.8 62 12.14 86 Richmond 6.3 39 10.6 66 12.12 84 14.14 98
Venue:	MCG
Date:	Thursday Night March 27, 2014
Result:	Lost by 12 points
Crowd:	62,037
Goalkickers:	C. Yarran 3, A. Everitt 2, T. Menzel 2, T. Bell, K. Simpson, J. Waite, J. Garlett, B. Gibbs 1.
Reports:
Umpires:	M. Leppard, M. Stevic, S. Stewart.
Injuries:
Ladder:	13th

Game Review

Carlton continued to frustrate the club’s legions of fans, and remained winless in 2014 after falling to Richmond by 12 points on this warm, humid Thursday evening at the MCG. Trailing by more than five goals at half-time, the Navy Blues staged a spirited comeback to draw level late in the final term, but squandered opportunities in front of goal all night proved costly, and ultimately paved the way for defeat.

On the night when Jeff Garlett celebrated game number 100, the Blues went into this contest with four changes to the team that had faded so badly against Port Adelaide the previous week. Andrew Walker’s one-week suspension, and Andrew McInnes’ modest contribution against the Power cost them their places on selection night, replaced by Kane Lucas and Simon White. Then shortly before the first bounce, Matthew Kreuzer and Matthew Watson were withdrawn for Sam Rowe and second-gamer Dylan Buckley. Lucas was nominated as Carlton’s substitute.

This second Thursday night fixture of the season drew just over 62,000 to the MCG, and there was no shortage of noise and atmosphere when the ball was bounced. Former Blue Shaun Hampson won the first tap for the Tigers, and they proceeded to swarm all over the ball (and their opponents) for ten frantic minutes. Four successive majors had them clearly on top, until Tom Bell eventually replied for Carlton with a running bomb from outside 50.

Meanwhile, Lachie Henderson had been shifted back into defence, where two strong marks halted Tiger attacks and the Blues seemed to regain some composure at last. But golden opportunities presented to Bell and Garlett went begging, and although Kade Simpson’s long shot bounced through for the Blues’ second major after 28 minutes, Richmond were comfortably in front by four goals at quarter-time.

The second term began with one of the goals of the year from Tiger Brandon Ellis, who speared through a beauty from the boundary line a right half-forward. Back in attack for Carlton, Henderson was working hard to provide a target, as was Jarrad Waite. Buckley, Simpson, Murphy and Curnow too were busy, but the Tigers were relentless and more composed - despite having their trump midfielder Dustin Martin reported for striking Simon White. Carlton’s inaccuracy became farcical at the 27-minute mark, when ruckman Rob Warnock was given a free kick 30 metres out, dead in front. With Blues fans covering their eyes, Warnock shanked the shot out of bounds, and at the main break, Richmond had increased their advantage to 31 points.

With coach Mick Malthouse’s harsh words ringing in their ears, the Blues lifted their intensity in the third quarter, matching the Tigers goal for goal and chipping away at the deficit. However, more baffling misses – such as Waite’s skewed kick from 20 metres after 23 minutes – didn’t alleviate anxiety levels. Deep into time-on, Carlton was deep in attack when a Tiger defender kicked blindly out a pack. The ball bounced into the arms of full-back Michael Jamison – who had followed his man well upfield – and ‘Jamo’ sensed the opportunity for a rare shot at goal. He let fly from right on the 50-metre arc, and the crowd roared as the Sherrin seemed to be sailing straight between the posts - but it brushed the woodwork at the last moment, and Richmond retained a healthy lead of 23 points with a quarter left to play.

Carlton began their final-quarter assault by substituting Kane Lucas for Brock McLean, and dominating the early exchanges. But the Tiger defence stood tall, and it took seven minutes for the Blues to kick their first goal of the term through David Ellard. Meanwhile, the lost opportunities continued to mount – Garlett and Waite muffed set shots from close in, before Garlett somehow hit the post with a shot on the run from the top of the goal-square.

It was left to Bryce Gibbs to provide the spark at last after 15 minutes, when he beat two Tigers to the ball and stunned the crowd with a brilliant, curling, dribbled goal from deep in the right forward pocket. Suddenly, there was only 7 points between the teams, and Carlton seemed to be finishing better. And when Waite coolly passed to Menzel and the youngster booted Carlton’s twelfth major, there was just a kick in it, and the Tiger Army began to sweat ever more freely.

Richmond did all they could to slow the tempo in the last ten minutes, and made the most of their chances to snatch back the advantage with a scrambled goal in the 24th minute. Waite couldn’t convert two more opportunities – the first with a set shot, the second on the run – and with only a minute left on the clock Richmond were up by six points. It was then that a long kick into Richmond’s attack landed where Carlton’s Zach Tuohy was jostling with Richmond’s Dustin Martin. The ball went to ground, and Martin pounced to burst clear and kick the sealer from 20 metres.

With the Yellow and Black hordes gleefully celebrating around them, Carlton supporters left the MCG with little to be optimistic about. Dylan Buckley could scarcely have been asked for more in only his second senior game, and the Blues were superior in most team stats. But no team can win consistently without a four-quarter effort, and for the umpteenth time over the past decade, this match was lost because of wasted opportunities in front of goal.


Subs: Kane Lucas replaced Brock McLean late in the third quarter (26 minute mark).

Team

B:	17 Sam Rowe	40 Michael Jamison (DVC)	43 Simon White
HB:	7 Dylan Buckley	42 Zach Tuohy	13 Chris Yarran
C:	6 Kade Simpson (VC)	35 Ed Curnow	33 Andrejs Everitt
HF:	38 Jeff Garlett	30 Jarrad Waite	39 Dale Thomas
F:	46 David Ellard	23 Lachlan Henderson	2 Troy Menzel
Ruck:	11 Robert Warnock	4 Bryce Gibbs	3 Marc Murphy (Captain)
Interchange:	12 Mitch Robinson	14 Brock McLean	28 Tom Bell
Substitute:	9 Kane Lucas
Emergencies:	37 Jaryd Cachia	8 Matthew Kreuzer	10 Matthew Watson
Coach:	Mick Malthouse

• Dylan Buckley and Sam Rowe replaced Matthew Kreuzer and Matthew Watson in the selected side

Milestones

Premiership Pain: With this game, Carlton broke our previous record of 414 games played since our last Premiership win. This was game no. 415.
100 Games: Jeffery Garlett
Rising Star Nominees: Dylan Buckley

Brownlow Votes

3. Trent Cotchin, Richmond
2. Dustin Martin, Richmond
1. Marc Murphy, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

Andrejs Everitt 10, Chris Yarran 10, Marc Murphy 8, Ed Curnow 6, Dylan Buckley 5, Michael Jamison 4, Mitch Robinson 2, Kade Simpson 2, Dale Thomas 1,

Ladder

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	For	Agn	Stk	Chg	%	Pts
1	West Coast	2	2	0	0	257	99	2W	U1	259.60	8
2	Fremantle	2	2	0	0	203	85	2W	D1	238.82	8
3	Port Adelaide	2	2	0	0	248	160	2W	U4	155.00	8
4	Geelong	2	2	0	0	212	149	2W	U2	142.28	8
5	Hawthorn	2	2	0	0	229	177	2W	D1	129.38	8
6	St Kilda	2	2	0	0	163	139	2W	U2	117.27	8
7	Essendon	2	1	0	1	185	150	1L	D4	123.33	4
8	GWS Giants	2	1	0	1	187	162	1L	D3	115.43	4
9	Richmond	2	1	0	1	167	173	1W	U1	96.53	4
10	North Melbourne	2	1	0	1	143	153	1W	U6	93.46	4
11	Gold Coast	2	1	0	1	126	156	1L	D2	80.77	4
12	Collingwood	2	1	0	1	135	185	1W	U6	72.97	4
13	Carlton	2	0	0	2	173	218	2L	D1	79.36	0
14	Sydney	2	0	0	2	136	188	2L	-	72.34	0
15	Brisbane Lions	2	0	0	2	159	232	2L	-	68.53	0
16	Adelaide	2	0	0	2	154	247	2L	D3	62.35	0
17	Western Bulldogs	2	0	0	2	123	217	2L	-	56.68	0
18	Melbourne	2	0	0	2	81	191	2L	D7	42.41	0

2014
Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Agst	PA	RI	ES	ME	WB	WC	CO	SK	Bye	AD	BR	GE	HA	GWS	CO	SK	SY	NM	FR	GC	GE	PA	ES
Carlscr	87	86							...
OppScr	120	98							...
W/L	-33	-12							...
Ladder	12	13
%	72.5	79.36

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Round 1 | Round 3