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| Venue: | Football Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | 2.40 pm, Saturday, 17 April 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 48 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 38,321 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | J. Garlett, R. Houlihan, C.Yarran (3), K.Simpson (2), E. Betts, L. Henderson, C. Judd, S. O'hAilpin, H. Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | M. Avon, J. Mollison, S.Wenn | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 7th | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Apparently a week’s a long time in football. After the debacle that was round three the Blues turned things around in round four. In the process they ended one of their longer standing losing streaks by defeating Adelaide in Adelaide for the first time since 2004. The eight goal victory was somewhat flattering to the Blues. Half way through the final term the margin had narrowed to 25 points, but Adelaide squandered several opportunities to close the gap further before Carlton eventually steadied to kick the final four goals of the match.When the teams hit the newsstands late on Thursday afternoon there were shocks aplenty. In response to the insipid loss against Essendon the Carlton selectors had omitted a couple of favourite pieces of furniture, Bret Thornton and Jarrad Waite. Thornton had been sadly out of form in the previous two outings, while Waite had looked a little lost as he attempted to find his feet on return from a long, knee-related absence. The hip that Brock McLean injured early against the Bombers didn’t come up and he too was left out. In came live-wire-whippet Jeffery Garlett for his first run in 2010 and joining him was Western Australian rookie-lister Simon White (rookie draft pick 56) making his debut in the big time after being promoted to the senior list during the week. Oh, and they also named Chris Judd. The collective sigh of relief from Blues’ supporters everywhere was palpable.
The Blues came out with guns blazing as they blasted three goals in the first six minutes of the match. When the smoke cleared it was Chris Yarran holding the gun. Two electrifying goals, one off each foot, gave the fans a taste of the sublime skills he possesses and reminded us all why he was so highly rated when taken at pick 6 in the draft at the end of 2008. Chris Judd calmed any first-game-back-nerves he may have had with a goal from straight in front after a free kick.
The game settled into some sort of rhythm after the frenetic opening by the Blues as each team added two goals in the remainder of the first term, but for all the Blues’ early domination the two goal quarter time lead didn’t seem fitting. That said, it could’ve been closer had the Crows finished their numerous chances with a little more polish. Their seven behinds just a taste of what was to come.
Chris Yarran started the second just as he had the first with a goal soon after the resumption. In addition to his three goals, Yarran’s hard chasing and tackling were commendable and are fast becoming his trademarks. When combined with Eddie Betts and Jeffery Garlett the Blues have a lightning quick trio of small forwards, all capable and willing to chase, pressure and tackle. Another five goal quarter saw the Blues take charge of the game during the second and the lead had extended to 37 points by the main break.
The third term was an old fashioned grind. Not pretty to watch and but for continued poor finishing, Adelaide could have bridged the gap considerably. As it was, their 1.6 for the term was matched by Carlton’s 2.1 and the lead was virtually unchanged at three quarter time. Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson were leading the Carlton midfield admirably with plenty of hard running and clean, efficient disposal as well as a few goals between them. Andrew Walker was having his best game in quite some time running off half back and would end up the Blues leading possession winner on the day.
When Adelaide kicked the first two majors of the final stanza and then proceeded to pepper the goals for the next ten minutes, a less faithful Carlton fan may have been more than just a little nervous. All it took was a five minute burst from the Blues to snuff out the faint glimmer of hope the Crows had. The snuffing out, like a cool change on a 40 degree stinker, took a bit longer than most would’ve liked to arrive. The steadier came from old hand Ryan Houlihan with a calmly slotted set shot goal at the 18 minute mark. That got the party started as three more followed in quick succession (Garlett, Houlihan again and Henderson). The Adelaide hoodoo was broken.
Chris Judd made a welcome return with 30 disposals, 15 or half of those being contested, along with 9 tackles, 6 clearances, 7 inside 50s and a goal. He would earn the 3 Brownlow votes as well as topping the Best & Fairest Votes for Best on Ground. Ryan Houlihan was given the defensive forward job on Crows captain Simon Goodwin and not only restricted him to just 4 kicks but collected 21 possessions, kicked 3 goals, had 4 inside 50s, and 4 assists (involved in 7 goals), earning the second most Best & Fairest Votes.
Honourable mentions must go to newcomers Simon White and Kane Lucas. White’s debut wasn’t flashy and, though Brett Burton gave him a bit of grief early, he appeared to adjust to the pace of the game well and looked comfortable at the level. Kane Lucas was among the better players in just his second hit out. Clean disposal, good pace and a solid engine combine for a pretty neat package. As they say “I think we might have found one there.”
The Blues were 2-2 after this victory, which probably gave them a pass for the first month of the season. The month ahead was bound to give a much better indication of where the team was headed in 2010.
Team
| B: | 27 Dennis Armfield | 40 Michael Jamison | 43 Simon White |
| HB: | 2 Jordan Russell | 4 Bryce Gibbs | 1 Andrew Walker |
| C: | 6 Kade Simpson | 5 Chris Judd (c) | 29 Heath Scotland |
| HF: | 13 Chris Yarran | 33 Ryan Houlihan | 38 Jeffery Garlett |
| F: | 17 Setanta O'hAilpin | 23 Lachlan Henderson | 19 Eddie Betts |
| Ruck: | 8 Matthew Kreuzer | 45 Aaron Joseph | 3 Marc Murphy |
| Interchange: | 11 Robert Warnock | 12 Mitch Robinson | 24 Kane Lucas |
| 44 Andrew Carrazzo | |||
| Coach: | Brett Ratten | ||
| Emg: | 26 Joe Anderson, 10 Richard Hadley, 34 Simon Wiggins | ||
Milestones
Debut : Simon WhiteGuernsey Records : Michael Jamison set a new benchmark in guernsey 40, overhauling Jim Plunkett's previous record of 37 games.
Losing Streaks: With this win, Carlton ended a 6-year drought against Adelaide on their home turf, stretching back to ((Round 11, 2004|round 11, 2004.
Brownlow Votes
3. Chris Judd, Carlton2. Kade Simpson, Carlton
1. Matthew Kreuzer, Carlton
Best & Fairest Votes
40 Chris Judd, 38 Ryan Houlihan, 36 Andrew Walker, 26 Kade Simpson, 25 Marc Murphy, 23 Michael Jamison, 21 Matthew Kreuzer, 18 Bryce Gibbs, 11 Aaron Joseph, 10 Eddie Betts, 6 Lachlan Henderson, Kane Lucas, Jordan RussellLadder
| . | . | P | W | D | L | F | A | % | Pts |
| 1 | St Kilda | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 416 | 261 | 159.39 | 16 |
| 2 | Brisbane Lions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 430 | 330 | 130.30 | 16 |
| 3 | Sydney | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 417 | 287 | 145.30 | 12 |
| 4 | Geelong | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 502 | 374 | 134.22 | 12 |
| 5 | Fremantle | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 449 | 357 | 125.77 | 12 |
| 6 | Collingwood | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 379 | 306 | 123.86 | 12 |
| 7 | Carlton | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 386 | 321 | 120.25 | 8 |
| 8 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 392 | 362 | 108.29 | 8 |
| 9 | Melbourne | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 336 | 322 | 104.35 | 8 |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 330 | 435 | 75.86 | 8 |
| 11 | Hawthorn | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 351 | 384 | 91.41 | 4 |
| 12 | West Coast | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 360 | 397 | 90.68 | 4 |
| 13 | Essendon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 336 | 414 | 81.16 | 4 |
| 14 | North Melbourne | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 297 | 430 | 69.07 | 4 |
| 15 | Adelaide | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 233 | 396 | 58.84 | 0 |
| 16 | Richmond | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 246 | 484 | 50.83 | 0 |
Round 3 | Round 5