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| Venue: | Wellington Stadium, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Saturday afternoon, April 25, 2015. 1.10pm. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 40 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 12,125 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | Carlton: L. Henderson 5, T. Bell 4, B. Gibbs 2, A. Everitt 2, L. Jones, D. Ellard, P. Cripps, Z. Tuohy, D. Armfield 1. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | C. Donlon, B. Ryan, A. Stephens | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Tutt (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Dick, Ellard (nose), Buckley (corked thigh) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 14th | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
On the 100th anniversary of Anzac Day, in Carlton’s first-ever overseas game for Premiership points, the Blues overwhelmed St Kilda by 40 points in Wellington, New Zealand, and got their shaky season back on the rails. Trailing by more than four goals at quarter time, and still behind at the long break, Carlton took almost complete control in the second half, inspired by their captain Marc Murphy, emerging midfielder Pat Cripps, and key forward Lachie Henderson.Voted Best on Ground, Murphy and awarded the inaugural Crowl-McDonald Medal, honouring former players Claude Crowl (St. Kilda) and Fen McDonald (Carlton) who made their League debut in the same match in Round 15, 1911 at Princes Park. Both were killed in action on the first day of the landing at Gallipoli four years later. It was also a monumental day for Carlton coach Mick Malthouse, who equalled the VFL/AFL coaching record of Collingwood’s legendary Jock Mc Hale in his 714th game. And topping off a satisfying weekend for the Blues, Cripps was nominated as the Rising Star of the round.
Both St Kilda and Carlton came into this contest weakened by injury and without a win. Three changes to the Blues side destroyed by Essendon the previous week saw Dylan Buckley, Jason Tutt and first-gamer Blaine Boekhorst included for the injured duo Chris Judd and Ciaran Byrne, as well as the suspended Chris Yarran. On the morning of the match however, Tutt pulled out, and another debutante in Matthew Dick was called in.
A cool, blustery day in the Windy City saw a disappointingly-small crowd of just over 12,000 turn up to see St Kilda bounce out of the blocks and adapt to the conditions much better than Carlton in the first quarter. The Saints kicked five of the six major scores of the term, leaving Carlton supporters with a real sense of foreboding. But from then on, the Bluebaggers exerted their authority in the midfield, where Murphy, Cripps and Bryce Gibbs began ruling the stoppages.
Halfway through the third term, Tom Bell kicked two goals in ninety seconds to cut Carlton’s deficit to just two points. The Blues swept forward again from the centre bounce, and Andrejs Everitt pounced on the ball in the goal-square to put his team in front for the first time. Next, Cripps took a strong contested mark and converted from close in at the 25-minute mark. It was the youngster’s first career goal, and there was jubilation as Carlton’s confidence soared to new heights.
At three-quarter time, the Blues were in front by 13 points, but it felt like more. In the ruck, Cameron Wood and Levi Casboult had had their hands full with the Saints’ emerging star Billy Longer, but both had won enough contests to ensure that Murphy (who was under a heavy tag) and Cripps retained their dominance. Bell kicked another two goals in the first 14 minutes of the quarter, then Henderson put the issue beyond doubt with two more as the time clock ticked over into the final few minutes. Still, Carlton kept their foot on the throttle, and further time-on goals to Zach Tuohy and Dennis Armfield provided a welcome boost to the Blues’ poor percentage.
Victorious captain Marc Murphy finished the game with the exceptional statistics of 34 possessions (24 contested) 10 clearances and 6 inside-50 entries. Pat Cripps was equally as good with 33 disposals (23 contested) 11 tackles and 8 clearances - making his Rising Star nomination automatic. Lachie Henderson's aerial strength and anticipation was rewarded by a 5-goal haul, and Tom Bell continued his good form up forward to kick another four.
Team
| B: | 7 Dylan Buckley | 40 Michael Jamison (VC) | 17 Sam Rowe |
| HB: | 15 Sam Docherty | 42 Zach Tuohy | 6 Kade Simpson |
| C: | Marc Murphy (Captain) | 44 Andrew Carrazzo | 33 Andrejs Everitt |
| HF: | 46 David Ellard | 41 Levi Casboult | 27 Dennis Armfield |
| F: | 28 Tom Bell | 14 Liam Jones | 23 Lachie Henderson |
| Ruck: | 36 Cameron Wood | 4 Bryce Gibbs (VC) | 35 Ed Curnow |
| Interchange: | 1 Andrew Walker | 9 Patrick Cripps | 12 Blaine Boekhorst |
| Substitute: | 31 Matthew Dick | ||
| Emergencies: | 18 Kristian Jaksch | 22 Jason Tutt | 32 Nick Graham |
| Coach: | Mick Malthouse | ||
Changes
In : Dylan Buckley, Jason Tutt, Blaine Boekhorst.Out : Chris Judd, Ciaran Byrne, Chris Yarran.
Late Changes
Jason Tutt replaced Chris Judd in the travelling squad.Matthew Dick replaced Jason Tutt in the selected side.
Nick Graham replaced Mark Whiley in the selected squad.
Subs: Matthew Dick replaced Michael Jamison during the third quarter.
Milestones
Debuts: Blaine Boekhorst, Matthew DickRising Star Nominees: Patrick Cripps
100 Games (AFL): Andrejs Everitt
50 Goals (AFL): Andrejs Everitt
First Goal: Patrick Cripps
50 Games as Carlton Coach: Mick Malthouse.
Coaching Records: Mick Malthouse equalled Jock McHale's coaching record of 714 games in this match.
ANZAC Day Footnote: The last three times Carlton had played on Anzac Day (April 25), all had been against St. Kilda with the Blues winning each time. The previous two matches were held in Round 6, 1992 and Round 5, 1993.
Interesting Fact: This was Carlton's first-ever game for premiership points played overseas, and the third ever VFL/AFL game played outside Australia for premiership points. All were played at Wellington and involved St. Kilda. The first was in 2013 when Sydney won (current Carlton player Andrejs Everitt played in that match) and the second was in 2014 when Brisbane won. Note of course that Carlton has played Exhibition Games overseas before, most recently in South Africa.
Interesting Fact: Located just 3.5 km south of the Westpac Stadium in Wellington is the Basin Reserve, which in 1879 was the site of the first game of football to be held under electric light in the Southern Hemisphere. That game - on Friday night, May 30, 1879 was a game of Australian Football. See the Blueseum's 1879 page for further details.
Winning streaks: This was Carlton's fourth in succession against St Kilda, but our last for some 4 years
Winning margins: This would be our last win by 40 or more points until Season 2019!
Brownlow Votes
3. Marc Murphy, Carlton2. Zach Tuohy, Carlton
1. Lachie Henderson, Carlton
Best & Fairest Votes
Patrick Cripps 10, Zach Tuohy 10, Lachie Henderson 9, Marc Murphy 8, Tom Bell 6, Dennis Armfield 5, Ed Curnow 5, Andrejs Everitt 5, Kade Simpson 5, Sam Docherty 4, Andrew Walker 3, Cameron Wood 3, David Ellard 1, Bryce Gibbs 1Video
Round 3 | Round 5