| Venue: Waverley Park | Date: Saturday September 12, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Win by 15 points | Umpires: Clayton, Sawers | Crowd: 64,333 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: S.Kernahan (3), B.Evans (2), K.Hunter, W.Johnston, J.Madden, W.McKenzie, M.Naley, P.Sartori | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: M.Naley, C.Bradley, S.Kernahan, S.Silvagni, T.Alvin, W.Johnston, K.Hunter. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: Bernie Evans (Striking Greg Dear) - 1 match | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: P.Sartori - hamstring; J.Dunstall (Hawthorn) - ankle (both players were to miss playing in the Grand Final due to these injuries). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
After trailing Hawthorn for the first three quarters, the Blues over-ran their tiring nemesis in the last term to record a telling 15-point victory. Despite having more scoring shots in the first half, Carlton seemed in deep trouble when Hawthorn kicked three quick goals to lead by 33 points at the ten minute mark of the third term.From that point on however, the game changed. Carlton's work-rate lifted as the Hawks began to tire. The Blues' accuracy in front of goal returned, and they surged to within 9 points of Hawthorn at three-quarter time. During this quarter Hawthorn's full forward Jason Dunstall succumbed to an ankle injury that ended his season.
Two passages of play in the last quarter defined the way the Blues played for the day. On both occasions, Craig Bradley, with his gut-busting run through the midfield, broke the lines and kicked cleanly to a Kernahan-Langford contest. With the luxury of being one-out, Kernahan outmarked Langford both times and goaled at main scoreboard end of the ground. From then on, the last quarter was a procession as Carlton piled on the pressure, kicking five goals to one and winning comfortably.
This impressive win sent the Blues straight into the Grand Final in a fortnight's time, although sadly for Bernie Evans he copped a one match suspension and was ruled out of the big day.
Equally as sad for the Blues was the loss of Peter Sartori with a hamstring injury. Sartori kicked one goal on the day, and set up two superb goals with skilful palming of the ball to Johnston and Naley. The Johnston goal was a clever flip over the back of the pack to the Dominator, who goaled with a right foot snap. In the following quarter at the main scoreboard end, Sartori deftly palmed the ball to Naley in heavy traffic, and his clever snap brought up another telling goal. Both of those scores were the direct result of clever ruckwork by the big West Australian, and showed that it was a much-underrated component of his game.
The Carlton-Hawthorn second semi-final was a bit like 1982 revisited, especially after half-time, when Wayne Johnston went into the centre. The Dominator lifted the Blues by constantly clearing the ball out of the middle. In the third quarter when he kicked a long goal and ran back punching the air, five years suddenly fell away. That's not long in the course of history but Johnno has jammed two lifetimes into that period. He has had his past flash before his eyes in hospital. and with more than his share of luck, he's gone from blocked drains and broken tap washers to million-dollar deals in smoked-glass city offices. If the world is Wayne's oyster, he's the type of player who finds a pearl - particularly in September. - Coodabeen Champions; Inside Football
''We'll just keep the champers on ice
What a day for the mighty Bluebaggers! To set the pattern for things to come, the reserves stormed away with the first semi and look set to win the flag again this year from the elimination final. Then the super side burst through the banner and despite the fact that popular opinion pointed to a Hawthorn victory, my Blues ran away with one of the most conclusive of all victories. Dead-set, they may as well finish the season now. If Melbourne wasn't still playing I reckon they would. That is the only interest left. Last Saturday belonged to us. After Hawthorn blitzed the Swans, people were saying they would do the same to us. What do they take this Carlton side for? Players like Stephen Kernahan cannot be kept out of a game for the full 120 minutes. To Langford's credit he did a fair job on our skipper but it was Kernahan, with two brilliant goals who kept the Carlton machine running. Apart from his efforts, Mark Naley showed who the best rover from SA really is. All the talk about that "rat" from Hawthorn has shielded "Nails" from the public eye, but that State game performance was just a sign of things to come. Speaking of South Australians, how good is Craig Bradley? This year, "Braddles" seems to have been able to shake taggers and he has been a consistently brilliant player. I could go on. Steve Silvagni was magnificent, Tommy Alvin superb, Justin Madden unbeatable, Kenny Hunter unbelievable, Johnno sensational..... the list of super players goes on and on. Even the likes of Shane Robertson and Adrian Gleeson have become champions. Can you imagine how much bigger their reputation will become after they blitz whoever in the big one? That dream is only one step away now. All Blues supporters will just have to put the champagne on ice, sit back and be patient. - Carl Toner; Inside Football. ''
One of the unsung stars in Carlton's second consecutive Grand Final appearance is dual premiership winger David Glascott. Glascott's unselfish contributions this year - he's often sacrificed his own free-running game to control opposing stars - may have gone unrecognised by many, but not by Blues coach Robert Walls or the Carlton match committee. Last weekend he restricted Hawk captain Michael Tuck to just half a dozen possessions in the second half. Unlike some taggers, Glascott insists on trying to br creative when his team has the ball. He makes space and provides options around the centre as the Blues look to rocket the ball quickly to skipper Stephen Kernahan or veteran Ken Hunter. - Ken Piesse; Inside Football.
Team
| B: | 31 Tom Alvin | 1 Stephen Silvagni | 26 David Rhys-Jones |
| HB: | 22 Ian Aitken | 6 Jon Dorotich | 35 Peter Dean |
| C: | 38 Shane Robertson | 21 Craig Bradley | 32 David Glascott |
| HF: | 7 Wayne Johnston | 4 Stephen Kernahan (c) | 3 Richard Dennis |
| F: | 18 Peter Sartori | 9 Ken Hunter | 12 Adrian Gleeson |
| Ruck: | 44 Justin Madden (vc) | 43 Mick Kennedy | 17 Mark Naley |
| Interchange: | 15 Bernie Evans | 45 Warren McKenzie | |
| Coach: | Robert Walls | ||
Round 22 | The Grand Final