Game Review

Carlton won by 22 points and Stephen Kernahan did not score a goal. This was his 34th Carlton match and was the third time that he hadn't scored a goal for Carlton and the first since he was captain.

Hey umpires, give us a bloody go!
I'm getting a little sick and tired of having to watch our boys go out on to the ground every Saturday and get their heads punched in and receive nothing from the umpires. I dont want to whinge, but the fallacy that Carlton is suspect under pressure, is exactly that, a fallacy. For years opposition sides have held the belief that if you throw a few punches Carlton will wilt. That is no longer the case. There is a toughness in the Carlton side this year that was missing last year. It was evident after half-time against Fitzroy. With the "babies" fighting for their spot in the side, Fitzroy was looking good with a winning forward line and a tight defence. Carlton seemed to have no answer to Osborne and we can thank our lucky stars that Barwick kicked so poorly. I honestly thought that we were playing too badly to get back into the game. Thankfully I was wrong. Skipper Steve Kernahan blitzed them after the long break. He had been breaking even with Roos, but Parkin thought that Roos would be more value on the forward line. That was the end of the show. Kernahan dominated and brought Carlton back into the game. Once he got on top, and with Madden starring, the little blokes began to dominate and the rest is history. Saturday proved to me that our mob is serious. They have a bunch of hard workers who are not afraid to get the hard ball and realise the importance of defensive football. As usual, we are the best rebounding side in the league, even better than Hawthorn. Alvin, Meldrum, Glascott and Bradley are opportunists in the true sense of the word, and in the twinkling of an eye can have the ball moved from one end of the ground to the other. Before we can start popping the corks, we need to look no further than this Saturday against the Bears the second least skilled side in the league, whose venture to Princes Park is a visit they certainly will regret. - Carl Toner Inside Football.

Blues prove too good
It was a great effort by Carlton in defeating Fitzroy in round nine, especially as the Blues had to kick against the wind and hold a two-point three-quarter time advantage for the last 30 minutes. The Blues used the ball well and are very skilled. Fitzroy put a lot of pressure on them but Carlton proved too good. One of their motivators is skipper Stephen Kernahan. Some thought Kernahan wasn't as aggressive as he should have been last year, but he was probably still getting used to the pace of League football. He's a dead set key for Carlton. Anyone who can take contested marks close to goal and kick as well as him (despite his straight points last weekend) is going to be invaluable come September. - Tony Shaw Inside Football.

Carlton holds out the Roys.
Carlton held out a determined Fitzroy at Princes Park to win by 22 points, however the lead changed many times during the course of the match. For the second week in a row, Jon Dorotich suffered an injury to his head and took virtually no part in the game for three quarters. David Glascott was the Blues best player with 25 disposals and Wayne Johnston gathered 21 kicks. Captain Stephen Kernahan had his bad kicking boots on as he kicked six behinds - his influence on the game was still quite considerable though as he had 13 kicks, 11 marks and seven handballs. It was also surprising to see 82 free kicks given for the game - almost double the average of frees for this year. - Footy Week.

Team

Brownlow Votes

3: Justin Madden (CARL)
2: Richard Osborne (FITZ)
1: Shane Robertson (CARL)