Round 24, 2025
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| Venue: | MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Thursday 21st August, 2025 (7.30 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 34 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 41,150 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | F. Evans 3.0, F. Young 2.0, A. Moir 2.0, H. McKay 1.4, G. Hewett 1.2, Z. Williams 1.0, W. White 1.0, H. O'Keeffe 1.0, J. Motlop 1.0, T. De Koning 0.1, M. Carroll 0.1, B. Acres 0.1, Rushed 0.3. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Alex Whetton, Tom Bryce, Cameron Jones, Nicholas McGinness. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 11th | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
!Blues end season with win over Bombers
Carlton has finished its campaign with a 34-point win over Essendon. - By Jaspar Wilson-Keir.
Carlton has finish its season with back-to-back wins, producing a 34-point win over arch rival Essendon. The Blues led at every change and withstood every Bomber surge in the 13.12 (90) to 8.8 (56) win, in the Blues’ first final round win since 2013. It was a hot first five minutes of footy, with the Blues looking threatening despite early chances going astray. George Hewett came out firing in the first, conjuring up 11 disposals along with four clearances and a goal in the opening term. While the Bombers landed the first blow, it didn’t take long to trigger a response. It the smalls who got busy in the early parts of the quarter, as Jesse Motlop finished on the run from 50 metres to kick Carlton’s opener directly from the centre clearance. Moments later, Will White had his first of the evening, finishing a simple set shot for back-to-back Blues goals, as the Blues took full advantage of their midfield dominance (10-4 clearances) to hold the lead at quarter time. Following the first break, the Blues looked to bolster their lead and did exactly that, with it not taking Harry McKay long to produce a major in the second term after last week’s seven-goal haul. With McKay having a huge impact in the aerial, Hudson O’Keeffe was able to snag his first with a clever finish as the midfield began to take control. Hewett (25 disposals to half time) and Sam Walsh (20) linked up, before a fast play down the wing gave Flynn Young his first look at the big sticks: he obliged to get the Blues their third of the term, taking a five-goal lead into the main break. Coming out of half time, the Bombers came out charging, with Ashton Moir stepping up for his second goal to stem the tide. In the face of adversity, captain Cripps stood up throughout the third with Blake Acres also finding plenty of it, before the lively Francis Evans produced an inspired five minutes of football. A transition through the corridor saw him slot his first of the night with composure, before another centre clearance saw him stand up to produce another. Soon after, he took an intercept mark and produced the assist for a Zac Williams goal. Another strong showing in third gave Carlton a 38-point lead heading into the fourth. Looking to close out their last quarter of football in season 2025, the contest began to tighten up. Jacob Weitering was relentless throughout the term, winning a number of crucial one-on-ones on the way to 10 intercept possessions for the night. Just when the Blues needed a goal, the hot-handed Evans booted his third with another impressive set shot from the boundary, icing the game and ensuring Carlton ended the season on the right note.
!Blues end horror season on a high as Bombers drop 12th straight game
Carlton has finished a disappointing 2025 season with victory over Essendon. - By Gemma Bastiani.
A drama-filled season has ended on a high note for Carlton with a 34-point win over Essendon in an error-laden spectacle at the MCG. The Blues ran out 13.12 (90) to 8.8 (56) winners on a chilly Thursday night to consign the Bombers to a 12th consecutive loss - their worst streak since 2016. Both sides exhibited moments of brilliance, punctuated by skill errors or poor decision making. With every blow Essendon landed, Carlton reciprocated, and the difference early was the Blues' centre clearance work. They created penetrating forward entries from the reset and isolated players in attack. It was simply too easy at times for the likes of George Hewett (36 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal), Sam Walsh (28 disposals, five inside 50s), and Patrick Cripps (28 disposals, five tackles) to link their way out of the middle at speed, suddenly finding themselves in plenty of space. Carlton was particularly proactive in its defensive efforts in the front half, keen to trap the ball in its attacking zone and put Essendon under plenty of pressure. This was evident in the 15-9 tackle count inside 50. It helped the Blues to an impressive spread of nine goalkickers, with the load being shared in lieu of Harry McKay's inaccurate 1.4 for the night. Peter Wright was a rare Bomber who nailed his forward entries. Able to understand exactly what teammates close to goal needed, and also with the skill to execute the kicks, they got dangerous when Wright was sending the ball inside 50. And in game 250, Essendon captain Zach Merrett worked exceptionally hard to generate something – anything – donning a black glove to protect his right hand, which was surgically repaired last week. There was clear desperation from his teammates late in the game to get Merrett an opportunity at goal, but Carlton defender Jacob Weitering wasn't having it. Two quick goals to Essendon to start the third quarter, and the first three of the fourth, added a much-needed spark to the game, but it wasn't without the continued comedy of errors from both teams. Matt Guelfi was the Bombers' most dangerous forward, able to find separation to slot three goals on an otherwise relatively impotent night up forward for the side. Francis Evans' (18 disposals, three goals) impressive month of footy for the Blues continued, offering a neat link across the half-forward line and applying plenty of pressure, while mid-season recruit Flynn Young had some nice moments to finish with two goals from his 19 disposals. Carlton kicked 7.10 (52) from turnovers, plus 19, and generated nine more scoring shots than Essendon from this source. The Blues also converted their clearance dominance into scores from stoppages, kicking 5.2 (32) to the Bombers’ 3.2 (20). The Blues take a comfortable victory, led by George Hewett racking up 36 disposals, with 14 contested possessions and seven clearances — all game-highs. The Blues led inside 50s 57-39, winning the territory battle after dominating clearances 38-27.
Ready to move on? With Carlton's season now over, and Essendon preparing for one last game on Wednesday against Gold Coast, much of the conversation around this Thursday night fixture wasn't about the football itself, rather those who might be wearing different colours come next year. Tom De Koning was playing his 100th career game and potentially last in the navy, Dylan Shiel's time at Essendon seems to be at an end, while a couple of Blues stuck on the sidelines seem destined for post-season moves.
Best: G. Hewett, S. Walsh, J. Weitering, P. Cripps, F. Evans.
!Voss on the final-round win
Michael Voss' post-Round 24 press conference. - By Carlton Media.
On ending the season with consecutive wins: "Really important. I'd imagine in two years' time, we're probably sitting back and we're not necessarily referring back to this backend for the season, nor talking about it, but the choices we made through this period of time are pretty critical. We could have been that club that just gave the season away, probably had a reason too, injuries, external pressure, calls for change. And despite that, the group steadied, and the leaders acknowledged we needed to be better, and as younger players were coming in they wanted to lead the standard. "Our leaders didn't want to rob the experience of younger players coming in and being able to get better, so we had a bit of a choice to make. The choice was to never give up and see the end of the season, and I think that's what we've seen. There's a lot to leverage off that, and that's the Club we want to continue to be known for, because ultimately we're defined by how consistent we are, and obviously we're not consistent enough yet as a footy club. Something we've got to work on, but certainly a lot we can take forward with us going into the pre-season.
On sticking together in the off season: "It can go either way, and it shows that despite it being unsteady and some shaky ground, we chose to stick together. There's been a lot of question marks on the players about their futures and where they're going to be, and despite that, they have stuck together. There's been a lot of question marks around my own role, people around me, and despite that, we've stuck together. I think that says a lot about a football team and a football club that you can do that and stay really present in what is happening and be determined to see out the season in the right way. "I'm really grateful for the team that I've been a part of over this last period of time. We've got some seriously impressive individuals at this Club, and we keep talking about football clubs being built off great people, and we've got a lot of great people. We've had a shaky year, we've obviously clearly been humbled by the year, but we're going to take that information now and put it to work. We'll do that over the coming weeks, we'll talk about the specifics on what that actually looks like. But, if you just step back and zoom out for a second, we went after a few things and there was a lot to achieve out of these last four weeks."
On finishing 11th on the ladder: "The ladder never lies, I'll always say that. The humility piece is we've got our feedback, and the feedback says were six games short (of the top eight). But that's been the season, and such is the quality of the opposition. it also talks to the high level that you need to be able to continue to show up and be. We haven't nailed all that yet, so we've obviously clearly got work to do. Despite the year, I still feel we walk away with so many things that we've come out of the year, I feel like our training environment is the best it's ever been... You want to see those consistent habits and choices that are made over those long periods of time, and we're closer to that. "Really pleased that we've seen the emergence of some younger players. I'm pleased that the leaders were willing to keep driving that standard and not rob them of the experience of being able to improve, and give them the support that they needed to be able to grow their own games, because its pretty tough being out there as a young player and having to try to be the difference, and that's not what we're asking them to be. We just need them to bring the energy and bring a real growth mindset to improve. As a result, the list will be in a healthier position, given the fact that we've invested a bit of time on what that depth might look like. And hopefully, it challenges some of our older players to be able to hold their positions, and that's when you're really going places as a footy team."
On consistency and execution: "Our consistency and execution was up and down the whole year. We had a constant narration of good first halves and poor second halves. That concentration and intensity, it was undulating, and you can't do that against good opposition, especially when you're talking about top eight sides... Many other parts of our game that we've improved from last year to this year, but we've still got to finish inside 50, and that was a constant source of frustration for us right throughout the whole season. We made a difference to the back half of the year, but it just took too long. So, we find ourselves in the position we did chasing the season and trying to chase that improvement, and it's been pretty hard... As a football club, we still haven't become that consistent home and away team that we need to be, and that's what we're going to continue to chase."
Building depth: "(I'm) confident with what we've seen on the emergence of some players, thats why probably Harry O'Farrell going down with the ACL was a bit gut-wrenching. Two of our best young players, in Jagger and Harry, go down with ACL's, you don't see that too often.. We feel like that there's personnel that we can bring through, but we also know that we're going to have to add, it's not just going to come from growth within, we've got to find how we add and how we grow, and what are the parts that we need to go after."
On Francis Evans' recent form: "He's just popped as a player in the second half of the year. He made a couple of little adjustments in his game, and from there, his confidence has just grown. He's got some great attributes, you've seen his finish... He's been in some great form and this game is about earning the right... We've loved his energy and what he's brought to us as a footy team in the back half of this year."
On Sam Walsh's return:
"That says everything about Sam Walsh. He wasn't parking it, he wasn't putting the season to bed. People told us we shouldn't risk it, he wanted to play and that says so much about his leadership. That he wanted to see the season out and he wasn't giving up. When the news came through two weeks ago that he was playing, the lift you could see in the younger players, and even some of the older players, was pretty significant. I think we can underestimate ourselves and the influence we can have just merely by our presence sometimes."
Team
| B: | 42 Adam Saad | 23 Jacob Weitering | 32 Matt Carroll |
| HB: | 2 Lachlan Cowan | 33 Lewis Young | 26 Nick Haynes |
| C: | 18 Sam Walsh | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 4 Oliver Hollands |
| HF: | 6 Zac Williams | 10 Harry McKay | 13 Blake Acres |
| F: | 45 Flynn Young | 12 Tom De Koning | 44 Francis Evans |
| Ruck: | 40 Hudson O'Keeffe | 29 George Hewett | 43 Ashton Moir |
| Interchange: | 35 Billy Wilson | 3 Jesse Motlop | 19 Corey Durdin |
| 38 Will White | |||
| Substitute: | 21 Lucas Camporeale | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 16 Ben Camporeale | 27 Marc Pittonet | 11 Mitch McGovern |
Substitute: Lucas Camporeale (replaced Sam Walsh at three-quarter time).
In: Lucas Camporeale, Will White.
Out: Lachie Fogarty (ankle), Cooper Lord (concussion).
Free Kicks
Carlton 19
Essendon 19
Front Runners
Flynn Young 14.6km
Nick Haynes 14.3km
Milestones
100th and Last Game: Tom De Koning
Last Game (Carlton): Corey Durdin
Rising Star Nominee: Matt Carroll
Interesting Facts
1. Tom De Koning is the first Carlton ruckman to play 100 games since Matthew Kreuzer.
2. Six of the Blues' seven 2025 AFL debutants played tonight, the only one to miss was the injured Harry O'Farrell.
3. Flynn Young (2 goals) equalled his career best goals in a game.
AFLCA Votes
9 - Jacob Weitering (CARL)
9 - George Hewett (CARL)
6 - Francis Evans (CARL)
2 - Mason Redman (ESS)
2 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
1 - Blake Acres (CARL)
1 - Jesse Motlop (CARL)
Brownlow Votes
3 - Patrick Cripps (CARL) 2 - Sam Walsh (CARL) 1 - Harry McKay (CARL)
