Carlton 3.1 19 5.2 32 6.6 42 8.7 55 Adelaide Crows 2.4 16 5.6 36 8.9 57 12.12 84
Venue:	Adelaide Oval, SA.
Date:	Saturday 30th July, 2022 (7.30 pm).
Result:	Lost by 29 points.
Crowd:	35,666
Goalkickers:	C. Curnow 2.1, M. Cottrell 2.0, H. McKay 1.1, J. Motlop 1.1, M. Owies 1.1, J. Silvagni 1.0, Z. Fisher 0.1, S. Walsh 0.1, Rushed 0.1.
Reports:	Nil.
Umpires:	Leigh Fisher, Craig Fleer, Nic McGinness.
Injuries:	C. Durdin (shoulder), C. Newman (knee), M. Kennedy (head).
Ladder:	7th.

Game Review

Loss, injuries give Blues' top-four chances a Crow blow

Carlton overwhelmed by Adelaide and finish with just two men on the bench - By Ben Somerford

Carlton has spurned a golden opportunity to all but secure a maiden finals berth since 2013 after going down by 29 points to Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday evening. Taylor Walker was heroic with three goals, as was Ben Keays, playing a forward negating role on Adam Saad and also booting three majors and setting up several others as Adelaide claimed the upset win 12.12 (84) to 8.7 (55). Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps was at his brilliant best with 41 disposals including a game-high 21 contested possessions and 13 clearances, along with Sam Walsh who had 40 touches, but they couldn’t will their side over the line. The Blues weren’t helped by injuries, losing Corey Durdin (shoulder), Nic Newman (knee) and Matthew Kennedy (concussion), in a major worry ahead of their round 21 clash away to top four contenders Brisbane.

Adelaide won contested possessions 155-141 while Carlton's star key forwards Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow were kept relatively quiet with three goals between them, with Crows defenders Jordon Butts and second gamer Josh Worrell among their best. The result leaves Carlton, who still have never won at Adelaide Oval, in seventh place with a 12-7 record, while it snaps 15th-placed Adelaide's four-game losing run. Rory Laird continued his remarkable form with 32 disposals and 12 tackles, and dashing defender Brodie Smith had 37 disposals for a game-high 1,019 metres gained.The Crows had led by 15 points at the final change and were pushed with Matt Cottrell kicking two goals, before emerging key forward Darcy Fogarty booted the sealer, brushing off three tackles and nailing a classy right-foot snap.

Adelaide started strong around the contest, grabbing the first goal from Walker, but the Blues hit back with the next three in the first term, including two from Curnow, to grab an early advantage. The hosts responded with the next four goals either side of quarter-time with Fogarty slotting from the boundary after a fine mark over Mitch McGovern, but majors from Jesse Motlop and McKay narrowed the gap to four points at half-time. Keays kicked two of Adelaide's three goals in the third term to establish a 15-point buffer going into the last, before a four-goal final term clinched the win headlined by Fogarty's moment brushing aside Lachie Plowman, Lochie O'Brien and Adam Cerra and kicking truly on the turn.

Demoted Silvagni gets his chance
Jack Silvagni's omission from the Carlton side this week was met with shock among the majority of Blues supporters, squeezed out upon Marc Pittonet's return to lead the ruck. The utility was named as medi sub and was injected into the action late in the first half after Durdin was subbed out. Silvagni made an impact with 13 touches, including a key goal midway through the third quarter. It remains to be seen if he can win back his place in the 22, especially with others like George Hewett, Jack Martin and Zac Williams also to come back, although Carlton's newest injuries may open up spots.

More score review frustration
The flaws of the AFL Review Centre (ARC) were shown again when Wayne Milera appeared to deftly soccer a goal over the onrushing Newman in the first quarter. However, it wouldn’t stand as the goal umpire's call was touched prior to the review which proved inconclusive, despite appearing to miss Newman's hand or fingers. Arguably the ball could have brushed Newman's shoulder or head but the contact appeared minor. The goal umpire, who was right on the spot, had the best view but inconclusive reviews remain a point of frustration.

Best: P. Cripps, S. Walsh, A. Cerra, M. McGovern, M. Kennedy, C.Curnow.

Blues fall at Adelaide Oval

Carlton has fallen by 29 points in its Round 20 clash with Adelaide. - By Rose Zarucky, Carlton Media.

Carlton has fallen by 29 points in its Round 20 clash with Adelaide. It was a disappointing night at Adelaide Oval from a Blues perspective, who failed to get the game on their terms over four quarters. Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh battled hard in the middle, but the Blues struggled to get a foothold in the game in the five-goal defeat. Corey Durdin (shoulder), Nic Newman (cut knee) and Matthew Kennedy (head knock) failed to finish the game.

Quarter one
Adelaide started the game on their terms, with Taylor Walker kicking a goal in the first minute, as Carlton couldn’t get the ball into their forward 50 until the 10-minute mark of the quarter. Matt Kennedy battled away in the contest, putting his body on the line and ending the quarter with five contested possessions. Matt Owies got the first goal on the board after some clever play from Harry McKay, while Charlie Curnow managed two crumbing goals from the goal square. Lewis Young held up well as the ball continuously pinged into the defensive 50, while Jacob Weitering recorded four intercepts. In wet conditions, kicking was wayward from both sides, but a Darcy Fogarty goal on the siren meant the Blues took a three-point lead into the first change.

Quarter two
With end-to-end play, no goals were scored until the nine-minute mark of the term, when Adelaide started to put the pressure on Carlton. The Blues were outmarked in the middle of the ground as the Crows started to find some momentum, gaining 660 metres in the first 12 minutes of the second quarter to Carlton’s 82. Cripps had more of an impact in the second term, having 11 contested possessions and eight clearances for the half. The captain set up Jesse Motlop who slotted an opportunistic goal when the Blues needed it most. Jack Silvagni was subbed on for Corey Durdin, who injured his shoulder, while Nic Newman was also out of the game moments later after sustaining a cut to the knee. Adam Saad worked hard across half back to keep the ball away from the defensive 50, while a strong mark from McKay led to a critical goal for the Blues, leaving them just four points behind at the main break.

Quarter three
Adelaide owned the quarter, kicking three goals to Carlton’s one, as well as dominating the possession of the football through its intercept marking. Adelaide led the ground ball gets 84-57 at the final change, with Carlton’s predicament not helped by missing some important shots on goal. Jack Silvagni’s pack mark and goal in the goal square was the highlight of the term, but their kicking around the ground was their downfall, resulting in easy turnovers in the Crows’ favour. The Blues went into the final term 15 points down.

Quarter four
Matthew Cottrell looked to spark the Blues into life in the final term, kicking two goals to continue a strong recent goal kicking return. However, his two majors were all the Blues could muster, with the Crows slotting four of their own to kick out to a 29-point lead. Carlton’s lack of composure led to turnovers in the middle of the ground, before a head knock to Matthew Kennedy left the Blues to just two on the bench. Despite the best efforts of Cripps (41 disposals) and Sam Walsh (40 disposals), the Blues were no match for the Crows on the night, falling by 29 points.

Carlton’s inconsistency looks set to cost them a flag tilt SEN

Carlton’s loss to Adelaide has probably cost them a top-four place. With 12 wins to their name, the Blues would probably need to win all three of their remaining games to have a chance of earning a double-chance finish. That’s easier said than done, particularly with Brisbane (away), Melbourne and Collingwood to come. While we’re still expecting the Blues to play in September, from here it looks likely that they’ll have to do it the hard way and run the gauntlet, a journey only the Bulldogs in 2016 successfully navigated. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the Blues, as it is losses to St Kilda, Richmond and Adelaide (teams they’re higher on the ladder than) since the bye which looks set to cost them. They without a doubt have enough A-grade talent to compete with any team, but it looks like 2022 won’t be their year considering where they’ll have to come from. While they can still turn things around and secure themselves a top-four finish, on current form, they’d have to find something out of the ordinary to get there. Let’s see if that can start next Sunday against the Lions.

Carlton needs to sort out its talls

The Blues made the shock decision to drop Jack Silvagni from their 22 to face Adelaide as they tried to fit Marc Pittonet back into the team. Carlton's desire to play both Pittonet and Tom De Koning in the ruck meant that Silvagni, who has played the forward/ruck role with aplomb despite being undersized, was squeezed into the medi-sub role. It didn't work against the Crows, largely because De Koning was badly out of touch in aerial contests, and Silvagni ended up on the field before half-time following Corey Durdin's injury. All three of Pittonet, De Koning and Silvagni played in the first three rounds for three wins, showing the setup can work. The Blues seemed to prioritise the small forward line of Durdin, Jesse Motlop and Matt Owies but after a total of just eight goals against Adelaide, they'll need to rejig their plans ahead of the round 21 clash trip to Brisbane. - Michael Rogers

Voss says Blues to 'stay present' with finals under threat

Carlton's hopes take a swing to the negative, while Matthew Nicks praises Adelaide performance - By Ben Somerford

Carlton coach Michael Voss wants his side to "stay present" ahead of a nightmare run home after the Blues’ bid to secure a first finals appearance since 2013 hit a speed bump with Saturday night's loss to Adelaide. They now face Brisbane (Gabba), Melbourne (MCG) and Collingwood (MCG) in the last three rounds, having spurned a gilt-edged opportunity to practically seal a finals spot with a 29-point loss to Adelaide. Carlton remains seventh, two wins ahead of ninth-placed Western Bulldogs with 10th-placed Richmond a further two points back but with a game in hand against Brisbane on Sunday. The Blues are unlikely to start favourites for any of their remaining three games and will be looking over their shoulders, especially if the Tigers win on Sunday, but Voss played down any talk about their run home. "We haven’t changed with the way we've gone about it the whole year," Voss said. "What we've done really well is stay present. "There's always an appreciation when you come to the back end of the year that there's consequences of every win or loss. That situation doesn’t change for us. "We're in with a shot and we're going to go full roar at it. We've got to first unpack this one and get to work." Voss pointed to the contest as the reason behind his side's defeat, losing contested possessions 155-141 while tackles were even at 69-69. "They just had a greater desire than us," he said. "There's not too many games we've walked away this year and lost the ground ball number that we had today. "There's not too many games with contested possession where we've been on the negative side of things. That effort, workrate, outnumber, (and) winning contest has got to be the cornerstone of your game every time you play. "Pleasingly we've been able to achieve that for the majority of the year but tonight we were certainly outworked. That puts a lot of stress on other parts of your game. "It's been a hallmark of our game and we weren’t able to bring it." Voss said Corey Durdin (shoulder), Nic Newman (knee) and Matthew Kennedy (concussion) would all be assessed during the week after being forced out of the game. The Blues coach also acknowledged Ben Keays' forward role on All-Australian candidate Adam Saad was one of many "critical battles" his side lost, with the Crows star booting three goals and having a game-high 11 score involvements and four goal assists. "Clearly if a player kicks three goals then he's been able to make an impact," Voss said. "I could go through the list and look at the critical battles and we just weren’t able to win them for the night. They kept turning up to them and outnumbered well."

Team

B:	20 Lachie Plowman	23 Jacob Weitering	33 Lewis Young
HB:	15 Sam Docherty	11 Mitch McGovern	42 Adam Saad
C:	46 Matt Cottrell	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	43 Will Setterfield
HF:	18 Sam Walsh	12 Tom De Koning	44 Matt Owies
F:	10 Harry McKay	30 Charlie Curnow	19 Corey Durdin
Ruck:	27 Marc Pittonet	7 Matthew Kennedy	5 Adam Cerra
Interchange:	3 Jesse Motlop	4 Lochie O'Brien	24 Nic Newman
	25 Zac Fisher
Medical Substitute:	1 Jack Silvagni
Coach:	Michael Voss
Emergencies:	2 Paddy Dow	38 Sam Durdin	32 Jack Newnes

*Note Sam Durdin replaced Josh Honey as an emergency

Medi-sub: Jack Silvagni replaced Corey Durdin (shoulder) during the second quarter.

In: Matt Owies, Marc Pittonet.
Out: Josh Honey (managed), Jack Newnes (unused medi-sub).

Milestones

Personal best: Patrick Cripps had a career high 41 possessions (18 kicks, 23 handballs).

Interesting Facts

Adelaide Oval: This is Carlton's 6th match played at the Adelaide Oval and they are yet to win one
In Adelaide: This was our first game against the Crows in Adelaide since 2018
Winning ratios: In this 43rd game between the Clubs, the Crows would eke ahead in a 2 horse history race with their 22nd victory i.e it is 22-21!

AFLCA Votes

10 - Brodie Smith (ADEL)
7 - Rory Laird (ADEL)
7 - Ben Keays (ADEL)
4 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
1 - Taylor Walker (ADEL)
1 - Wayne Milera (ADEL)

Brownlow Votes

Best and Fairest Votes

Video

---

Round 19 | Round 21