Round 19, 2021

Carlton 2.5 17 5.6 36 5.10 40 11.11 77 North Melbourne 3.1 19 5.4 34 12.6 78 18.8 116
Venue:	Marvel Stadium
Date:	Saturday 24th July, 2021 (1.45 pm).
Result:	Lost by 39 points.
Crowd:	Nil due to ban on crowds this round due to Covid.
Goalkickers:	P. Cripps 3.1, J. Newnes 2.1, M. Kennedy 2.0, Z. Fisher 1.3, J. Martin 1.1, M. Owies 1.1, E. Curnow 1.0, M. Murphy 0.1, J. Silvagni 0.1, Rushed 0.2.
Reports:	Jack Silvagni, has been charged with Rough Conduct (Dangerous Tackle) against Tristan Xerri during the first quarter.This is a $2000 sanction with an early plea. Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact, High Contact. The incident was classified as a $3000 sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a $2000 sanction with an early plea.
Umpires:	Nicholas Brown, Curtis Deboy, Leigh Haussen.
Injuries:	Z. Williams (hamstring), E. Betts (ankle).
Ladder:	13th.

Game Review

That's a wrap: Sev-Larkey special ends Blues' finals hopes
North Melbourne dominates Carlton to pile pressure on Blues coach David Teague - By Ben Sutton / Rose Zarucky.

North Melbourne has continued its resurgence and dealt a hammer blow to Carlton's finals hopes with a stunning 39-point win at Marvel Stadium on Saturday. After a tight first half, the Roos blew the game open in the third term with seven goals as they powered away to the 18.8 (116) to 11.11 (77) victory. Nick Larkey booted three in the scintillating third quarter on his way to seven for the match, while Tarryn Thomas also booted a career-high four and Jaidyn Stephenson finished with three. Jy Simpkin and Ben Cunnington lit up the midfield and Aaron Hall provided plenty of dash off half-back. But it was a disaster for the Blues, who had it all to play for as they hunted an unlikely finals berth. Sam Walsh was well held by Simpkin and they lacked a target up forward without Harry McKay. The pressure will surely mount on David Teague after arguably Carlton's worst performance of the season.

As memorable as the win was for North, the result extinguishes any faint hope Carlton (7-11) had of making finals for the first time since 2013. The Blues struggled without Coleman Medal leader Harry McKay, who withdrew from the match on Friday due to a toe injury. Adding further insult to the dispiriting effort was high-priced recruit Zac Williams (hamstring) hobbled off and was subbed out for veteran Marc Murphy, who played his 297th career game. There were some brief highlights for the Blues, with Ed Curnow kicking the best goal of his career in his 200th game and emerging ruckman Tom De Koning bringing down a Mark of the Year contender. Veteran forward Eddie Betts spent almost 10 minutes being assessed in the rooms after falling heavily but was able to play out the game. Patrick Cripps kicked three goals and Sam Walsh gathered 27 disposals, but it wasn't enough to get Carlton over the line.

Quarter one:
Both sides had issues with turnovers early on, not able to keep possession into their forward half. Tom De Koning had his work cut out for him early, coming up against the veteran Todd Goldstein, while a superb delivery from Adam Saad saw Matt Kennedy put the first goal on the board. Carlton’s intercept game was strong as North Melbourne attempted to exit dangerous territory, with the Blues' defenders cutting off the ball higher up the ground. The youngsters put in the work, as Matt Owies booted a goal and Paddy Dow provided some classy midfield work. When North Melbourne got the ball moving, they did so quickly, transitioning down the ground with ease. Liam Jones and Lachie Plowman were busy early while Sam Walsh and Jack Silvagni picked up where they left off last week, with impressive contested efforts. Accuracy was again an issue for the Blues, with a few good opportunities missed in front of goal, leaving North with a small gap to close.

Quarter two:
It was a slow start for the Blues, with North having plenty of the ball, but a goal from Patrick Cripps set the tone for the term. Jack Newnes and Silvagni displayed some courageous play in the air and Jones continued to cut North off with their inside 50 delivery. Jack Martin slotted a nice goal but it was immediately answered by Tarryn Thomas. De Koning took a textbook hanger in the forward 50 while Carlton’s intercept game put them in a good position. Carlton’s tackling and physical presence was strong, with Sam Petrevski-Seton and Silvagni leading the way with four tackles each. North Melbourne’s quick transition once again resulted in uncontested shots on goal, putting their nose in front until Ed Curnow delivered a spectacular dribbling goal in his 200th game, putting the Blues two points ahead at half time.

Quarter three:
Marc Murphy was subbed in for Zac Williams, who injured his hamstring in the final stages of first half. Jaidyn Stephenson slotting his third goal wasn’t the start the Blues hoped for, with North Melbourne piling on the scoreboard pressure in the third quarter. North’s ability to move the ball from Carlton’s forward line to their own was clean and effective, leaving the Blues trying to make up ground. The Blues lack of tall forward options saw them getting out marked in their 50, as Zac Fisher, Eddie Betts and Owies tried to pick up the crumbs against a classy North Melbourne defence.

Quarter four:
A goal from Newnes was a solid start for the Blues, with Dow (23 disposals) able to grab it straight from the centre. North replied quickly and continued to dominate possession. Fisher finally slotted a goal after kicking three behinds while Cripps tried to out-muscle North in the centre bounces. Nick Larkey proved to be an absolute nightmare matchup for Carlton’s defence, kicking seven goals for the game. Cripps stepped up and kicked two final-quarter goals, but it was to little avail as the Roos ran away with a 39-point goal.

Young guns go head-to-head
Sam Walsh came into this match as one of the form midfielders in the League and David Noble decided to send his own young star Jy Simpkin to the Blue. It wasn't a true hard tag as Simpkin still found plenty of the ball, but it was an intriguing matchup throughout the game. Walsh still finished with 27, but didn't have a massive impact on the game, while Simpkin picked up 31 himself to be the Roos' best.

Murphy's race to 300
Sitting at 296 games before this round, Marc Murphy needed to play four of the final matches to reach the magical 300 milestone. A calf injury threatened to derail his bid and when he was left out of the team named on Thursday night, it appeared unlikely he would get there. But he was named as the sub and came on at the start of the third quarter to replace Zac Williams. He finished with 10 disposals and one behind, but appears on track to reach 300 before the season finishes.

Best: J. Newnes, J. Silvagni, N. Newman, T. De Koning, E. Curnow, P. Cripps.

Team

B:	20 Lachie Plowman	23 Jacob Weitering	13 Liam Stocker
HB:	6 Zac Williams	14 Liam Jones	42 Adam Saad
C:	32 Jack Newnes	18 Sam Walsh	31 Tom Williamson
HF:	35 Ed Curnow	1 Jack Silvagni	25 Zac Fisher
F:	19 Eddie Betts	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	21 Jack Martin
Ruck:	12 Tom De Koning	7 Matthew Kennedy	2 Paddy Dow
Interchange:	5 Sam Petrevski-Seton	24 Nic Newman	44 Matt Owies
	46 Matthew Cottrell
Medical Substitute	3 Marc Murphy
Coach:	David Teague
Emergencies:	4 Lochie O'Brien	17 Brodie Kemp	43 Will Setterfield

Medical Sub.: Marc Murphy was subbed in at half time when Zac Williams was subbed out due to a hamstring injury.

In; Patrick Cripps
Out: Harry McKay (toe)

Milestones

200 Games: Ed Curnow
100 Goals (AFL): Jack Martin

Interesting Fact:

1. In a sign of our forward line injury / form woes in 2021, Cripps became the 4th Blue to hit double figures for goals with his 3 in this match (Behind McKay, Betts, Owies). So many forwards on the list....
2. Nic Newman played his 32nd game with the Blues surpassing the 31 games he played with the Sydney Swans.

AFLCA Votes

10 - Nick Larkey (NMFC)
7 - Tarryn Thomas (NMFC)
6 - Jy Simpkin (NMFC)
5 - Jaidyn Stephenson (NMFC)
1 - Ben Cunnington (NMFC)
1 - Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)

Brownlow Votes

3 - Nick Larkey (NM)
2 - Tarryn Thomas (NM)
1 - Jy Simpkin (NM)

Best & Fairest Votes

Jack Silvagni 8, Patrick Cripps 8, Jack Martin 6, Sam Walsh 4, Liam Jones 4, Ed Curnow 4, Jack Newnes 3, Tom De Koning 3, Zac Williams 1, Zac Fisher 1

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Round 18 | Round 20