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| Venue: | Marvel Stadium. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Sunday 21 July 2024 (4.40 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won b7 19 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 40,014 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | C. Curnow 4.2, M. Owies 3.1, J. Motlop 3.0, H. McKay 2.0, L. Fogarty 2.0, O. Hollands 1.1, A. Saad 1.0, A. Cincotta 0.1, B. Acres 0.1, Rushed 0.5. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Robert O'Gorman, Ray Chamberlain, Andrew Adair, Nicholas McGinness. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | T. De Koning (foot and punctured lung). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 2nd. | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Second-half response sees Blues prevail
Carlton has recorded a 19-point victory in Round 19.Carlton has produced a second-half response to return to the winner's list with a 19-point win over North Melbourne. After trailing at half time, an inspired third quarter saw the Blues pile on seven goals to open up a handy lead, locking in their 12th win of the season. Charlie Curnow kicked four goals while Patrick Cripps continued his strong form with 29 disposals - the most of any Blue - while Jesse Motlop marked his return to action with three goals.
Quarter one:
Following a similar trend to previous matches between these two sides have started off, the Blues and Roos went toe-to-toe in the opening term, with the Sherrin pinging back and forth early. North Melbourne had the early territory with the first four inside 50s, kicking the opening goal, before Carlton got its offensive game going. Lachie Fogarty loomed large as he put the Blues’ first score on the board, with Charlie Curnow and Ollie Hollands soon following suit. However, North was able to get the game on its terms regularly on the back of their clearance dominance, winning the count 13-6 in the opening term to put the Blues on the back foot. The Blues were able to steady and got their offensive game going on the back of their contest, with Matthew Owies ensuring the Blues took a narrow lead into the first change. Patrick Cripps picked up right where he left off from in previous week, recording 11 disposals to lead all comers on the ground at the opening change. The Blues weren’t without their concerns, with ruckman Tom De Koning and key defender Sam Durdin both spending considerable time off the ground due to injury concerns.
Quarter two:
The opening stages of the second term clearly belonged to North Melbourne. Despite a Fogarty goal from deep in the pocket from a holding-the-ball tackle, the Blues were unable to stop the Roos from chipping their way down the ground and scoring. Charlie Comben loomed as the danger man with three first-half goals, with the Blues unable to get their pressure game going for large parts of the time. There was a shift in the second half of the term when the game looked in danger of getting away from the Blues, and Jesse Motlop the instigator: the returning Blue kicked two in a matter of minutes to get his team back within a kick after the Roos jumped out to a 17-point lead. George Hewett, Sam Walsh and Jack Carroll started to get to work around the ball, but the Blues struggled when the ball was out of the contest, with North dominated uncontested possessions - particularly marks (34-6) - as a late goal saw the Roos take an 11-point lead into the main break.
Quarter three:
Trailing at the main break and with the Roos also registering an early goal, the Blues needed to respond — and they provided an emphatic one. After Motlop recorded his third goal at the three-minute mark, the Blues piled on another six goals to turn a 17 point-deficit into a 15-point lead. The Roos posed their threats but quick goals from Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay nullified that threat, with the Blues getting their game going at the centre bounce and building their game on the back of it. With 6-3 centre clearances, the Blues then were able to lock the ball in their forward half, recording five inside-50 tackles to get right back into the contest. Adam Saad electrified the Carlton faithful with a passage of play that shot the Blues into gear, and the team didn’t look back from there. Not for the first time this year, it was Curnow who lit the game up in the third term, recording three goals alone as the Marvel Stadium crowd got right behind the home side. Hewett and Walsh recorded eight disposals apiece once again while Tom De Koning was at his bullocking best with six disposals, as 7.5 for the term ensured the Blues took a lead into the final change.
Quarter four:
The game was still in the balance, and despite the Blues having the chance to get the game back on their terms, they missed some chances on goal which would’ve all but sealed the result. It allowed North the chance back in the game, and after an arm wrestle of a final term, two consecutive goals meant the margin was back in single digits. Blake Acres was subbed out for David Cuningham halfway through the term as the Blues’ running men started to fire, with Matt Cottrell and Ollie Hollands working overtime with seven final-quarter disposals. One of the Blues’ best on the night, Adam Saad provided the telling blow with a rundown tackle and a goal from a 50-metre penalty to seal the result and ensure Carlton returned to the winner’s list.
Best: P. Cripps, A. Saad, C. Curnow, G. Hewett, L. Fogarty, S. Walsh, O.Hollands.
Charlie pulls top-two Blues through Roos challenge
After successive losses Carlton returned to the winners list with a hard-fought win against North Melbourne - By AAP with Howard Kimber.Charlie Curnow has kicked four goals to help Carlton end a two-match losing streak and reclaim outright second spot on the ladder with a 19-point win over North Melbourne. The Blues were made to fight all the way but steadied late in the contest to secure an important 16.11 (107) to 14.4 (88) win at Marvel Stadium on Sunday. Coleman Medal leader Curnow kicked three goals in his side's crucial third-quarter surge and was involved in an engrossing battle with Griffin Logue, who returned after more than a year out with a knee injury. Tom De Koning sent a scare through the Blues' camp when he hobbled off with a sore left foot during the first quarter and spent an extended period in the change room. The No.1 ruckman eventually returned to the action but was below his best and outpointed by direct opponent Tristan Xerri.
Sam Walsh, who missed the start of the season with a recurrence of his previous back injury, was also sore after a series of heavy collisions but was one of Carlton's best with 25 disposals. Captain Patrick Cripps (29 disposals, nine clearances) and George Hewett (22, eight) were also influential in the middle, while small forwards Matt Owies and Jesse Motlop kicked three goals each. Harry Sheezel (34 touches, two goals) starred for North, Charlie Comben and Paul Curtis kicked three majors each and Xerri had game-high tallies of 11 clearances, 10 tackles and 43 hit-outs. The contest pitted second against second-bottom and it was the underdogs who started better, with Sheezel snapping a brilliant opening goal. Xerri and Jy Simpkin helped give the Kangaroos clearance ascendancy as De Koning headed to Carlton's change room for assessment on his foot. Comben kick-started a second-quarter surge for North with the first two goals of the term, and they led by a game-high 18 points when Curtis snared his second major. Motlop kicked two quick goals in time-on to keep the Blues in touch, but Comben added his third after the siren to restore an 11-point buffer at the main break.
North led by 17 points when mid-season recruit Brynn Teakle kicked the first goal after half-time, but Carlton flicked a switch and piled on the next five consecutive majors. They never trailed from there, though the Kangaroos made them work for a hard-fought victory. North trailed by just eight points and had some momentum when a harsh 50-metre penalty was paid against Darcy Tucker, allowing Adam Saad to kick a steadying goal with less than eight minutes left. Another free kick gave Harry McKay the next goal moments later and the Blues were safe. Carlton next faces a short break into a clash with Port Adelaide on Friday night, while North Melbourne hosts Geelong in Hobart on Saturday.
An important win for the Blues whose five-goal burst in the third quarter proved decisive. Carlton scored more points from forward half intercepts (38-20) despite North Melbourne winning more such intercepts (21-19) with this effectively the final margin in the game.
Curnow raises the bat
The race for the Coleman is far from over but Charlie Curnow made sure he was the first to notch the half century. Charlie ticked off the milestone in the opening quarter, before lifting his game and side after half-time to finish with ... for the match and keeping his now 65-game goalkicking streak intact.
A case of the black and Blues?
An inordinate number of Carlton players looked to have sustained concerning injuries on Sunday, suggesting there may be concerns as they prepare to face Port Adelaide next Friday. Tom De Koning hobbled from the ground in the first quarter, Harry McKay also spent time with medical staff under the stands after a head knock in the third term, with other worries to Sam Walsh, Adam Saad and Sam Durdin, however all ultimately returned to the contest with Blake Acres the player subbed out. With a short five-day turnaround the doctors, physios and masseurs will be busy at Princes Park.
Best: C. Curnow, P. Cripps, G. Hewett, A. Saad, S. Walsh.
Voss credits temperament in comeback win
Michael Voss was quick to praise his players following the win over North Melbourne. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media."You won't see me downplaying this win." While the ladder said it was second versus 17th coming into Round 19, Michael Voss and Carlton knew they were going to be up for the fight when hosting North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium. That's exactly what they got. The vastly improved Roos had a first-half lead over the Blues, but the home side was able to respond with a 19-point win for their 12th victory of the season. This is what Voss had to say.
On how he saw the game:
"It was an extremely hard game, but from the outside I think it’d look like a high-quality game. We had to go all the way. The tendency when you’re coming in, it’s very easy to look at positions on the ladder and make your judgments based off that. We’re not that football team, we’re not that football club. We’ve got some important steps we need to be able to take from now until the end of the season, so we treat every team the same. "Recent results would say their reality is a hell of a lot better than what they were at the start of this year. We gave them the respect they deserved, we knew their game was in pretty good order: they had one off one against Sydney, but other than that they’ve been pretty good since the bye. "We were fully aware of what was coming, we probably didn’t handle a couple of things through the second quarter that we needed to change. The speed of the game wasn’t exactly how we wanted it to be, but we made those adjustments and we were obviously able to correct it in the third quarter which gave us the margin we were after."
On how the second quarter played out:
"That was the part that was concerning us the most. It was a little bit of contest, the outnumber ball was giving us a few issues that we need to correct method-wise, some structure we needed to change to help us with that. We were probably fuelling their transition game as well, by the way we were playing. "There were a couple of things we needed to correct, and to credit the opposition, they tested us in a few areas when it came to that part of the game. Fortunately we were able to correct, sometimes this game is about adapting, about responding and overcoming. It wasn’t just our style, we had players that kept coming off the ground that we needed to keep checking and guys had to step up. "You won’t see me downplaying this win. I thought it was a really healthy win, all things being considered."
On returning to the winner's list:
"I think it’s been a bit of a build. We were okay against the Dogs but not brilliant. Defensively, I feel like we haven’t had that same pressure around the ball over the last couple of weeks. That has made it tough. We’ve thought the scoreboard would do the work for us, thinking we can outscore teams: we’ve got that if we need it, but it’s not what we base our game off. "Today, I was more concerned about how we played, and I saw a group of players that were hungry to get after contest. They were able to get speed at the opposition and put them under pressure. It wasn’t exactly going our way in the first, but in the second half, we felt like we were able to do that for most of the second half."
On the physical toll coming out of the game:
"We’ve got a few we need to assess, but they got through the game okay. They needed a few checks. TDK with the foot, he was treated but went back out there. ‘Walshy’ was another one with the back, he got kneed there so we need to see how that settles but he got through the rest of the game. "Durdin as well, it was almost a welcome back to AFL footy after not playing for a while, it was a pretty taxing game for him. I thought he did a great job to be able to play within the system and his role down back, it was a pretty important role he needed to play for us."
On any extra concerns for Walsh:
"I don’t think so. He had a direct knock there and as far as I’m aware, that’s all it is."
On a five-day break this week:
"We’ve done it pretty well before. We had a little dress rehearsal against Port Adelaide actually, so we get to play the same time (off the same break) at this venue. We should be well versed in what we need to be able to do next."
On how the team played out the final quarter:
"We’ve got to play those scenarios as a footy team well. I think we’ve done that particularly well over the last 18 months, to be able to take our moments. What was also important at three-quarter time was that playing slow wasn’t going to get the job done for us. We needed to keep playing the same way, keep challenging the opposition. "We had a few of those moments, but the game was certainly put in the fight and North certainly wasn’t going to give it away. They’re playing an aggressive style of football, and we knew they’d keep coming. It was important for us to keep playing the same way. We shut the game down in the end, took the scoreboard off them and we were able to find a win."
On role changes coming into - and during - the game:
"There were a couple of positive ones. Matty Kennedy being able to go back in the second half and Cincotta being able to go forward and play his usual role, that speaks to the squad mentality and our roles. In the last couple of weeks, maybe we’ve stepped away from that too much. We haven’t put our hand up when it was our turn and invest ourselves totally within the team. If I was being critical of anything, that’d be it. "Today, the boys stayed present. We responded when challenged, we had to overcome and adapt and change some roles and I was really pleased with what we got out of it."
On constantly looking for the best version of themselves:
"We’re not a fixed product. We’re constantly evolving, we’re not looking to overhaul anything at this stage of the year but we are still trying to find out about us. There are some things we can do that help us find out a little bit more about us. If that means a positional change to be able to do that, then so be it. "There is a fine line because we want to be settled, we want to build cohesion and connection — that’s obviously really important. You never know what a game is going to throw at you, we had one of those games today where we had to make some adjustments. The boys were able to play out the game pretty well and we were able to look at the game tactically and change a couple of things."
On Harry McKay coming off for assessment:
"I couldn’t speak to specifics of the time, but what I do know is the protocol was there and we got notified that we needed to get him off the ground. He came off the ground, went into the protocols and fortunately he was able to respond and be okay. He was able to keep the game going. "The downside was we had to hold our tactical sub to work out whether we needed to change Harry or not. That’s a different discussion maybe in time, but certainly not today. I feel like we followed what we needed to and Harry got the care he needed."
On Blake Acres being subbed out:
"He was hobbling around a bit with a couple of bumps and bruises he was battling with and probably wasn’t moving as well. He was keen to go on, but we just felt we had some fresh legs so once we knew Harry was okay, we could go with something different."
On the result as a whole:
"I thought it was a great response today. It was fantastic the way the boys responded. You can tend to look at outcomes and how the scoreboard is looking, and not respect the opposition and what they’re doing, but I felt like all our players were completely present and stayed connected with each other. "They were still getting jobs done, but there were still corrections and adaptations to make within the game. One of those was ball speed, we were throwing the ball about by hand a bit too much which was causing us some issues."
On how the forward line functioned:
"What I’ve been particularly impressed with our forward line is they’re absolutely sharing the load amongst one another. You talk about the small bits of growth over a period of time that we’ve learned, it’s unfair to sit there and say Harry and Charlie. "You’ve got a group down there that are working really well together, they celebrate each other’s success and have a really clear idea of what their roles are. They’ve got their own special connection down there that bunch, but they really thrive and bring energy for us. "Both those boys (Jesse Motlop and Matt Owies) are bringing that energy for us and bringing some presence on the floor.
Team
| B: | 2 Lachlan Cowan | 23 Jacob Weitering | 24 Nic Newman |
| HB: | 42 Adam Saad | 38 Sam Durdin | 7 Matt Kennedy |
| C: | 4 Ollie Hollands | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 13 Blake Acres |
| HF: | 20 Elijah Hollands | 10 Harry McKay | 5 Adam Cerra |
| F: | 8 Lachie Fogarty | 30 Charlie Curnow | 3 Jesse Motlop |
| Ruck: | 12 Tom De Koning | 18 Sam Walsh | 16 Jack Carroll |
| Interchange: | 39 Alex Cincotta | 29 George Hewett | 46 Matt Cottrell |
| 44 Matt Owies | |||
| Substitute: | 28 David Cuningham | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 22 Caleb Marchbank | 21 Jack Martin | 27 Marc Pittonet |
Late Withdrawal; Sam Durdin replaced Caleb Marchbank who withdrew from the game due to illness.
Substitute: David Cuningham, replaced Blake Acres in the fourth quarter.
In; Jesse Motlop, Jack Carroll, George Hewett, David Cuningham, Sam Durdin.
Out: Brodie Kemp (omitted), Zac Williams (hamstring), Marc Pittonet (omitted), Jordan Boyd (shin soreness), Caleb Marchbank (illness).
Milestones
50 Games (Carlton): Adam CerraGames Record Holder in the No. 46 Guernsey: Matt Cottrell
Interesting Facts
1. Sam Durdin replaced Caleb Marchbank who withdrew due to illness, Durdin's last game for the Blues was 2 years and 34 days ago.2. Charlie Curnow first goal was his 50th for the season, this was the third season in a row that he has kicked at least 50 goals.
3. Lachie Fogarty is the first Blue with 4 goal assists in a game in 2024.
4. Charlie Curnow had another three goal third quarter, so far this season, 24 of his 53 goals to date have been kicked during the third quarter.
5. Patrick Cripps had another nine clearances today, that is 59 clearances over the last five weeks.
Free Kicks
Carlton 27North Melbourne 22
Front Runners
Matt Cottrell 13.7kmOliver Hollands 13.5km
Elijah Hollands 13.4km
AFLCA Votes
10 - Harry Sheezel (NMFC)8 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
5 - Tristan Xerri (NMFC)
3 - Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)
2 - Charlie Curnow (CARL)
1 - Tom De Koning (CARL)
1 - Adam Saad (CARL)
Brownlow Votes
3 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)2 - Harry Sheezel (NMFC)
1 - Tristan Xerri (NMFC)
Best and Fairest Votes
Video
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