Round 23, 2012

Carlton 4.5 29 7.7 49 10.15 75 12.19 91 St Kilda 4.1 25 8.4 52 10.6 66 16.10 106
Venue:	Dome
Date:	Sunday afternoon September 2, 2012
Result:	Lost by 15 points
Crowd:	31,393
Goalkickers:	J. Waite 5, T. Bell, E. Betts, N. Duigan, J. Garlett, L. Mitchell, M. Robinson, B. McLean 1.
Reports:	A. Walker & S. Milne (St. Kilda) for wrestling each other
Umpires:	J. Bannister, S. Jeffery, D. Margetts
Injuries:	C. Yarran (hamstring), C. Judd (hamstring) Z. Touhy (back) and A. Carrazzo (illness) both replaced in selected side
Ladder:	10th

Game Review

What a week. The almost inevitable fallout from a diabolical loss to the Gold Coast Suns came quickly. After much speculation the previous day the Carlton Football Club formally announced on the morning of Thursday August 30 that Brett Ratten would not see out the final year of his contract at Carlton. It was hardly surprising, given the indifferent year combined with a couple of horrible, apparently unforgivable, losses and the looming spectre of Mick Malthouse. What was a little surprising to some was Ratten's willingness to coach out the final game of the season and the Club's willingness to let him do so. The game against the Saints had no consequence whatsoever, except perhaps in sentimental terms, as neither side had much to play for barring pride. The finals dream for Carlton had evaporated in a barrage of behinds amongst the sweaty surrounds of Metricon Stadium. This one, as much as he tried to play it down, was all about Brett Ratten.

With new boys Levi Casboult and Andrew McInnes unavailable due to injury (McInnes' confirmed as a long-term ACL) while Ed Curnow and David Ellard got the flick, there were bound to be a few changes at selection. Big fellows Luke Mitchell and Pat McCarthy were both called up to make their debut in what would be a doubly memorable game for them both. In addition to the debutants, Mitch Robinson had recovered from an eye problem and Rhys O'Keeffe was recalled. But it didn't end there. On game day both Andrew Carrazzo and Zach Tuohy withdrew from the side allowing both Curnow and Ellard a life-line in the final game of the season.

While Ratten was doing everything possible to keep calm and carry on as if nothing unusual was going on, the same couldn't be said for his players. They were clearly attempting to regain some of the credibility lost in Queensland and perhaps let their emotions get the better of them in doing so, at least in the early going. Andrew Walker's Adonis-like frame was on display for all to see after an extended bout of Greco-Roman style wrestling with that serial irritant Steven Milne. A changed role for Walker saw him standing in the back pocket attempting to play Milne at his own annoying game. With barely enough time for Walker to replace his jumper the Saints had two goals on the board and it was looking like another one of those days that have been all too familiar against the Saints of recent times. But things steadied, the Blues composed themselves somewhat and knuckled down. They responded with four on the trot to setup a handy break mid way through the first term. It was Jeff Garlett who kicked Carlton's first but all kudos was due to Dennis Armfield after a blistering dash out of defence and down the wing before steadying to hit Garlett lace out. Tom Bell continued his impressive finish to the season with a nice goal in traffic before Jarrad Waite snagged his first after stretching high for a mark from Chris Judd's pass. To top off the four, Luke Mitchell joined the "first kick was a goal" club. Having spilled a simple mark he recovered well and spun onto his right foot and snapped truly. It is safe to say he and his teammates were quite happy. The good work up forward, and that of Judd and Brock McLean through the midfield was undone towards the end of the term when the Saints fought back with two more goals to reduce Carlton's lead to a mere four points at the break.

Disaster struck for Chris Yarran shortly after the resumption of play as he limped away from a heavy tackle with a hamstring strain prematurely ending his game and season. Yarran's amusing love tap to Brendon Goddard's chin on the way off was a lighter moment that seemed to make the typically angry Saint even angrier. Goals were exchanged early, Waite claiming his second, before the Saints broke away with three in a row. McLean continued to rack up possessions for the Blues but our other leading midfielder Judd suffered an injury almost identical to Yarran's. In a fierce tackle initial fears were that Judd's shoulder had been hurt, but as the replay's were aired a quick clutch at his hammy post-tackle before hurriedly stepping through the interchange gate told the tale. Another one down and the Saints with a clear numerical advantage about 10 minutes before half time. The Blues fought on though, first getting one back through Eddie Betts having received a beautifully weighted ball from Walker and then through an unexpected source in Nick Duigan. Duigan was the overjoyed beneficiary of a rare 100m penalty (thanks to some extra lip from Montagna) that brought him to the top of the square for the simplest of finishes. Another very even quarter saw the Saints sneak past the Blues to lead by three points at half time.

The Saints sprung out of the rooms to grab the opener and extend their lead before Mitch Robinson responded for the Blues. Waite kicked consecutive goals to steady the Blues and regain their lead, but the game was all about what could have been for the Blues. Appearing to have the upper hand in much of the general play it was déjà vu all over again for the Blues as they simply couldn't find the goals when it mattered. Costly behinds to McLean, Betts, Gibbs, Garlett and Murphy contributed to a wasteful 3.8 for the term and whilst the Blues had eked out a nine point lead, it could've and should've been significantly more. The only question remained was whether they had the heart and legs to hold on.

The Saints opened with a goal in the final term when Carlton desperately wanted that steadier, but it wasn't to be. Waite banana-ed through a magnificent goal from the boundary when all logic suggested his chances were slim and then McLean finally avoided the woodwork after timing his run through the congestion perfectly to accept Matt Kreuzer's palm down. Those goals put the Blues 15 points clear midway through the quarter, but that was where it ended. St. Kilda's extended period with a numerical advantage in the interchange battle finally ground the Blues down and they were emphatically over-run in the final 15 minutes. The Saints kicked 5.2 to Carlton's two behinds in that all important last period to run out 15 point winners, the Blues clearly out on their feet with nothing left in the tank. The game summed up our season in a nutshell, crucial injuries and poor kicking. It was a less than ideal send-off for a true Carlton champion in Brett Ratten. He was dignified to the end and enhanced his reputation by the way he carried himself in a difficult and unfortunate situation. Bad result, bad year, now put to bed. Let the next chapter begin.

Subs: David Ellard replaced Chris Yarran (hamstring) early in the 2nd quarter.

Team

B:	1 Andrew Walker	43 Simon White	34 Nick Duigan
HB:	13 Chris Yarran	20 Rhys O'Keeffe	29 Heath Scotland
C:	4 Bryce Gibbs	5 Chris Judd (Captain)	3 Marc Murphy
HF:	6 Kade Simpson	30 Jarrad Waite	38 Jeffery Garlett
F:	19 Eddie Betts	25 Luke Mitchell	14 Brock McLean
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	12 Mitch Robinson	35 Ed Curnow
Interchange:	24 Patrick McCarthy	27 Dennis Armfield	28 Tom Bell
Substitute:	46 David Ellard
Coach:	Brett Ratten
Emg:	9 Kane Lucas, 42 Zach Tuohy, 44 Andrew Carrazzo

-* Late changes Zach Tuohy and Andrew Carrazzo relaced by Ed Curnow and David Ellard

Milestones

Debut & Only Games: Luke Mitchell, Patrick McCarthy
Last Game: Rhys O'Keeffe
Last Game (Coach): Brett Ratten finished his Carlton coaching career in this game. In his 120 games as coach he had a 50.42% winning ratio, with 60 victories and a draw. His first game was Round 17, 2007 (also at Docklands against St. Kilda) and that ended in a 10 point defeat.
Goal with first kick: Luke Mitchell
Interesting Fact: Jarrad Waite would overtake his father's game tally in this match with 154 games (finishing with 184 Carlton games, before departing to North Melbourne). Incidentally this match also fell on Father's Day.
Interesting Fact: Carlton would end Season 2012, having played 295 games since our last Grand Final. A Club Record, by some margin...

Brownlow Votes

3. Brock McLean, Carlton
2. David Armitage, St. Kilda
1. Jason Gram, St. Kilda

Best & Fairest Votes

Brock McLean 45, Andrew Walker 38, Jarrad Waite 31, Simon White 31, Mitch Robinson 29, Nick Duigan 21, Heath Scotland 17, Marc Murphy 6, Eddie Betts 3

Ladder

Pos	2012 Rd 23	P	W	L	D	For	Agst	U/D	Strk	Percentage	Pts
1	Hawthorn	22	17	5	0	2679	1733	+0	W 4	154.59	68
2	Adelaide	22	17	5	0	2428	1833	+1	W 2	132.46	68
3	Sydney	22	16	6	0	2290	1629	-1	L 2	140.58	64
4	Collingwood	22	16	6	0	2123	1823	+1	W 1	116.46	64
5	West Coast	22	15	7	0	2244	1807	-1	L 1	124.18	60
6	Geelong	22	15	7	0	2209	1886	+0	W 3	117.13	60
7	Fremantle	22	14	8	0	1956	1691	+0	W 3	115.67	56
8	North Melbourne	22	14	8	0	2359	2097	+0	W 1	112.49	56
9	St Kilda	22	12	10	0	2347	1903	+0	W 2	123.33	48
10	Carlton	22	11	11	0	2079	1925	+0	L 2	108.00	44
11	Essendon	22	11	11	0	2091	2090	+0	L 7	100.05	44
12	Richmond	22	10	11	1	2169	1943	+0	D1	111.63	42
13	Brisbane	22	10	12	0	1904	2092	+0	W 3	91.01	40
14	Port Adelaide	22	5	16	1	1691	2144	+0	D1	78.87	22
15	Western Bulldogs	22	5	17	0	1542	2301	+0	L 11	67.01	20
16	Melbourne	22	4	18	0	1580	2341	+0	L 2	67.49	16
17	Gold Coast	22	3	19	0	1509	2481	+0	L 1	60.82	12
18	GWS Giants	22	2	20	0	1270	2751	+0	L 4	46.17	8

Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Agst	Rich	Bris	Coll	Ess	Frem	Gws	St.Kilda	Adel	Melb	Port	Geel	W.Cst
Carl	125	154	122	79	65	110	98	55	107	54	85	69
Opp	81	63	62	109	57	43	122	124	49	99	97	79
Ladder	4	2	2	4	3	2	4	7	6	7	9	9
%	154.3	193.7	194.6	152.3	146.51	157.8	140.2	122.2	128.8	118.6	115.3	113.1
Game	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Agst	BYE	Haw	Coll	N.Melb	W.Bull	Rich	Sydney	Bris	Ess	G.Cst	St.Kilda
Carl	.	70	85	96	84	95	71	113	156	86	91
Opp	.	120	62	149	102	91	93	77	60	98	105
Ladder	9	:10::	9	12	11	11	11	11	9	10	10
%	113.1	107.1	108.7	103.7	104.7	104.7	103.0	105.1	110.5	109.2	108.0

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Round 22 | Season 2012 | 2013