Goalkickers: Simpson 2, Murphy, Gibbs, Robinson, Betts, Joseph, Ellard 1.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: R. Chamberlain, S. Meredith, M. Nicholls

Injuries: Andrew Carrazzo replaced in selected side by Aaron Joseph, Jarrad Waite (groin), Walker (illness)

Ladder: 4th

Game Review

The Navy Blues went into this Sunday twilight match at Docklands aiming to consolidate third place on the ladder, facing an in-form Western Bulldogs outfit enjoying a mid-season revival. Although the Doggies had won three matches on the trot, and had conquered the Blues at their previous two meetings, Carlton was equally confident in the wake of a record-breaking win over Richmond in round 15.

Having kicked the sweep against the Tigers, Carlton’s changes for this match were expected to be minimal. At the selection table, defender Simon White was forced out by a knee problem and replaced by Paul Bower, while Zach Tuohy was the unlucky one who made way for the return of Nick Duigan from injury. Jordan Russell was named as Carlton’s substitute, and there was a late change when Aaron Joseph was recalled to cover the loss of Andrew Carrazzo with a calf strain. The Bulldogs fielded a full strength side, setting themselves for a special effort to mark defender Lindsay Gilbee’s 200th match for the club.

On a cold and wet day in Melbourne, but relatively warm and dry under the Etihad Stadium roof, the first quarter set the scene as both sides threw themselves into the contest. Bulldog full-forward Barry Hall opened the scoring with a neat snap off the outside of his right foot, before Kade Simpson struck back for the Blues with a clever soccer goal from 30 metres. Around the packs, Marc Murphy and Chris Judd were capitalising on Rob Warnock’s tap work, while Bryce Gibbs was getting plenty of the ball in a sweeper role at half back. David Ellard kicked Carlton’s second goal from a lucky free kick, but the Bulldogs were scrapping hard and with Jarrad Waite well-held, Carlton seemed disorganised in attack. At quarter time, the Blues led by three points.

Aaron Joseph – keeping a tight rein on his opponent Daniel Giansiracusa – sparked a major offensive by the Blues when he was handed a 50-metre penalty and goaled inside the first two minutes of the second quarter. Over the next six minutes, Murphy, Gibbs (from another penalty) and Eddie Betts all followed suit, and suddenly, the Blueboys were 27 points up. Only the sight of Waite limping from the field put a damper on the joy of the Carlton faithful, who then watched in trepidation as the Bulldogs mounted a concerted counter-attack of their own. Four goals in the latter part of the quarter cut the margin to only two points at the main break, and the Tri-colours definitely held the edge in intensity.

The Blues lined up for the second half with Bower and Warnock in attack, and Lachie Henderson still at full-back on Hall. After replacing Waite (who had started the match under an injury cloud with tightness in his groin) substitute Jordan Russell went to half-back, while all of Carlton’s better ball-winners massed in the midfield. It could have worked, it should have worked - but it didn’t. The sheer tenacity of the Bulldogs and their better efficiency all around the ground gave them a 16-point lead at three-quarter time, and that blew out to 27 points on the final siren.

Questions afterwards revolved around Waite’s pre-game fitness assessment, and why his loss seemed to dramatically affect the team. So dangerous and so lively all year, small forwards Jeff Garlett and Eddie Betts were hardly sighted all afternoon, while Andrew Walker was apparently still suffering in the aftermath of a bout of food poisoning and couldn’t get near the ball. In the end, however, Carlton was beaten by a more committed, cohesive and efficient football team that remarkably, had 68 fewer handballs, 28 fewer hit-outs and 11 less tackles than the Blues.

On a day that left a sour taste in the mouths of all Bluebaggers, Carlton was best served by Marc Murphy (34 possessions) Bryce Gibbs (30) and Chris Judd (29). Mitch ‘Kamikaze’ Robinson never stopped trying to lift his team, while Nick Duigan and David Ellard were hard at the contest throughout.

Subs: Substitute Jordan Russell replaced Jarrad Waite late in the second quarter (26 minute mark)

Team

-* Late Change: Aaron Joseph replaced Andrew Carrazzo

Brownlow Votes

3. Marc Murphy, Carlton
2. Adam Cooney, Western Bulldogs
1. Callam Ward, Western Bulldogs

Best & Fairest Votes

Marc Murphy 38, Nick Duigan 24, Bryce Gibbs 22, Aaron Joseph 14, Chris Judd 11, Jeremy Laidler 10, David Ellard 7, Bret Thornton 5, Heath Scotland 4, Mitch Robinson 3

Ladder