Goalkickers: C. Judd 3, D. Armfield 2, E. Betts 2, A. Carrazzo, N. Duigan, M. Murphy, M. Robinson, C. Yarran, J. Garlett, B. McLean 1.

Reports: Chris Judd (Carlton) reported by umpire Foster for misconduct on Leigh Adams in the second quarter

Umpires: S. Meredith, T. Pannell, J. Schmitt

Injuries: Zac Tuohy (back) replaced in selected side by Kane Lucas, Andrew Walker (right calf), Aaron Joseph (head)

Ladder: TBD

Game Review

Another Friday night, another chance for the Blues to keep their season alive this time fronting up to the Kangaroos, still smarting from their narrow loss to the Eagles last round. Carlton fans were collectively holding their breath waiting to discover whether last week's unexpected victory over arch rivals Collingwood would be a momentum turner or simply another false dawn.

Major injuries to Kade Simpson (broken jaw, 4-6 weeks) and Shaun Hampson (PCL, season over) meant that a minimum of two changes were inevitable. Fortunately enough there were two handy replacements waiting in the wings. The long awaited return of Marc Murphy finally arrived, perhaps even a little earlier than anticipated while Lachie Henderson made it back after a couple of weeks on the sidelines with a niggling groin injury. They ran out with only the two changes but when Zach Tuohy's back stiffened up during the pre-game warm up Andrew Collins was promoted to the starting line-up and Kane Lucas was given a surprise call-up from the stands, though it was probably no surprise to Lucas that he would be handed the all too familiar green jersey.

The cursed run with injuries continued almost as soon proceedings commenced in the first term. This time the bone pointed at Andrew Walker and when his calf gave way to a nasty strain no doubt he saw red in more ways than one. His unfortunate loss, Lucas' gain. Sadly, the bad luck didn't stop. A dubious 50m penalty (awarded against Dennis Armfield after he followed his man through the protected area around the kick-taker) lead to the Kangaroos' first goal. Eddie Betts did what he does best, equalising almost immediately after a wonderful smother and deadly follow up. It looked like the Blues might have finally started to erase some of that bad karma as first Armfield and then Andrew Carrazzo goaled form set shots to open up a handy two goal break in the early going, but it was short-lived. The Drew Petrie show commenced as he proceeded to make mince meat of anyone who stood near him, or nowhere near him, whichever happened to be the case. His four consecutive goals and a fifth for the Kangaroo's just before quarter time gave them a 15 point lead at the end of the term.

Things didn't look like they were getting any better as North continued on their merry way in the early going of the second term with two more goals, making it seven unanswered. Chris Judd was getting amongst it in more ways than one. His "chicken wing" tackle on North's Adams raised the ire of several Kangaroos, earned him a free kick and also an appointment with the tribunal in another bizarre Judd incident. Still with Judd, it took his unusually long set shot goal to finally end the Kangaroos' run, but try as they might the Blues couldn't string consecutive goals together. North duly responded with another couple to once again open up a comfortable lead. Remember that bad karma? It was back again. This time Aaron Joseph getting an unhealthy dose of it courtesy of a clumsy head-high challenge from Ziebell which remarkably went without a whistle. I say remarkably, but in reality the non-decision summed up Carlton's run with the umpires in the first half. Starting with the harsh decision against Armfield in the first minute and continuing in that same fashion for most of the half, if not the match in its entirety. From the next centre bounce Mitch Robinson got on the end of a speedy Carlton clearance and streamed towards goal before launching from just outside 50m for full points. Sadly North responded. Then Armfield was involved again, claiming his second after benefitting from the return of some Murphy class with a neat inbound pass that found him free close to goal. Not surprisingly North responded and the Blues found themselves trailing by 29 points at the main break.

After the resumption Murphy finally got on the scoreboard with a nice snap around his body having missed a couple of very gettable set shots in the first half. And yes, North responded. At times one wonders just how good a player Chris Judd really is. His burst of brilliance mid-term was one of those times. Two goals in as many minutes, with the Blues on the ropes, were stereotypical captain's goals and reduced the North lead to a manageable three goals. Judd's super-human efforts didn't inspire enough of his teammates though, and just when a sniff of a comeback was in the air the Kangaroo's found another gear. They turned on a powerful display in the latter part of the third term, booting six unanswered goals to snuff out any hope of a Carlton resurrection. North's onslaught gave them a commanding 55 point lead at the final change.

With the result now a mere formality the game opened up a little as both sides added another five goals in the final term. Chris Yarran and Nick Duigan both finished nicely on the run from slight angles and small men Betts, Garlett and McLean all grabbed a junk time goal in what was a very disappointing night for the Blues. All the pressure that was released after last week's victory over the Magpies was piled back onto the Blues post-match, with Brett Ratten in particular hardly receiving a moment's respite. The Blues are mathematically still more than capable of playing finals this season but with key personnel looking likely to be missing for much of the remainder of the season the equation will be a tough one.

The difference between the two sides was North’s accuracy especially in scoring, with only 3 more scoring shots, their accuracy rate was 82.76% to Carlton’s 53.85%, which was also helped by 7 goals from umpire’s assists (free kicks/50 metre penalties) to Carlton’s nil. After half time Carlton bench was down to two players.

Subs: Kane Lucas replaced Andrew Walker during the first quarter.

Team

-*Kane Lucas replaced Zach Tuohy (back) in the selected side after the warm up

Milestones

Interesting Fact: Carlton has been above 12th on the ladder since Round 5 2008.

Brownlow Votes

3. Drew Petrie, North Melbourne
2. Chris Judd, Carlton
1. Daniel Wells, North Melbourne

Best & Fairest Votes

Chris Judd 45, Aaron Joseph 10, Brock McLean 10, Andrew Collins 5, Mitch Robinson 5, Nick Duigan 2

Ladder