Goalkickers: S. Hampson 3, B. Thornton 3, K. Lucas 2, K. Simpson 2, A. Walker 2, P. Bower, M. Robinson, J. Garlett 1.

Umpires: J. Dalgleish, N. Foot, M. Stevic

Ladder: 2nd

Game Review

The GWS Giants made their first trip to Melbourne to face the mighty Blues at the indoor stadium, though on this occasion the roof stayed open. All the talk was about who would not be playing as all Carlton's media performers tip-toed around the pros and cons of list management, getting those niggles right and the dreaded "R" word (r-e-s-t). How dare the Blues consider resting some of the seasoned veterans? Regardless of who was going to run out onto the field, that in itself being something of a mystery, the Blues were unbackable favourites with the bookmakers with the Giants the longest of outside chances.

When the initial team sheets came off the press on the Thursday evening leading up to the game one would have been well advised to top up the paper in the printer before printing it out. The list of ins and outs was longer than Robert Warnock's socks, and he himself was amongst them, well kind of, initially anyway. Warnock was named on the extended interchange poised for his first hit-out of 2012 and ready to give Matthew Kreuzer a rest, I mean some relief from a niggling knee injury. As events transpired Warnock's hamstring had a twinge at some point between the team being named and Sunday arvo and miraculously Kreuzer's knee (henceforth to be known as Lazarus) came good. Chris Judd was suffering some general soreness and Jarrad Waite had some kind of complaint too, so they were both going to miss the GWS party. David Ellard, who had been knocking on the door persistently with solid VFL form, got his first run for the season and Paul Bower got a recall. But all was not yet finalised. Ed Curnow also felt some soreness somewhere after the final training session paving the way for young Western Australian debutant Josh Bootsma to be named as a late replacement on match day. I think that was it.

Returning to my seat with a customary pie (or two) and a bucket of chips (or two) for the kids, having successfully remortgaged my house to pay for it, I was getting comfortable looking forward to a relaxing day at the office without some of the usual worries. Milestones a plenty cluttered the run-through, Eddie Betts 150 excitement filled games, Kade Simpson 150 consecutive games and Shaun Hampson with 50 of his own. Initially, the easy-day-at-the-office theory seemed quite sound as Andrew Walker pounced on a loose ball near the goal square threw it onto his boot and directed it high and straight between the uprights to get the Blues away. But it was not a true indication of how the rest of the day would pan out. More goals followed in a steady fashion, first from Simpson and then a lovely finish from Kane Lucas to make the lead 19 with the Giants having scarcely gone inside 50. But the rot slowly set in. Lack of vigour at the stoppages and what looked like laziness in the spread from the clearances started to seep into the Carlton game. Possession wasn't an issue with opportunities aplenty, but wasteful finishing began to frustrate all and sundry. Four behinds (several of which quite gettable) finished out the remainder of the term for the Blues whilst the Giants registered their first goal and then at the siren their second through old friend Setanta O'hAilpin. For all the possession and shots at a goal a paltry 10 point lead was all Carlton had to show for their efforts.

With everyone assuming normal service would resume with the start of the second term some eyebrows were raised when O'hAilpin mongreled through his second inside two minutes and the gap reduced to a mere four points. Carlton's trend line for shots at a goal continued on from where the first quarter left off with both Bryce Gibbs and Nick Duigan missing easy shots before GWS popped through their fourth unanswered goal to level the scores. The Blues responded in kind with the next three goals as Bret Thornton, Lucas and Paul Bower all finished truly. Bower's goal was full of dash and the unpredictable flair he so often displays. His effort had been one of the few shining lights during the first half, along with Kreuzer and Michael Jamison, but in truth it was hard to find clear winners for the Blues. Carlton retained their small lead, unchanged from quarter time at 10 points, when the half closed.

Upon resumption Shaun Hampson got the ball rolling for the Blues after marking a high ball close to goal. He finished truly as did Mitch Robinson a short time later to give the Blues two in three minutes. Robinson had been bustling around in his usual indomitable style and was providing some real grunt through the middle. The Giants pegged one back and then the wasteful Carlton of the first term returned with a series of behinds before Thornton grabbed a mark and poked through his second from about 35m after receiving from Ellard in the shadows of three quarter time. A sloppy 3.6 for the term had extended the Carlton lead to 25 points at the final change.

Inevitably the Giants' young legs ran out of steam, exacerbated by losing two senior players before three quarter time. They held on to the ever stretching rubber band for longer than most expected before it finally snapped and whacked them in the face. The Blues didn't exactly steam-roll them in the last quarter they simply out-lasted them. Outscoring the Giants 5.6 to nothing in the final term with Hampson's mark and play on for a lovely goal about the best of an ordinary bunch. It was Hampson's third for the game and it finished off a very solid 50th milestone for the big fellow. In a game low on highlights, Josh Bootsma's entry to the game provided one of the few. Replacing Lachie Henderson at three quarter time, each of Bootsma's handful of possessions in the term brought a huge roar of approval from the Carlton fans as, somewhat bemusingly, he became something of an instant cult-hero. I suppose it suggests expectations for the team are growing when an 11 goal victory doesn't seem that impressive to most onlookers, but against a more experienced, mature, harder-bodied side (like St. Kilda) Carlton's effort on the day simply would not have cut it.

Subs: Josh Bootsma replaced Lachlan Henderson at three-quarter time.

Team

-*Late Changes: Friday - Watson and Kreuzer replaced Warnock and Collins in the selected squad
-*Match Day: Bootsma replaced Curnow in the selected side

Milestones

Our First Fixture: This was the first fixture between Carlton and the newcomers in Orange
150 Consecutive Games: Kade Simpson
150 Games: Eddie Betts
50 Games: Shaun Hampson
Debut: Josh Bootsma
Interesting Fact: This was Carlton's 1,100th 'Home' Game in their 2,341st League game.
This total is made up of 137 finals and 1,104 away games.

Brownlow Votes

3. Shaun Hampson, Carlton
2. Mitch Robinson, Carlton
1. Marc Murphy, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

Shaun Hampson 36, Paul Bower 34, Michael Jamison 27, Matthew Kreuzer 22, Mitch Robinson 22, Heath Scotland 21, Aaron Joseph 20, Lachie Henderson 17, Bryce Gibbs 10, Jordan Russell 5

Ladder