Game Review

Carlton squared the ledger at three wins and three losses to climb into the top eight for the first time in 2013 with this clinical demolition of strugglers Melbourne on a cool and cloudy Sunday afternoon at the MCG. Five goals up at the first change, the Blues repelled a brief counter-attack by the Demons in the second quarter, before pulling away to a convincing win.

Jarrad Waite made a welcome return for his first senior game of the year, and provided a lively marking target at centre half-forward. His 10 marks and two goals were influential, but he was also somewhat indiscreet – being hit with a 1-week suspension by the Match Review Panel after the match, for head-butting Demon Tom McDonald.

Following on from strong wins over West Coast and Adelaide, Carlton started unbackable favourites against the Demons, eventually making three changes to the team that had defeated the Crows the previous weekend. Bryce Gibbs’ hamstring strain and Sam Rowe’s second-half fadeout against Adelaide cost them their places in the line-up, with Waite and David Ellard called up in their stead. And when Andrew Carrazzo pulled out – due to a calf injury sustained at training – recently-elevated rookie Jaryd Cachia was rewarded for his consistency at VFL level by inclusion for his senior debut as Carlton’s substitute.

Blues’ skipper Marc Murphy won the toss, and Robbie Warnock won the first ruck duel, before the early minutes of the first quarter were marred by fumbles and sloppy football from both teams. Melbourne drew first blood with a point to their co-captain Jack Grimes, putting the Demons in front for the only time in the match – until Waite flipped the ball to Jeff Garlett streaming past, and he snapped truly with the outside of his right foot to bring up full points. Twenty minutes later (after further goals to Eddie Betts (2) and Waite) Garlett burst clear inside the fifty metre arc to kick his second, as the Blues took control at quarter time to lead by 31 points. Already, Melbourne was deep in trouble, particularly because Grimes had been subbed out the game with a serious shoulder injury.

Four minutes into the second term, Melbourne’s Colin Sylvia kicked their first goal, sparking a revival by the Demons that saw them whittle away Carlton’s lead to 20 points entering time-on. Then a wonderful coast-to-coaster, beginning with a long kick-out by Andrew Walker, involving Betts and Garlett and finishing with Dennis Armfield strolling into an open goal - restored the status quo. At the long break, the Blues were once more comfortably in front.

Highlights of the first half for Carlton fans included the dazzling skills of Garlett, Betts and Chris Yarran, plus the steady defence of Michael Jamison, Lachie Henderson, Zach Tuohy and in particular, Simon White. Warnock was having a picnic in the ruck, although Shaun Hampson was having a shocker at full-forward. At least five times thus far in the game, Hammer had flown for marks and got his hands to the ball first, only to spill the chance each time.

Warnock fired a smart handball to his captain Marc Murphy for the first major of the second half, and his aerial dominance round the packs became even more evident as the Demons began to fall off the pace. The memorable moment of this quarter was a sensational pin-point pass by Chris Yarran to Kade Simpson. ‘Simmo’ was literally surrounded by Demon opponents, but didn’t need to break stride to accept the mark. And when Hampson at last took an overhead grab - the first of several for the quarter - the Blues were well on the way to a 43-point advantage at three-quarter time.

As the last term got underway, the largely pro-Carlton crowd was alarmed by the sight of Chris Yarran wearing the red vest on the sidelines. Tightness in his lower back and hamstring had forced him off, so substitute Cachia’s dreams reached fruition when he raced out to start his senior career. Within a couple of minutes Jaryd had affected an excellent spoil in defence, then taken his first shot at goal on the run. Unfortunately it missed, but he should be encouraged by his 8 disposals and two clearances in an eye-catching debut.

The icing on the cake for every Bluebagger watching the game came right in the last minute, after Eddie Betts took a strong contested mark just inside the 50 metre line. The final siren had already sounded before he ran in and launched a booming torpedo punt that split the big sticks and took Carlton’s victory margin past ten goals.

In the end, this was a contest that closely followed the pre-game script. The Blues won as they should have, accounting for an opponent that was outclassed in every facet of the game. Among a host of positives, the form of Marc Murphy and Jeff Garlett in particular continued to thrill. The captain was relishing his role and growing in stature with every match, while’ Jeffy’ had become a match-winner who was responding to his new coach in spectacular fashion. Scotland, Henderson, Warnock, Lucas, Tuohy and Betts were others who stood out in a very even team.

Next up for Carlton was our nemesis of recent years; St Kilda, in a Monday night clash at Docklands. In 15 previous matches at the stadium, Carlton had won just three – so it was way past the time to start redressing the record.

Subs: Jaryd Cachia replaced Chris Yarran at the start of the last quarter (2 minutes in).

Team

B:	42 Zach Tuohy	40 Michael Jamison	23 Lachlan Henderson
HB:	29 Heath Scotland	43 Simon White	1 Andrew Walker
C:	35 Ed Curnow	5 Chris Judd	9 Kane Lucas
HF:	27 Dennis Armfield	30 Jarrad Waite	12 Mitch Robinson
F:	38 Jeffery Garlett	22 Shaun Hampson	13 Chris Yarran
Ruck:	11 Robert Warnock	46 David Ellard	3 Marc Murphy (C)
Interchange:	6 Kade Simpson (vc)	14 Brock McLean	19 Eddie Betts
Substitute:	37 Jaryd Cachia
Emergencies:	15 Jeremy Laidler	17 Sam Rowe	28 Tom Bell
Coach:	Mick Malthouse

-* Jaryd Cachia replaced Andrew Carrazzo in the selected side, and Jeremy Laidler replaced Jaryd Cachia in the selected squad.

Milestones

Debut: Jaryd Cachia

Brownlow Votes

3. Marc Murphy, Carlton
2. Kade Simpson, Carlton
1. Jarrad Waite, Carlton

Ladder

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Posn	Team	P	W	L	D	For	Ag	U/D	Strk	Percentage	Pts
1	Essendon	6	6	0	0	742	433	+0	W 6	171.36	24
2	Geelong	6	6	0	0	686	573	+1	W 6	119.72	24
3	Port Adelaide	6	5	1	0	656	479	-1	L 1	136.95	20
4	Sydney	6	5	1	0	648	483	+1	W 2	134.16	20
5	Hawthorn	6	5	1	0	685	531	-1	W 5	129.00	20
6	Fremantle	6	4	2	0	538	482	+1	W 2	111.62	16
7	Collingwood	6	4	2	0	601	609	+1	W 1	98.69	16
8	Carlton	6	3	3	0	629	550	+1	W 3	114.36	12
9	Richmond	6	3	3	0	586	576	-3	L 3	101.74	12
10	North Melbourne	6	2	4	0	601	590	+3	W 1	101.86	8
11	Adelaide	6	2	4	0	528	544	-1	L 2	97.06	8
12	Gold Coast	6	2	4	0	523	592	-1	L 1	88.34	8
13	Brisbane	6	2	4	0	469	649	-1	L 1	72.27	8
14	West Coast	5	1	4	0	499	512	+1	L 2	97.46	4
15	St Kilda	6	1	5	0	530	567	-1	L 3	93.47	4
16	Western	5	1	4	0	387	487	+0	L 4	79.47	4
17	Melbourne	6	1	5	0	471	840	+0	L 2	56.07	4
18	GWS Giants	6	0	6	0	510	792	+0	L 6	64.39	0