Game Review

Just when Carlton fans thought that the 2015 season couldn’t get any worse, the Blues were humiliated by the bottom of the ladder Brisbane Lions on this horrendous Saturday night at the Gabba. With former Blue Mitch Robinson running rampant, Brisbane overhauled Carlton’s early lead by keeping their visitors goalless for two of the next three quarters, and won by 64 points. In front of a sparse crowd of less than 18,000, Carlton was sent crashing to the foot of the table.

If they weren’t already obvious, the deep deficiencies in Carlton’s player list were again laid bare as this debacle unfolded. The Blues were outclassed by a team that had been anchored last for most of 2015, and afterwards, it was clear that some individuals would be fortunate to represent the club at senior level again. Prior to travelling north for this wooden spoon decider, Carlton made three changes to the side that fell to Collingwood in round 19. Levi Casboult and Simon White both succumbed to knee injuries, while Cameron Wood was omitted. Into the team came Kristian Jaksch, David Ellard and Matthew Dick, with Nick Holman named as substitute.

After Blues’ captain Marc Murphy won the toss, the team lined up with Lachie Henderson in defence, Sam Rowe and Andrew Walker as the forward targets, and Matthew Kreuzer as the lone ruckman. The surface of the ground was slippery in the humid conditions, and players from both sides had trouble keeping their feet for much of the game.

Brisbane had the best of the early exchanges, skipping out to lead by 12 points before Carlton found some cohesion and kicked five majors in succession, thanks to some heady play from Murphy, Walker, Kreuzer, Dylan Buckley and Blaine Boekhorst. At quarter-time, the Blues were in front by 19 points and the diehards in the cheer squad were up and about. But the joy was fleeting, as Brisbane came out for the second term with real intent. Inspired by the aggression of Mitch Robinson, the Lions tackled and harassed Carlton off their game, and slammed on the next dozen goals in a one-sided blitz.

Halfway through the third term, Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko kicked one of the goals of the year when he burst through the centre square, bounced the ball twice, and roosted a 45-metre major to put the Lions 45 points in front. From then on, Brisbane were unstoppable – although there was a brief rally by Carlton just before three-quarter time, when Walker (2) and Kreuzer kicked three goals in the last seven minutes of play.

Even so, Brisbane began the last quarter six goals in front, and went right on with the job to almost double that margin by the final siren. Adding to the chagrin of the few Bluebaggers on hand, Robinson was clearly best on ground with 33 possessions, 15 tackles, 6 marks and a goal. Those who at least made an effort for Carlton were Murphy, Kreuzer, Simpson, Cripps, Walker and Buckley.

Team

B:	15 Sam Docherty	40 Michael Jamison (VC)	23 Lachie Henderson
HB:	7 Dylan Buckley	42 Zach Tuohy	35 Ed Curnow
C:	12 Blaine Boekhorst	44 Andrew Carrazzo	6 Kade Simpson
HF:	46 David Ellard	33 Andrejs Everitt	28 Tom Bell
F:	17 Sam Rowe	1 Andrew Walker	18 Kristian Jaksch
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	9 Patrick Cripps	3 Marc Murphy (C)
Interchange:	24 Mark Whiley	25 Clem Smith	31 Matthew Dick
Substitute:	20 Nick Holman
Emergencies:	30 Blaine Johnson	34 Bradley Walsh	10 Matthew Watson
Coach:	John Barker

Changes

In : Kristian Jaksch, David Ellard, Matthew Dick.
Out : Levi Casboult, Simon White, Cameron Wood.

Subs: Nick Holman replaced Clem Smith during the third quarter.

Milestones

150 Goals: Marc Murphy
Last Game (Carlton): Lachie Henderson
Interesting Fact: This was Carlton's first League game with 4 field umpires, and the second ever in the League
Losing Streaks: This was Carlton's 7th loss in a row, our worst losing streak until this time in the following season. Furthermore, this was Carlton's third loss in a row to the lowly Lions.

Brownlow Votes

3. Mitch Robinson, Brisbane
2. Tom Rockliff, Brisbane
1. Jack Redden, Brisbane

Best & Fairest Votes

Patrick Cripps 4, Ed Curnow 4, Andrew Walker 4, Sam Docherty 3, Dylan Buckley 2