Game Review

Blues stun Swans for fourth win of the year
Sydney might have just re-signed premiership coach John Longmire, but Carlton's caretaker David Teague was the toast of the town after the Blues upset the home side by seven points at the SCG on Saturday. The visitors booted the opening goal of the match and never relinquished their lead, despite several fightbacks by the Swans, eventually winning 9.15 (69) to 8.14 (62) in a scrappy encounter in blustery conditions. Not surprisingly the Blues were brilliantly led by co-captain Patrick Cripps, with Ed Curnow – who tagged Luke Parker after the first term – and Matthew Kreuzer, Sam Walsh and former Swan Nic Newman very good for the winners. Parker, George Hewett, Josh Kennedy and Zak Jones were some of the home side's better contributors. The Blues started with more energy around the stoppages and won the first seven clearances of the match, with Matthew Kreuzer enjoying his time against makeshift ruckman Aliir Aliir. A trademark pack mark from Levi Casboult gave the visitors the first of the day and some momentum, before Sydney's experience in the midfield steadied them.

Parker and Kennedy got to work inside, with one of Parker's 12 disposals giving the Swans their first goal. Jordan Dawson then collected Paddy Dow with a crude bump on the wing which saw tempers flare briefly, and the Blues quickly transferred the footy to the other end and Sam Walsh snapped truly seconds later. Curnow cut down Parker's influence in the second quarter and grabbed a dozen disposals of his own, as his side started to pull away. Carlton booted three consecutive goals to lead by a handy 17 points, with Teague's onballers, led by Curnow and Cripps, reasserting themselves around the footy with a 14-6 clearance advantage for the term. It was left to veteran Kieren Jack, who ran onto a perfect pass from Hayward to trim the Swans' deficit to 10 points by half-time. Whatever Longmire said to his players at the long break looked to have worked when youngster James Rowbottom nailed a difficult snap on the run inside the first minute of the quarter. The locals held sway for most of the term and got to within a point after Tom Papley kicked his first, but a late Murphy opportunistic goal gave the Blues some momentum at the last change. They carried that into the last quarter with two quick goals to Casboult and Jack Silvagni on the back of some more outstanding clearance work from Cripps, and the margin was a game-high 19 points. Things looked bleak for the Swans when Papley blew a golden opportunity from directly in front of goal, but with Jones breaking the lines with his leg speed while players around him looked out on their feet, Sydney hit back through goals to Isaac Heeney and Sam Reid. Any life Sydney had though was immediately sucked out of the SCG when Dawson turned the footy over with a poor kick across half-back, and the Blues got the ball to Harry McKay who strolled into an open goal. The travelling Blues fans rewarded for their faith with a stirring win on the road. Blues debutant Hugh Goddard failed to play any part in the second half after an accidental head knock saw him suffer a suspected fractured cheekbone. The Blues host Gold Coast in a match they'll be expected to win on Saturday afternoon, while the Swans head west to take on Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. - Adam Curley.

Best players; P. Cripps, E. Curnow, M. Kreuzer, S. Walsh, M. Murphy, N. Newman.

Team

B:	20 Lachie Plowman	14 Liam Jones	39 Dale Thomas
HB:	6 Kade Simpson	45 Hugh Goddard	24 Nic Newman
C:	43 Will Setterfield	9 Patrick Cripps (C)	4 Lochie O'Brien
HF:	40 Michael Gibbons	1 Jack Silvagni	25 Zac Fisher
F:	41 Levi Casboult	10 Harry McKay	7 Matthew Kennedy
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	35 Ed Curnow	3 Marc Murphy
Interchange:	2 Paddy Dow	5 Sam Petrevski-Seton	16 Darcy Lang
	18 Sam Walsh
Coach:	David Teague
Emg:	27 Matthew Lobbe, 32 Alex Fasolo, 44 Matthew Owies, 47 Josh Deluca

In: P. Cripps, H. McKay, H. Goddard (Carlton Debut)
Out: M. McGovern (managed), J. Weitering (nose), C. Marchbank (neck)

AFLCA Votes

6 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
6 - Nic Newman (CARL)
5 - Marc Murphy (CARL)
5 - Matthew Kreuzer (CARL)
4 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
4 - Ed Curnow (CARL)

Milestones

50 Games: Zac Fisher
Carlton Debut: Hugh Goddard

Brownlow Votes

3. Nic Newman
2. Matthew Kreuzer
1. Sam Walsh

Best & Fairest Votes

Nic Newman 15, Ed Curnow 12, Lachie Plowman 12, Matthew Kreuzer 11, Levi Casboult 10, Sam Walsh 10, Patrick Cripps 9, Will Setterfield 9, Zac Fisher 8, Marc Murphy 8, Jack Silvagni 8, Michael Gibbons 7, Harry McKay 7, Kade Simpson 7, Liam Jones 5, Sam Petrevski-Seton 4, Dale Thomas 4, Matt Kennedy 1, Lochie O'Brien 1.