Game Review

Swans down the Blues in an entertaining game.
Carlton have gone down fighting to the Sydney Swans in front of a packed Marvel Stadium in round three. Despite their resilience shown by the Blues, the Swans were ultimately made the most of their opportunities in front of goal to head home with their first win of the season. Sam Walsh once again showed true class, finishing with a team high 28 disposals and a goal, while Liam Jones was outstanding in defence, limiting Lance Franklin's impact on the game.

The Breakdown:
Q1 Breakdown: It was a see-sawing affair in the first term with eight lead changes. Carlton led the Swans in clearances 11-8 in the opening term, booting most of their five goals from centre clearances. Sam Walsh was everywhere with eight disposals and two clearances in the opening term, but the highlight came when he kicked his first ever AFL goal half way through the quarter. The Swans got the upper had late with a goal from Will Hayward and took a three-point lead into the second quarter.

Q2 Breakdown: Sydney came out with all the momentum to start the second quarter, able to lock the ball in their forward half. The Blues defenders did well to stand up under constant attack, with the Swans entering their forward fifty 31 times to Carlton’s 24. The Swans pulled away to enter the main break with an 18-point lead. The highlight came from Mitch McGovern who miraculously kicked the ball over his head to lock in a certain goal of the year contender.

Q3 Breakdown: The Blues came out with a noticeable increase in their intensity following the main break. However, the Swans continued to make the most of their opportunities in front of goal, building on their half-time lead. Liam Jones began to get the best of the contest against Franklin, forcing the star forward into uncharacteristic errors throughout the term. Late goals to Ed Curnow and Harry McKay put the game within reach for the Blues heading into the final term.

Q4 Breakdown: Carlton started the final term on the backfoot after Mitch McGovern was removed from the game as a precautionary measure to manage a slight hamstring complaint. The ball was locked in the Blues forward line for the majority of the term, as they tempered Sydney's ability to move the ball freely. Ed Curnow's fourth goal of the day brought the Blues to within 16-points halfway through the final quarter. However, a fourth goal to Sydney's Isaac Heeney was ultimately enough for the Swans to head home with the four points.

Moment of the match: There were plenty of spectacular goals to choose from, but none were better than Sam Walsh’s first career goal. It was clearly a big moment for the 18-year old, who looked to enjoy every moment of the celebration with his teammates.

Three things we learned:
1. Harry McKay will continue to cause problems for the opposition defenders. The tall forward took six contested marks and moved well up the ground to provide a target for his teammates.
2. Ed Curnow looks to be settling into his new role up forward. Curnow hit the scoreboard for four majors, including a contender for goal of the year.
3. Liam Jones' competitiveness and willingness to fight until the very end is important to everyone around him. Jones played on Franklin for a total of 109 minutes, and was able to keep him goalless in the second half. - Julian Wallace.

Best: P. Cripps, E.Curnow, S. Walsh, L. Jones.

Team

B:	14 Liam Jones	20 Lachie Plowman	6 Kade Simpson
HB:	22 Caleb Marchbank	23 Jacob Weitering	24 Nic Newman
C:	4 Lochie O'Brien	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	18 Sam Walsh
HF:	29 Cameron Polson	10 Harry McKay	3 Marc Murphy
F:	25 Zac Fisher	11 Mitch McGovern	41 Levi Casboult
Ruck:	17 Matthew Lobbe	5 Sam Petrevski-Seton	2 Paddy Dow
Interchange:	35 Ed Curnow	39 Dale Thomas	40 Michael Gibbons
	43 Will Setterfield
Coach:	Brendon Bolton
Emg:	1 Jack Silvagni, 21 Jarrod Garlett, 18 Liam Stocker, 27 Andrew D. Phillips

In; Caleb Marchbank, Lochie O'Brien, Levi Casboult, Matthew Lobbe
Out; Andrew Phillips (Injured), Charlie Curnow (injured), Alex Fasolo (omitted), Jarrod Garlett (omitted)

Note; Andrew Phillips was a late withdrawal, he was replaced in the selected side by Matthew Lobbe.

Milestones

First Goal: Sam Walsh
Interesting Fact: (1) Harry McKay almost set an AFL record of 15 contested marks after 3 rounds of footy, this was the second best effort with Matthew Lloyd taking 17 marks.
Interesting Fact: (2) Will Setterfield would play his 3rd Carlton game, exceeding his 2 with the Giants. A True Blue!
Interesting Fact: (3) Ed Curnow kicked a personal best of 4 goals in this clash with the Swans, previous to this he had booted 2 goals on 4 other occasions.

AFLCA Votes

10 - Isaac Heeney (SYD)
8 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
6 - Zak Jones (SYD)
2 - Liam Jones (CARL)
2 - Ed Curnow (CARL)
1 - Jarrad McVeigh (SYD)
1 - Callum Mills (SYD)

Brownlow Votes

3. Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
2. Patrick Cripps
1. Josh P. Kennedy (Sydney)

Best & Fairest Votes

Patrick Cripps 12, Liam Jones 12, Ed Curnow 11, Harry McKay 8, Sam Walsh 7, Levi Casboult 6, Marc Murphy 3, Jacob Weitering 3, Zac Fisher 2, Matthew Lobbe 2, Lachie Plowman 2.

Footage

https://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2019/3/carl-v-syd