Game Review

Suns outplay Blues

A late comeback fell short in a 19-point loss to Gold Coast. - By Isabella Chessler (La Trobe University).

Ii was a trying game for Carlton and despite a last-quarter spurt, the side fell to the Suns by 19 points on Saturday night. Although the Blues were down by 45 points, they made a remarkable comeback bringing it down to only a 13 point difference in the last term. In what was a special 200th game for midfielder George Hewett on a night where the Blues also bid farewell to Sam Docherty, it wasn’t to be for the Blues in the 11.8 (74) to 13.15 (93) defeat. Francis Evans was outstanding in his eighth AFL game for the Blues, kicking four goals (an equal career-high), while Ollie Hollands (29 disposals) and Patrick Cripps (27 disposals) got their fair share of the ball. Youngsters Hudson O’Keeffe (three games) and Billy Wilson (two games) returned to the team, as the Blues came in with a youthful side – nine players were aged 21 and under while seven players had under 25 games of experience. In a competitive opening quarter from both sides, key forward Harry McKay opened up the game with the Blues’ first goal. Not long after, Evans - who was electric in the forward line – kicked consecutive goals, but the Suns started to get offensive, taking the lead by the end of the first term with the final four goals. Coming into the second term proved to be a challenge for the Blues, as the Suns maintained their offensive style of play. Despite the challenge, Lachie Fogarty kicked a goal while youngster Hudson O’Keeffe kicked his first goal in AFL football, bringing the margin back to 17 points.

After his job on Caleb Serong last week, Cooper Lord kept Brownlow favourite Noah Anderson quiet, with the Gold Coast captain only collecting nine disposals at half time while Lord tallied 12 disposals and four clearances. As the Suns extended the margin, Evans kicked his third goal of the game but the Blues had some close-range chances go begging, despite Hollands continuing to lead with 24 disposals and two direct goal assists. Despite a 44-point margin, the Blues didn’t relent. One after the other, McKay, Evans, Moltop and Moir kicked a goal each for the Blues within a matter of minutes, with this spurt all of a sudden bringing it back to just 17 points the difference. The Blues attacked at all costs, with McKay’s third bringing the margin back to 13 points while Zac Williams (nine disposals) and Adam Saad (eight disposals) provided plenty of run. However, the Blues left themselves with too much to do as the comeback fell short, with the Suns taking away a 19-point victory.

King reigns supreme to cap Suns' great escape over surging Blues

Gold Coast holds on against a fast-finishing Carlton to secure a 19-point win. - By Chris Nice at Marvel Stadium

Gold Coast can breathe a huge sigh of relief after staving off a fast-finishing Carlton outfit, coming away victors by 19 points in a frantic close to a hot-under-the-lid showdown at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night. The Blues kicked six of the final seven goals of the game to give the finals hopefuls a scare, but the Suns had done enough across the first three quarters to secure the 13.15 (93) to 11.8 (74) win. It appeared early on to be a night that would only go from good to great for the visiting Suns.Ben King (six goals) reigned supreme, while the midfield corps stamped its authority at ground level through the likes of Matt Rowell (30 disposals, 10 clearances) and Touk Miller (25 disposals), however Michael Voss' side had plenty left to say in the tense - and admittedly unanticipated, given the first three quarters - final quarter. After establishing a 45-point lead at the final change, the Suns suddenly had to shift out of cruise control as Carlton rallied with a five-goal final term to potentially precipitate another thrilling comeback at Marvel Stadium. Carlton pieced together promising patches to bookend the game, but the Suns' overall potency, dash on the counter-attack and ability to hit targets inside the arc trumped the Blues' bursts at the end of the evening. The win is the cherry on top of what was Damien Hardwick's 350th game as senior coach (307 of them at Richmond), however the individual accolade will be secondary for the triple-premiership coach - particularly after the final-quarter fade out - as he inches closer towards steering Gold Coast to its maiden finals appearance. King was the greatest beneficiary of the visitors' sleek movement with six marks inside-50 and a six-goal return, while Carlton's Francis Evans (four majors) and Harry McKay (three) were particularly effective in the closing stages of the game as the Blues mounted one final charge.

The Blues' young brigade - seven of their players had under 25 games of experience - were far from over-awed against their more fancied opposition, with Cooper Lord the pick of the bunch to keep Noah Anderson to just nine touches at the first change. But emblematic of the Suns' attack after half-time, Anderson rolled up the sleeves to shake off the shackles and finish with 19 disposals. Rowell's bullocking presence out of centre bounce, the class of Touk Miller and the timely purple patch from Alex Davies approaching the pointy end of the season were just as prominent right until the Blues surged back into the contest. Patrick Cripps battled through a bruising blow to the shoulder in the opening term, and similar to his side, he didn't yield until the final siren. Evans' fourth major, the tireless efforts of Harry McKay and a lively snap from Jesse Motlop to open the final term gave the Blues a glimmer, with Ashton Moir narrowly missing a snap that would have roared the Carlton crowd back into full voice. Moir made amends soon after with a classy conversion from the forward flank as the Blues drew to within 13 points, however King's sixth in the dying minutes was enough for the Suns to pull off a great escape. The Suns conceded 5.5 to 1.3 in the final term, but their dominance over the first three quarters was enough to secure the win. They scored 4.6 to 2.3 from attacking midfield tonight. They average 32.2 points per game from this source this season - ranked second in the competition. Francis Evans recorded an equal career-high four goals tonight, in addition to an equal team-high seven score involvements, 466 metres gained, and five marks. Evans recorded five score involvements and two goals in the second half.

Young Blues stand up to task
With Carlton fielding seven players with less than 25 games to their name, Blues fans can take solace that there's some promising green shoots coming through to tackle the coming seasons. Cooper Lord was the pick of the bunch with an excellent number on the in-form Noah Anderson, keeping the Suns skipper to just nine touches at the first change. Ashton Moir was dynamic in the final term with a brilliant goal under pressure to keep his side in the pulsating contest, while Matthew Carroll also had several moments as Carlton threw down the gauntlet to send a shiver through the Suns' camp.

Best: F. Evans, O. Hollands, H. McKay, C. Lord, G. Hewett, J. Weitering.

Suns almost burnt as young Blues hint at big future

The Age - By Danny Russell
Carlton fans caught a glimpse of their future at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, and they might have liked what they had seen. The Blues fielded a side containing seven players with less than 25 games experience and they fought bravely to go down by 19 points against a well-oiled Gold Coast Suns. The Blues trailed by 45 points at three-quarter time and looked down and out for the count. But they finished with the extra legs, belying a trend during the year when they had faded late in games. Maybe it was the exuberance of youth. They closed to within 13 points late in the game, but star Suns forward Ben King steadied the ship with his sixth goal of the night at the 28-minute mark of the final term. The seven young Blues to take the field were Cooper Lord (in game 22), Matt Carroll (game 15), Will White (game 13), Ashton Moir (game nine), Flynn Young (game six), Hudson O’Keeffe (game three) and Billy Wilson (game two). It is even more impressive when you consider those who were missing: No Sam Walsh, no Charlie Curnow, no Mitch McGovern, no Adam Cerra, no Nic Newman, no Jack Silvagni, no Sam Docherty (retired) and no Jagga Smith. The Suns for their part had probably done enough by three-quarter time and can set their sights on a big clash next Saturday against GWS on the Gold Coast. If they can win that clash, they are a big chance for a top four finish. They were well served on Saturday night by ruckman Jarrod Witts and midfielders Touk Miller and Matt Rowell, while John Noble was solid across half-back. For the Blues, Francis Evans continues to push for a career extension with four goals while Harry McKay booted three. Oliver Hollands had 29 disposals off half-back but needs to improve his disposals. Patrick Cripps hurt his shoulder in the first term and needed to go down to the rooms for attention, but the lion-hearted skipper returned to chalk up 27 possessions.

Voss, Blues maintaining energy

Michael Voss speaks on the Round 22 clash with Gold Coast.

Find the positives. A last-quarter fightback fell short for Carlton on Saturday night in a 19-point defeat to the Gold Coast Suns. Despite trailing by as much as 48 points early in the third term, the Blues responded and gave themselves a fighting chance of victory, but ultimately were unable to return to winning ways. Here's what AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss had to say post-match.

On how the last-quarter fightback panned out:
“We were building a little bit of that energy through the third quarter, outside of the first five or so minutes when we had three goals kicked on us. You could’ve been forgiven for thinking ‘that’s enough’, but over the course of the quarter, we started to find the way we wanted to be able to play. We owned the ball a bit more, got a bit more territory, got better field position. “It was just such a supply question at the start, we were up against it. They were dominating clearances and getting midfield turnovers, we were playing everything from our back half and not doing it as well as we normally would. To come out after half time, to make those adjustments and for the players to embrace the way we wanted to play, eventually the momentum started to fall our way. “Finishing the last quarter with that never-give-up attitude, that’s been a trademark over us over the last couple of weeks - we’re seeing the season out strong, that’s what I said we’d do and I’m pleased the players have bought into it with good energy in the locker room.”

On gaining confidence out of the last quarter:
“Every time you get to see the way you want to play and guys getting confidence off that and the energy in behind it, to finish the game off the way we did was nice to feel the energy of that stadium. Those few moments of hope that we were coming pretty fast with plenty of time on the clock. “As most games do, they come down to moments - they took theirs, we didn’t take some of ours. That’s what ends up being the margin in the end.”

On Francis Evans’ game:
“His last six weeks - I include his form in the VFL as well - has seen him bounce out of the bye really well. He’s playing with really high energy, some class, some good finish, some smarts: it’s a hard role, the half-forward role. “At times you don’t get a lot of reward, but he’s found a really good balance in his game. We’re pleased with what he’s been able to do.”

On other individual performances:
“Seeing Harry in the last couple of weeks, he’s been building and I thought he was really impressive, gave us great presence, jumped at the ball and should’ve got more free kicks than what he did. But he just kept showing up. “Ollie Hollands with the role he provided, he’s still got things to work on in his game but he has given us great bounce off half-back. At the beginning of the year, it was something that we weren’t sure about and had to find out where we’d go with it and if he’d go back on the wing, but we’ve persisted with that. “It was an opportunity to get Hudson O’Keeffe into the team. He went out injured, we felt like he needed another game back in the VFL to get his eye in - it’s a bit unfair to throw a young man back in after he’s missed 5-6 weeks with injury and expect him to pick up where he left off... you saw a couple of beautiful pack marks: he’s going to split a few over his time, he’s tough and he competes and you love playing with people like that.”

On Cooper Lord’s impact:
“Cooper Lord had a role on Noah Anderson and did a great job, 12 tackles, impacted himself, had score involvements against a very, very good player that’s leading a lot of awards at the moment. We had little things in the game where we had some wins. “He’s a very mature young man: there’s not a person that’s not impressed by his attitude. There’s also nobody that works harder on their game. He’s under the armpit of Cripps, Walsh and Cerra and he doesn’t leave them alone, because he’s got that appetite to be curious. “Every time I talk to him, he’s just enormously grateful for the opportunity he gets. I asked him to never lose that. Throughout your whole career, as it becomes more serious for you, don’t lose those attributes. “It’s a pleasure to coach that young man. He has taken on these two challenges, and they’ve been thrown to him to learn more about his game - hopefully he can finish off the year that way as well.”

On what’s improved in recent weeks:
“The pressure we’ve been able to build on the opposition in the last couple of weeks has been very good. We finished with 201, the last quarter was 207 - the game was on. “We’ve been able to get a lot more pressure on the ball than we have in the last little while, and it’s put us in better positions on the ground, more powerful positions to launch from. That’s been a really pleasing part of our game. “We’re still in that phase that we’re not hitting the scoreboard enough, and that’s something we’re going to have to spend a pre-season that we impact it more than we are now. “

On gaining energy from youngsters playing:
“I think so, but there’s also been some great energy in the locker room - it’s been great to see our leaders get in behind that. You could be forgiven that the season can peter away and not get much out of it. Our leaders have seen the opportunity to give some time to these young guys and give exposure to these young guys. “They deserve that opportunity, they’ve earned the right and we need to get in behind them. The depth of our list needs to get better in terms of the bigger picture. We’re going to see that through some of these guys, they’ll take the spots of older players and that’s when you know you’re progressing as a footy team. “We’re going to invest our time in that, we’ve been investing in that over the last couple of weeks and growing that out. It takes a more particular focus over the last month.”

On what this week’s announcement has provided:
“That’s a hard one for me to answer, a genuine intangible. Maybe in time we can look back and find out what it meant, but I really hope we’re building n environment that’s consistent. “We understand that there’s always things going on around us, always a conversation that’s going on around us, but we’ve got to be mature enough as performers to know what to listen to and what not to. We’re trying to normalise that and keep it as consistent as we possibly can. “Hopefully as a leader and as a group of coaches we’re turning up to be there for our players and keep serving our Club. I think it’s been that way, and to the players’ credit they’re bringing energy and getting behind our younger players - as a result, you don’t have the season you’re after, but you’re still walking away with something and with small wins.”

Team

B:	42 Adam Saad	23 Jacob Weitering	32 Matt Carroll
HB:	2 Lachlan Cowan	33 Lewis Young	26 Nick Haynes
C:	13 Blake Acres	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	43 Ashton Moir
HF:	4 Oliver Hollands	10 Harry McKay	38 Will White
F:	8 Lachie Fogarty	40 Hudson O'Keeffe	6 Zac Williams
Ruck:	12 Tom De Koning	36 Cooper Lord	29 George Hewett
Interchange:	3 Jesse Motlop	35 Billy Wilson	44 Francis Evans
	19 Corey Durdin
Substitute:	45 Flynn Young
Coach:	Michael Voss
Emergencies:	27 Marc Pittonet	25 Jaxon Binns	39 Alex Cincotta

In: Hudson O'Keeffe, Billy Wilson.
Out: Harry O'Farrell (knee), Marc Pittonet (Omitted).

Substitute: Corey Durdin (replaced Will White in the third quarter).

Free Kicks

Carlton 25
Gold Coast 28

Front Runners

Oliver Hollands 14.6km
Blake Acres 14.6km
Cooper Lord 14.6km

Milestones

200 Games (AFL): George Hewett
First Goal: Hudson O'Keeffe

Interetsing Facts

1. Francis Evans kicked a personal best of four goals for the Blues, equaling his previous best, also four goals, when he played at Port Power.

AFLCA Votes

10 - Matt Rowell (GCFC)
8 - Touk Miller (GCFC)
6 - Ben King (GCFC)
3 - Francis Evans (CARL)
2 - Cooper Lord (CARL)
1 - Sam Collins GCFC)

Brownlow Votes

3 - Ben King (GCFC)
2 - Matt Rowell (GCFC)
1 - Brayden Fiorini GCFC)