Game Review

Blues hold on in stirring MCG win

The Blues fended off a resilient Cats outfit on Sunday afternoon at the MCG. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.

Carlton has held on and produced a stirring 18-point win over Geelong. On the back of a scintillating middle two quarters, the Blues were then forced to fend off a resilient Cats outfit in the 14.10 (94) to 12.4 (76) victory. Nick Haynes produced his best performance in Navy Blue to date, while Harry McKay’s second half was central to the Blues registering their third win on the trot. It was a hot start early, with fumbles and turnovers for both sides on the back of some extreme pressure. After Geelong kicked the opener, Zac Williams responded in kind for the Blues from outside 50, but was soon subbed out of the game for Cooper Lord due to a calf injury. Carlton was winning the ball at the source, registering nine more clearances in the first term than its opponent. Sam Walsh continued his exceptional personal form against the Cats, setting up Lachie Fogarty as the Blues registered back-to-back goals to take an early lead.

Nick Haynes held up brilliantly down back in crucial moments early, while it was a strong response from Jack Silvagni who came from the ground early with what appeared to be a hand issue. Adam Cerra (three clearances, three tackles) was working overtime, but a late free to Patrick Dangerfield saw the Cats draw within a point at the first change. Carlton’s transition game started to get going as it started the second term off as the better side, with a Harry McKay goal - his first since his return - drawing a spirited response from both his teammates and the 67,658 strong at the MCG. With Williams off the ground, Fogarty moved into the role on Tom Stewart and continued to do an exemplary role, not only kicking a second goal for himself, but applying three tackles inside 50. Elijah Hollands soon followed up with the Blues’ third goal from a forward-half intercept, indicating the elite pressure the Blues were bringing to the table for the term. Geelong was always going to respond, and that they did, but Tom De Koning quickly made amends for a turnover with a goal from a forward stoppage to give the Blues some breathing room at the main break. Returning for the second half, the Cats continued to press, kicking two goals in quick succession to draw within single digits. But as the Blues had done all day, they rallied themselves. Nick Haynes continued to stand up brilliantly with 12 marks to three-quarter time, providing brilliant support in the air and at ground level: his intercept ended in a Curnow contested mark and goal (his third for the day) to stem the tide.

Alongside Haynes was Mitch McGovern, who continued in his rich vein of form with an outstanding third quarter. Tallying 10 disposals and five intercepts in the third quarter alone, he was crucial in turning defence into offence, allowing Will White to bob up with his first MCG goal. There were also pivotal moments in the air for Corey Durdin and Harry McKay, taking contested marks - Durdin’s a second straight hanger over Sam De Koning - and duly converting to ensure the Blues had a handy buffer at the final change. But when the final term resumed, there were danger signs for the Blues. After thriving at the contest all day, the Blues struggled to contain the Cats in the clearance situation, with the Cats recording 11 of the first 12 clearances of the final term as well as the first three goals to set up a grandstand finish. Jacob Weitering and Matthew Carroll produced crucial one-on-one wins with holding-the-ball tackles deep in defence, allowing the Blues to settle against an efficient Cats outfit that kicked 7.0 in the second half. After a big six weeks, it was up to who else but McKay to provide a steadying hand, before George Hewett - on the back of another consistent showing - set sail from behind 50 to put the result beyond doubt, giving the Blues a third straight win.

Best: N. Haynes, M. McGovern, H. McKay, S. Walsh, P. Cripps, L. Fogarty, T. De Koning, G. Hewett.

Blues bombshell as Carlton stuns Cats to make it three in a row

Carlton lead from start to finish to upset Geelong and breathe life into its season. - By Phoebe McWilliams at the MCG.

Carlton has held on to win a Sunday afternoon thriller against Geelong at the MCG by 18 points. The Blues couldn't shake the courageous Cats, who battled it out for four quarters, but Carlton were able to hold on to their lead to win 14.10.94 to 12.4.76. It is the most significant win for Carlton this season, who have now won three games in a row following wins over West Coast and North Melbourne in previous weeks. Key forward Harry McKay was outstanding for Carlton, kicking three goals and taking a game-high 12 marks in his first game back since suffering a concussion in round five. McKay was joined by his partner in crime, Charlie Curnow, who kicked three goals of his own.

For the Cats, it was their spearhead Jeremy Cameron (four goals) who kept his side in touch along with Bailey Smith (29 disposals, nine tackles), who continued his strong start to the season. A calf injury to Zac Williams in the first quarter was a major downer for the Blues, with the 30-year-old subbed out before quarter time. It's another blow for the injury-prone small forward, who has had a number of soft tissue injuries across his career. The Cats had an injury scare of their own when star defender Tom Stewart came up worse for wear following a chase-down tackle in the back pocket, but he turned out the assistance of Geelong's medical team to play out the remainder of the game. After kicking three goals apiece in a tightly fought first quarter, the Blues took control in the second term, where they kicked five goals to Geelong's two. Carlton began to gain ascendancy in the middle where they started to dominate clearances. The Blues kicked the first four goals of the second term with the first coming through McKay, who took a strong mark and converted from the goal square. The Cats finally broke Carlton's run of goals 21 minutes into the second quarter when an errant Tom De Koning kick landed in the arms of Mark O'Connor who converted, and it was followed shortly after by spearhead Cameron, who kicked his first of the game to reduce Carlton's lead to 19 points at half-time. The Cats came out from the main break and scored the first two of the second half, with Cameron and Dempsey adding a goal each to their tallies. But every time Geelong looked like they were getting back into the match, Carlton scored. Curnow and McKay continued their strong presence up forward, while small forwards Corey Durdin and Will White hit the scoreboard with goals of their own. The Blues went into the final break with a game-high lead of 28 points.

Again the Cats came out firing in the final term with the first three goals, with Cameron kicking his fourth, and Mark Blicavs, who had been held reasonably quiet for the day, kicking his first. But Carlton's leaders stood up under pressure and McKay, Curnow and captain Patrick Cripps held onto possession in the final minutes to wind down the clock. Fittingly, Carlton midfielder George Hewett, who has been exceptional so far this season, kicked the sealer in the final minutes and put the win out of reach and gave Carlton its third win of the season. The Blues will now face the Crows in Adelaide next week, while the Cats will have to re-group against Collingwood at the MCG. The only downer on the day for the Blues was an injury to Zac Williams, who was subbed off early in the game with a calf issue.

The Blues hold on for a famous victory against the spirited Cats. The Blues were dominant with their ball movement, outscoring the Cats by 46 points from intercept possession chains - their fifth-highest differential in the last four seasons. The Cats threw everything at the Blues in the final term, registering 10 more clearances than the Blues and kicking four goals straight. However, the Cats' 16 fewer clearances and score of just 3.1 (19) in the first three quarters ultimately proved too few to pull off the comeback victory.

Carlton's keys are back
Sunday's match against the Cats was the first full game that Blues key forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay have played together this season. And both spearheads caused major headaches, kicking three goals each and taking 21 marks between them. Carlton look like a much better side when they have their two tall targets inside 50 and these two will be instrumental to turning around the Blues' slow start to the season.

Jack shuts down Geelong's Danger man
Heading into Sunday's game, Patrick Dangerfield was leading the Cats' goal kicking tally with 14 from his side's first six games. Dangerfield has been spending a lot more time forward this season, and has used his explosiveness and game sense to score. But against the Blues, the 35-year-old was held reasonably quiet by his lofty standards. Blue Jack Silvagni was an interesting match-up for the Cats' skipper, but the Carlton utility did an excellent job to keep him to a goal, two marks and 13 disposals.

Best: H. McKay, S. Walsh, C. Curnow, T. De Koning, J. Weitering, G. Hewett, N. Haynes.

Voss opens up on McKay's emotional return

Michael Voss pays tribute to Harry McKay after his match-winning performance against Geelong. - By Phoebe McWilliams at the MCG.

Carlton coach Michael Voss has sung the praises of key forward Harry McKay after his performance in the Blues 18-point win over Geelong on Sunday afternoon. Voss said the 27-year-old was "critically important" to the Blues and was "rapt" to hear the Carlton fans cheering him on. McKay kicked three goals and took a game-high 12 marks, including a number at key moments in the final quarter when Geelong were threatening to come back into the game. It was just McKay's second full game for the season after missing several weeks due to mental health reasons, which he opened up about before his return. He then suffered a concussion against West Coast in round five, with Sunday's game the first time for the year he and Charlie Curnow have played a full game together. "You go on a journey with every single one of your players, and everyone has a really different one," said Voss. "I always believe as a coach, you've got to believe in your people, and that's so important to do; to believe in them. And when they're going through tough times, you've got to keep showing them the way. "And he's been able to work through some things, and I don't want to overplay this ... but I'm just so pleased he's able to come back. He's a critically important person to us. We love him in our team."

Voss also commended his defenders, including new recruit Nick Haynes, who stood up at key times in the match. "We just had great moments ... Haynes, he had a number of them throughout the game. So he certainly turned the clock back there a little bit. "I thought 'Gove' (Mitch McGovern) had some really big moments, 50-50 balls, where he was able to win the ball from tough situations. "Weiters' (Jacob Weitering) tackle on Dangerfield late in the game - tackles do win you matches. "But I think overall, the most probably pleasing team aspect of it all was that we've kept a very strong offensive team to a low score." The Blues will be without veteran Zac Williams for an unknown period, with the small forward subbed out from the game in the first quarter with a calf injury. Voss couldn't comment as to the extent of the injury, but reiterated the importance of Williams to their forward line. "I spoke to him in the rooms afterwards," said Voss. "Hopefully we're missing him just for a couple of weeks, but I don't know the scale of it yet, so I guess it's a bit of a wait and see. "He's a pretty important player to our make-up of our forward line."

Team

B:	1 Jack Silvagni	23 Jacob Weitering	42 Adam Saad
HB:	26 Nick Haynes	11 Mitch McGovern	4 Ollie Hollands
C:	5 Adam Cerra	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	46 Matt Cottrell
HF:	20 Elijah Hollands	10 Harry McKay	38 Will White
F:	6 Zac Williams	30 Charlie Curnow	3 Jesse Motlop
Ruck:	12 Tom De Koning	18 Sam Walsh	29 George Hewett
Interchange:	32 Matt Carroll	13 Blake Acres	8 Lachie Fogarty
	19 Corey Durdin
Substitute:	36 Cooper Lord
Coach:	Michael Voss
Emergencies:	15 Sam Docherty	2 Lachlan Cowan	33 Lewis Young

In: Harry McKay
Out: Lewis Young (omitted).

Substitute: Cooper Lord (replaced Zac Williams in the first quarter).

Free Kicks

Carlton: 20
Geelong: 11

Front Runners

Oliver Hollands 16.km
Sam Walsh 15.9km
Elijah Hollands 15.7km
Matt Cottrell 15.4km
The four top runners in the match.

Interesting Facts

1. Unlike Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG on Anzac Day It is rare for Carlton to play a side in the same Round and at the same Venue and also on the same Date in two consecutive seasons, but it is happening in this game.
2. Zac Williams kicked his 28th goal for Carlton which passed the 27 goals he kicked for the GWS Giants.
3. Elijah Hollands equalled a career-high of 25 disposals.

AFLCA Votes

8 - Nick Haynes (CARL)
7 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
5 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
4 - Mitch McGovern (CARL)
4 - Harry McKay ) (CARL)
2 - Connor O'Sullivan (GEEL)

Brownlow Votes

3 - Harry McKay (CARL)
2 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
1 - Bailey Smith (GEEL)