Goalkickers: B. Kemp 3.3, H. McKay 2.2, M. Pittonet 2.0, M. McGovern 2.0, S. Walsh 1.0, J. Smith 1.0, N. Newman 1.0, E. Hollands 1.0, F. Evans 0.1, B. Ainsworth 0.1, Rushed 0.1.

Reports: Will Hayward (CARL) was suspended for 1 match for striking George Wardlaw (Nth Melb), it was rated as intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact.

Umpires: Leigh Fisher, Justin Power, Curtis Deboy, Cameron Dore.

Injuries: J. Weitering (concussion).

Ladder: 15th

Game Review

Blues overrun on Good Friday
Carlton has been defeated by North Melbourne by 10 points at Marvel Stadium. - By Carlton Media.

Carlton has gone down to North Melbourne by 10 points on Good Friday at Marvel Stadium. The Blues led at each of the breaks and for the entire second half up until the 28th minute, but couldn't hold on as North surged home late in the 14.12 (96) to 13.8 (86) defeat. Brodie Kemp booted three goals, while Marc Pittonet (two goals) and Mitch McGovern (two goals) were also multiple goalkickers on the day. It was a messy first quarter from both sides in a scrappy affair, with plenty of turnovers and missed opportunities all over the ground. Carlton converted for the first time of the day through a Pittonet set-shot, before Kemp and McGovern followed suit as the Blues lifted. After a sea-sawing second term with multiple lead changes, Carlton held film and had the edge at the main break. Defender Nic Newman made a welcome return in his first game in 573 days with a nicely-slotted goal, much to the delight of his teammates. The Blues opened the second half with back-to-back goals through McKay and Elijah Hollands, the first two of five for that term to make up a 22-point lead at the final change. However, a seven-goal final quarter from the North proved too costly, as the Kangaroos couldn't be stopped in the final minutes with Harry Sheezel and Jy Simpkin sealing the win. The Blues were without Jacob Weitering for the bulk of the final term, who left the ground with concussion. Carlton will next travel to Gather Round to face the Crows at Adelaide Oval next Thursday night.

Best: E.Hollands, M. Pittonet, B. Kemp, H. McKay, G. Hewett.

Oh no, not again: Blues crumble late as Roos storm home in Good Friday thriller
North Melbourne kicked the last five goals of the game to add more scrutiny on Carlton and coach Michael Voss. - By Phoebe McWilliams at Marvel Stadium.

Carlton's horror second-half fadeouts have reared up again after North Melbourne came from behind to win by 10 points in a Good Friday thriller. The Kangaroos kicked seven goals in the final term to claw back from 22 points down at three-quarter time to steal the win 14.12 (96) to 13.8 (86) in front of a packed Marvel Stadium crowd of 45,919. The win will no doubt add further scrutiny to the Blues who have been heavily criticised for their poor second halves, adding to the pressure building on Michael Voss and his team. It seemed like the Blues had learnt from their previous matches when they came out after half-time and booted five goals in the third quarter. But following a fiery three-quarter-time address from coach Alastair Clarkson, the Kangaroos lifted in the fourth kicking the final five goals of the game, with former skipper Jy Simpkin booting the sealer. The Blues played out the majority of the final term without key defender Jacob Weitering after he failed a concussion test following contact to his head in a marking contest in the fourth quarter. It's the third time from four matches that the Blues have led at half-time only to be overrun in a worrying trend that has got the football world talking.

It seemed that after the main break they were set to curtail this stat when captain Patrick Cripps (21 disposals, seven score involvements) lifted, as did the Blues’ pressure. They had laid just 13 tackles at half-time but came out breathing fire, adding 24 tackles in the third quarter alone. Spearhead Harry McKay kicked the first and last goals of the quarter and Elijah Hollands’ influence lifted, highlighting his skill and capability at this level. With a 22-point lead heading into the final term, the Blues just needed to hold on. But Clarkson had other ideas, putting together an animated address at the final break, where he spoke strongly to his team and particularly with young defender Colby McKercher. The stern words seemed to have an effect, the Roos coming out and kicking the first of the final term through young key forward Cooper Trembath. Zane Duursma kicked his third, but the two goals were matched by majors to Blues forwards Brodie Kemp and Mitch McGovern. Following the incident where Weitering left the ground, the Kangaroos forwards continued to push, Trembath kicked his third, Paul Curtis his second and Cameron Zurhaar, who had a quiet day, scored one of his own. With the lead within their grasp, a goal at the 28-minute mark to Harry Sheezel put North Melbourne in front for the first time since the 13-minute mark of the second term. Simpkin then sealed the win with a last-gasp major, marking just the second time North Melbourne has walked away with the four points since the Good Friday SuperClash was introduced in 2017.

Newman returns
Carlton fan favourite Nic Newman made his return in Friday’s match after missing the 2025 season with a knee injury. The veteran defender added stability to Carlton’s backline and provided one of the highlights of the game when he slotted a set shot from a difficult angle in the second term. Newman celebrated with passion as the ball sailed through with his teammates surrounding him as he put the Blues in front.

Best: E.Hollands, M.Pittonet, B.Kemp, H.McKay, G.Hewett.

'Got to own that': Heat intensifies on Blues after latest meltdown.
Michael Voss will face another week of scrutiny after his side let a big lead slip. - By Phoebe McWilliams at Marvel Stadium.

Carlton coach Michael Voss said his side lacked some 'moments of composure' after giving up another significant lead that will firmly place the blowtorch on his club again this week. The Blues, who have been criticised for their poor second halves this season, came out after half-time with renewed energy and pressure to kick five goals to North Melbourne's two to lead by 22 points at the final change. But as they have done in three out of four games this season, Carlton was unable to hold on, coughing up the last five goals of the match to lose by 10 points. It came just a week after the Blues let a 43-point lead slip against Melbourne. "Coming in at half-time, obviously the challenge was laid bare for us to be able to step it up a gear. We certainly did that," Voss said. "It looked like more of a game, our game. But we have to manage minutes and we have to manage moments and we didn't, and they were good enough to." Carlton led by 21 points 12 minutes into the final quarter before the Roos stormed home. "Some moments of composure would have helped us," said Voss. "To be able to take the sting out of the game and just be able to find when those points and moments are, when the crowd's going crazy and you have to finish the game. "Our ability to ice that game was from a really strong position and we weren't able to do it, so we've just got to own that and go to work on it." The turnaround coincided with the loss of key defender Jacob Weitering who left the ground following a collision and subsequently failed a concussion test. Voss said Weitering's departure from the game wasn't the only reason his team was unable to seal the win. "He's obviously one of our most important players, isn't he? So, you know, having that stability of a leader like that through those particular times," he said. "It did stress our system a little bit because we had to shuffle a few magnets to obviously cater for that. But, you know … still the last four or five minutes we still had plenty of opportunities to be able to get that job done."

Newman on loss to North Melbourne
Hear from Nic Newman post-match. - By Isabella Bianchi, Carlton Media.

Returning Carlton defender Nic Newman spoke post-match to 3AW, after a 10-point loss to North Melbourne. Here's what he had to say:

On his comeback to AFL football:
"Yeah, it's hard to sort of appreciate that at the moment. No doubt tomorrow with some sleep and time with the little one, I'll probably reflect and have some more appreciation on how good it was to be back. I loved being back on the footy field after a year and a half off. It's a little bit hard to appreciate that right now."

On Carlton's second halves:
"I felt like today was a little bit different. We played some good footy in the second half, I know last week we went away from our game style and how we want to play for most of the second half. Whereas, I thought today that third quarter we played some good footy and even late we had some opportunities. I know it feels like it's a similar story, but without watching it back I do feel like there were some positives in the second halves this week. We'll just have to get to work, clearly we had some opportunities and we played some good footy in the third, but there were some patches in the fourth that we will definitely review and look at. We've just got to go to work and get better at it." "We probably kicked it long too much, but credit to [North Melbourne] they defended the ground pretty well. We've got to keep looking at ways to move the ball in the last quarter when we're tired and the game is on the line. But to [North Melbourne's] credit, they defended very well in the last quarter and forced us to kick down the line. It's hard right now to sit back and think too much about ex's and oh's and game styles. I'm pretty disappointed right now, so we'll look at in the week."

On Michael Voss' post-game address:
"He spoke just after the game, he's an incredible leader and fronts up like good leaders do. As I said there's a strong air of disappointment and frustration but what I said before, we played some good footy in the second half. [North Melbourne] is a quality outfit, they've got some good talented and their mids got going. As I said, Vossy was pretty calm and measured about the game, it was just some moments late - more around some moments we didn't own."

On the last quarter:
"You can feel it when a team's got a bit of momentum, they've sort of got you pinned in the back half. One of the hardest things in footy is to generate ball movement and get it out of your back half, they did a good job defending. At time you've just got to go down the line and win some contests and we didn't do that. We weren't able to get the ball out of bounds and weren't able to hold the ball in and get a repeat stoppage. We let the ball bobble out, so it's hard when you feel like you're defending multiple entries, and using a fair few tickets on defence and they urge you going the other way. We'll go to work on some of those moments and contest, and potentially being able to get the ball out of bounds. It's a bit raw right now, and it's pretty hard to take in the way the game went."

Team

In: Nic Newman, Wade Derksen, Jordan Boyd, Adam Cerra
Out: Harry Dean (concussion), Campbell Chesser (Omitted), Zac Williams (ribs), Hudson O'Keeffe (Omitted)

Milestones

Debut: Wade Derksen

Interesting Facts

This is the first time that North Melbourne has defeated Carlton at Marvel Stadium since Round 19, 2021.

Free Kicks

Carlton 23
North Melbourne 25

Front Runners

1. D.Stephens (North Melb.) 15.2km
2. Oliver Hollands 14.8km
3. Elijah Hollands 14.4km
3. C.Daniel (North Melb.) 14.4km

AFLCA Votes

10 - Caleb Daniel (NMFC)
5 - Cooper Trembath (NMFC)
4 - Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)
3 - Dylan Stephens (NMFC)
3 - Ben Ainsworth (CARL)
2 - Elijah Hollands (CARL)
2 - Finn O'Sullivan (NMFC)
1 - Oliver Hollands (CARL)

Brownlow Votes

1 Marc Pittonet