AFL 2022 Carlton v Port Adelaide: All the news, scores and reaction out of the round 5 clash

Carlton insist their second-half fadeouts, which have earned them a worrying stat as the AFL’s worst third-quarter team, won’t be an ongoing issue for the club.

Nick Smart

@NickSmart85

6 min read

April 19, 2022 - 5:23PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

AFL

Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Carlton is the AFL’s worst third-quarter team this season despite a 4-1 start to 2022, but assistant coach Ashley Hansen insists the Blues’ second half fadeouts won’t become an ongoing issue.

The Blues nearly coughed up a 50-point lead to Port Adelaide last weekend but ultimately held on for a three-point win at the MCG.

It was the third time Carlton had almost let a seemingly unassailable halftime lead go to waste, with five-goal advantages over the Bulldogs and Hawthorn earlier in the season resulting in 12 and one-point wins respectively.

Stream every match of every round of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Although, the young Blues are still winning games and Hansen said the club was taking a glass half-full approach.

“You can look at it two different ways and the first way is we’ve put ourselves in those positions, which has been really encouraging because our starts have been strong and the style we’re trying to encourage them to do they’re doing extremely well,” Hansen said.

The gap between Carlton’s best and worst quarters is stark. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“And then we’re holding on late in games, which I know our fans would appreciate and that’s really encouraging to see the group buy in and dig in when they had to.

“We’re just not playing our style for long enough and having those inconsistencies … but I’m confident we’ll get there.”

The gap between Carlton’s best and worst is stark, as numbers by Champion Data prove.

Over the first five rounds, Carlton is the AFL’s best first-quarter team and the third best second quarter side.

After the main break, it is a very different story.

The Blues are averaging just 10.6 points for their third terms, which is the league’s worst.

Carlton and 15th-placed Essendon are the only two sides this season to have not won a third quarter in 2022.

The Blues also average three goals for their final quarters, which is 12th in the league.

“I think there are just patches in games where we just have to play better for longer, and generally there’s always going to be a response,” Hansen said.

“It’s come off the back of very strong front first halves where we put ourselves in a dominant position and teams are going to respond.

“We have to understand that and get into that arm wrestle.”

The Blues are hopeful captain Patrick Cripps will return this week against the Dockers on the road.

“He has to get through training this week,” Hansen said.

“We’re optimistic with two sessions ahead he gets through those and he’ll come under consideration for selection.”

Carlton were almost run down by Port Adelaide aftre holding a big lead. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

What was behind Carlton’s worrying fadeout to Port?

-Owen Leonard

Lapses in concentration are to blame for Carlton’s second-half fadeouts, coach Michael Voss conceded on Sunday.

The Blues nearly coughed up a 50-point lead with Port Adelaide charging home to set up a nail-biting finish in the round five clash, ultimately falling half-a-goal short of a miraculous comeback win.

It’s already the third time Carlton has let a seemingly unassailable halftime lead go to waste, with five-goal advantages over the Bulldogs and Hawthorn earlier in the season resulting in 12 and one-point wins respectively.

Voss said his team had tried different strategies to counter their second-half slips but they clearly hadn’t worked.

“We just drop our guard a bit and lose some concentration, probably lack some consistency in the way we want to play. So, we just need to make sure we keep working at it,” Voss said post-match.

Michael Voss has attributed Carlton’s recent fadeouts to a loss of concentration as they outlasted a fast-finishing Port Adelaide. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

“We’ve tried a couple of different things (but) as you can tell, not much has worked at this point in time.”

But the Blues have found a way to hold on in each of their anxious finishes, with players stepping in key moments in the shadows of the final siren.

Voss pointed to the last five minutes of the frenetic finish against Port Adelaide as proof of his side’s resilience.

“Despite us putting ourselves in that position, you cannot fault the fortitude of this group to just be able to get it done at the end,” he said.

Carlton could regain captain Patrick Cripps (hamstring) as soon as next week for a tricky trip west where they’ll take on Fremantle, with the skipper to be watched closely through the week.

“He’ll be an assess this week, but a good chance. We’ll wait and see in the first couple of days of this week. Clearly he’s got to train, so we’ll probably know more as the week goes,” Voss said.

Carlton’s angel as Charlie denies Port miracle comeback

Carlton survived a massive scare from a Port Adelaide side desperate to avoid its worst start to an AFL season, holding on for a thrilling three-point win after leading by 51 points late in the second term at the MCG.

Port’s hopes of eluding a first-ever 0-5 start to the season looked all but dashed by the main break, before a stunning second-half reversal set the stage for a nail-biting final term where the Power threatened to take the lead but were ultimately denied.

Charlie Curnow kicked five goals in a powerhouse display for Carlton. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Carlton key forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay proved the difference, combining for eight goals and 10 marks against a Port defence bolstered by the return of Aliir Aliir.

The pair was significant at the death, with Curnow booting the Blues’ sole major of the frenetic final term and McKay taking a towering mark in the dying stages after a long kick out of the defensive 50m.

On a day Port were missing Ollie Wines, Robbie Gray was like a fine wine, putting in a vintage performance with three goals and six score involvements.

Zak Butters was monumental through the midfield in the second half and found running support from Ryan Burton and Dan Houston, while Darcy Byrne-Jones was equally threatening out of defence.

Harry McKay takes a strong mark in his three-goal performance against Port Adelaide. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

But the Power now face the highly likely prospect of missing September after consecutive preliminary finals, and the pressure on coach Ken Hinkley will only mount.

The Blues, on the other hand, move to 4-1, with Sunday’s holding off of the Power meaning they will realistically need to win only eight-to-10 of their remaining 17 games to qualify for finals.

Carlton fans might be nervous rather than confident, given their team hasn’t featured in September since 2013 and hasn’t progressed deeper than a semi-final since 2000.

But with clubs rising from generations of mediocrity to sudden premiership success in recent times — think the Bulldogs, Richmond and Melbourne — it’s difficult to see why the now 4-1 Blues can’t be the next to shoot into flag contention.

Jeremy Finlayson is congratulated by teammates as Port surges back into the contest. Picture: Getty Images

FAST STARTS AND FADEOUTS

The Blues are making a habit of starting fast in 2022 and Sunday was no exception, with six goals in both the first and second quarters to establish a 49-point lead by halftime.

It follows other main-break leads of 31 against the Bulldogs in round two and 30 against Hawthorn in round three.

But those games were ultimately only won by two goals and one point respectively, with second-half fadeouts nearly costing the four points on both occasions.

Port slammed home six goals to one in third term, cutting what seemed an unassailable halftime deficit back to a very reachable 17 points in only half-an-hour of play.

The Blues again found a way to hold off their opponents, but the second-half fadeouts are surely shaping as a concerning trend.

Charlie Curnow is congratulated after kicking a goal at the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

HARRY AND CHARLIE

All the talk is around the Carlton crew — the Blues’ industrious on-ball brigade — the team’s biggest weapon may well be in the twin towers of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.

Curnow booted five goals from 15 disposals, while McKay slammed home three majors from 18 touches.

Jack Martin showed he still has plenty to offer for Carlton. Picture: Getty Images

HUNGRY JACK

The last time the Blues played finals, Jack Martin was a teenage prodigy.

It hasn’t panned out the way it was supposed to. Six unfruitful seasons on the Gold Coast preceded a pair of similarly unproductive years at the Blues.

This campaign, he’s missed one game through Covid protocols and was handed the medical sub role in another.

But Martin’s back-to-back goals when the game was up for grabs in the first quarter were a reminder of his talent, following up a neat snap at the seven-minute mark with a second major only three minutes later.

The 27-year-old proved he can still provide the Blues with a classy point-of-difference in the front half.