AFL Round 17 GWS v Carlton: All the analysis and news as the Giants turn the tables on Blues

Michael Voss has fired a rocket at his Carlton side after a shock loss to GWS on Saturday night, saying the team let itself down and lost its identity in the face of the orange tsunami.

Lachlan McKirdy

@LMcKirdy7

7 min read

July 7, 2024 - 4:33PM

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Carlton coach Michael Voss felt his team let themselves down in their loss to the Giants in a match where they were “completely dominated” after quarter time.

After a scintillating stretch of footy that saw them win five games in a row, the Blues were slightly brought back down to earth on Saturday night in the 12-point defeat.

While the margin narrowed towards the end of the game with what turned out to be consolation goals for the visitors, Voss conceded that even if they had managed to turn around the result by full time, the win wouldn’t have been deserved.

“We were completely dominated in the second and third quarter,” Voss said.

“It was a game of momentum, wasn’t it? I thought how well we played in the first, you can equally say the opposite for the next two quarters.

“We just couldn’t get our hands on it for large periods of the second and third quarter. Not a hell of a lot was working in what we were trying to adjust because we couldn’t get our hands on it.

Michael Voss addresses his troops on Saturday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“We gave ourselves a bit of a look at the end, it would have been stolen if we did. But certainly, GWS upped the pressure and they were able to get territory from stoppage and get the scoreboard going from that part of the game.”

The Giants ended up dominating most of the key statistics, with 86 more disposals and 81 more uncontested possessions throughout the game.

It allowed them to return to their damaging orange tsunami game style, and for the first time in what felt like two months, they were finally able to make the opposition pay on the scoreboard.

Voss was disappointed that the Giants were able to generate so much momentum in an area his team is usually able to control.

“It’s normally a real strength of ours (stopping the handball receives),” Voss said. “We’ve been able to manage that pretty well over the course of the whole year, not just recent weeks.

“But it’s not often we concede 70 points from stoppage. That is an enormous number. Clearly, they got territory in that part of our game. The run was one part, but when you concede that many scores from stoppages … it’s hard to generate your game from your back half.

Connor Idun, Lachie Whitfield and Harry Himmelberg of the Giants celebrate at full time in their win over Carlton. Picture: Brendon Thorne/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

“We probably let our defenders down a little bit and couldn’t get any delay (on the Giants’ entries). At the end of the day, we weren’t able to play our method for long enough.”

Despite coming from the ground during the second quarter for a prolonged period with a cork, Voss was confident that key defender Jacob Weitering would “pull up okay” for next week’s match against the Bulldogs.

It’s the second time this season that Voss and his side have been defeated in Sydney after a big opening quarter lead. Against the Swans in round 10, they conceded seven goals in a row to let the ladder-leaders back into the game.

Tonight, the Giants kicked nine goals in a row across the second and third quarters to completely change the game.

While there’s no doubt the Blues have made big strides this season, the coach wants to see more consistency from his side in the back half of the year.

“We need to stay present,” Voss said. “You could argue the scoreboard shifted where our focus was.

“We spend a lot of time on what our identity looks like. The reality is, we drifted away from that. When pressure comes, that’s what we go back to and unfortunately, that wasn’t strong enough for us.

“We’re trying to become a consistent football team and that’s what we’re still trying to achieve. I feel like we’ve got some confidence from the public that we can perform when we need to. But we let ourselves down today.”

BLUES PUT BACK IN THEIR PLACE BY GIANTS BLITZ

The Giants have produced a remarkable eight-goal turnaround to reignite their premiership hopes and condemn Carlton to a deflating 12-point defeat.

Early in the game, it appeared as though the gap on the ladder between the two teams would be a fair indicator of what was to come.

The second-placed Blues kicked eight goals in the opening term, their best first quarter of the year, in a clinical display of efficiency going forward. Harry McKay and Zac Williams both had three by the first break, and at one stage the margin had opened up to 39 points. Patrick Cripps was enormous around the stoppages, but very quickly, the game would shift.

With Jacob Weitering coming from the ground with a cork, the Giants’ forwards began to capitalise on their opportunities. And in a flash, Carlton’s lead had virtually disappeared with the orange tsunami returning in a big way.

GWS star Tom Green gets a kick away under pressure from Carlton’s Blake Acres. Picture: Brendon Thorne/AFL Photos

GWS produced its best quarter of the year, kicking seven goals in the term and going into the rooms with just a two-point deficit. Jesse Hogan was marshalling the aerial battle and the hosts’ pressure was elite with 11 more tackles inside forward 50 by half time.

If scoring issues had plagued the Giants across the past two months, they were determined to put their foot on Carlton’s throat in the second half. They kicked seven goals to one in the penultimate term, which bookended a stretch of nine-goals-in-a-row, to open up a commanding 36-point lead at the final break.

Hogan kicked three, while Isaac Cumming had two for the term, but it was their work further up the ground that was the highlight.

The returning Darcy Jones was electric and seemed to be everywhere, while Toby Bedford’s tagging success continued with a shutdown job on Sam Walsh. While GWS debutant Joe Fonti was playing with the composure of a veteran.

And the Giants’ inaugural captain Callan Ward was arguably the best player on the field, finishing with two goals and 30 disposals as he turned back the clock.

Like they have all year, the Blues were never out of it. They kicked the last three goals of the game to bring the margin back to 12 points. But the Giants weren’t to be defeated, and they finally have the result that can be a springboard for their push to September.

Toby Greene booted two goals. Picture: Brett Costello

As did Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps. Picture: Brendon Thorne/AFL Photos

“We were completely dominated in the second and third quarter,” Carlton coach Michael Voss said post-match.

“It was a game of momentum, wasn’t it? I thought how well we played in the first, you can equally say the opposite for the next two quarters.

BLUES START RED-HOT

If there were any worries from Michael Voss about the wounded Giants getting the game on their terms early, the Blues produced their best first quarter of the year to grab all the momentum.

Harry McKay was involved early and had Carlton’s first three goals of the game before 12 minutes had been played. Zac Williams also had a trio of majors to his name by the time the first break came around.

The dominance came from their stoppage work, taking a +11 clearance advantage into quarter-time. Patrick Cripps was the mastermind yet again, registering 11 touches and a goal in the first term, as the Blues kicked eight majors in the blink of an eye.

GWS had a few important moments, especially Darcy Jones’ vital goal right on quarter time to give them some hope. But with the Blues only just winning the inside-50 count 14-17, it was a scoreboard annihilation that Adam Kingsley would have struggled to watch.

Jesse Hogan takes a strong mark on Saturday night. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos

HOGAN NOT DEAD TO BE STIFF

Jesse Hogan’s contested marking has single-handedly kept the Giants in games this season, and as they turned the screws in the second quarter, the key forward was really turning it on.

However, the 29-year-old was denied what looked like a stone-cold mark directly in front halfway through the term that threatened to halt the momentum the Giants had worked so hard to regain with Jacob Weitering off the ground.

It would have taken the margin back to just three points, however, the ball went down the other end and Cripps produced one of the best individual goals we’ve seen this year. When Orazio Fantasia made it two in a minute, it looked like the Giants’ heads had dropped.

But if anything, it made Hogan angrier and more determined. He took two massive contested marks directly in front and converted truly to help bring the margin to two points at half time.

BRIGGS BOUNCES BACK

The game threatened to be a midfield procession for the Blues in the first term with Cripps and a fresh Tom De Koning dominant around the stoppages. The Giants were lagging behind their opponents and looked to be a step behind at every turn.

But whatever Shane Mumford said to Kieren Briggs clearly worked, with the GWS Academy product putting in one of his best-ever performances in the orange and charcoal.

He single-handedly turned around the clearance battle, finishing the match with a remarkable stat line of 40 hit outs, 10 clearances and 16 contested possessions.

For a player who has been incredibly under fire in recent weeks, it was a return to form to savour for Briggs.