AFL Gather Round Fremantle v Carlton: All the analysis and fallout as Blues win thriller

Matt Cottrell was Carlton’s match winner in a dour contest against Fremantle but in the moment, the Blues forward feared it might all get taken away from him.

Glenn McFarlane and Jon Ralph

7 min read

April 7, 2024 - 8:29AM

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Carlton’s Matt Cottrell feared for a few fleeting seconds that the umpires were going to take away his match-winning goal in a dramatic conclusion to the Blues’ thrilling victory over Fremantle on Saturday.

Trailing narrowly as the seconds ticked down, a rushed kick from George Hewett landed in Cottrell’s hands as he went back and put the Blues in front with less than a minute left.

A dour, defensive contest was turned on its head in an extraordinary last few moments as the Blues stormed home after trailing the Dockers for most of the day.

Matthew Cottrell celebrates a goal during the Blues’ clash with Fremantle. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

But almost as soon as Cottrell kicked sailed through the goals at the Riverbank Stand end and the jubilant Blues swarmed in to congratulate him, he noticed the umpire deep in discussion with Dockers players … and his stomach started to churn.

“I thought they were going to take it off me,” Cottrell said.

“I thought we had celebrated for nothing. It ended up being the best result ever for us.”

Instead of a reversal or a goal review, Fremantle’s Jordan Clark had been penalised for umpire dissent after questioning whether the Cottrell mark had been touched.

Matt Kennedy was awarded a free kick deep in attack and his goal killed off any hope Fremantle had of halting Carlton’s unbeaten start to this season.

“I don’t know if it was touched or not,” Cottrell said of the Hewett kick.

“Georgie grubbered one in and it was lucky enough to land in my lap, so I got to finish it off.”

The Blues’ Matt Cottrell celebrates with teammates after his team’s win over Fremantle. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Cottrell, who last month signed a three-year extension taking him through to the end of 2027, said he always felt confident he would kick the goal, given how much he puts in consistent practise before and after sessions.

“I feel like I have got a pretty good routine. I try to put the work into it,” he said.

He said the 10-point win had come off the back of hard work and resilience as the Blues tried to pick their way through the tight Dockers’ squeeze across all areas of the ground.

“We want to be a tough home and away side and cash in and get out wins early in the season,” the 24-year-old said. “We are striving to be a pretty good defensive side.

“I love what we have built here over the six years I have been here. We are a tight group.”

“He (coach Michael Voss) said it was going to be an arm-wrestle for most of the game, but there would be patches where we could cash in.”

Blues pinch controversial thriller in a ‘ridiculous’ final 137 seconds

What a relief it must be to escape the slow eventual death that awaits when a boa constrictor starts to squeeze the life out of you.

Carlton achieved that remarkable fate on Saturday night against Fremantle, just when it believed it was about to draw its last breath.

After a spectacular suffocating job of which Ross Lyon would have been proud, Justin Longmuir’s Dockers stood on the brink of victory.

With three minutes on the clock, and the Dockers nine points to the good, Carlton was about to exit Gather Round with another self-inflicted wound.

A third holding the ball decision at close range – this time Brodie Kemp dragging the ball back under himself – had gifted Michael Walters a goal to extend the lead to nine points.

What happened next was Carlton’s version of an Adelaide Oval miracle.

With 137 seconds on the clock Charlie Curnow’s mark and goal put Carlton only two points down.

Carlton had a pulse.

What came next was truly ridiculous.

Matthew Cottrell celebrates after putting the Blues in front. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

Then it was Matthew Kennedy‘s turn after the free kick. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

As Carlton surged, Luke Jackson inexplicably tapped the ball into space instead of killing the clock, and George Hewett’s quick snap found Matt Cottrell 30 metres from goal.

The Blues were in front.

Unbelievable.

What was Jackson thinking after an absorbing battle with Tom de Koning all afternoon?

Then all hell broke loose, as the Dockers fiercely argued over whether Nat Fyfe or James Aish had touched that Hewett snap.

It might have touched Fyfe’s fingers and brushed Aish’s hair and bicep, and yet that mark was never going to be overturned.

So by the time the dust had settled, Carlton had a second shot from the same spot for umpire dissent as Matt Kennedy iced the game.

Another angle of the last minute free kick that cost the Dockers a second goal in the final minute.

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— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) April 6, 2024

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir wasn’t exactly sure what was said to warrant a dissent call but confirmed defender Jordan Clark had been penalised by the officiating umpire as his teammates attempted to calm him down.

“We should have just got on with it. If they weren’t happy with the call there isn’t much you can do,” he said of his players.

“The players clearly thought they touched the footy but that is a really hard call for umpires to make without going to the replay.

“We just need to move on (in that moment) because the umpire is never going to backtrack. Control what we can control in those moments and give ourselves a chance to reset.”

James Aish after the second free kick was awarded. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

In truth, it was a contest the Blues had no right to win.

Fremantle’s tactics were magnificent until those brain fades deep in red time.

At one stage the Dockers held an 8-1 clearance advantage, shutting down Carlton’s defensive runners with calm and methodical retention of the ball through uncontested marking.

When Adam Saad finally got loose to release a handball to Elijah Holland, the midfielder’s long kick found McKay 15m out over opponent Josh Draper’s head.

And yet with Ethan Hughes in futile pursuit as he turned and raced towards an open goal the ball inexplicable jarred loose from his grasp and another chance was lost.

At least Cripps was able to mark and goal to pay tribute to wife Mon and new daughter Koda Sophie with a rock-the-baby motion.

And yet every time the Blues got into the flow of the game they fluffed their lines.

At one stage they managed only six consecutive points, as the likes of Matthew Cottrell, McKay and Cripps missed gettable shots.

Luke Jackson and Tom De Koning went head-to-head in an enthralling battle on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

After Curnow finally got loose of Alex Pearce to kick back to back goals, Nic Newman and Blake Acres were both run down in front of goal to give Tom Emmett and Joel Treacy point blank goals.

And yet somehow the Blues found a way home against a rival that one suspects will be every bit as dangerous as the explosive Greater Western Sydney or the hard-running midfield-rich Port Adelaide.

It was messy and mistake-ridden and nothing like what the Blues want their best brand to resemble.

But it was downright brilliant for Carlton to extract a fourth consecutive victory on a day when almost nothing went right.

It wasn’t quite a victory for the true believers _ those are only reserved for September

And yet when they look back at their ladder position late this year the stunning victories over Brisbane and Fremantle might have handed them a double chance.

Tempers flared in the second half after Lachie Fogarty’s late hit on Nat Fyfe. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos

Voss: Blues now taking pride in the big moments

– Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane

Carlton coach Michael Voss has lauded his side’s new-found composure to break its Adelaide Oval hoodoo after Jordan Clark’s umpire dissent caused the dramatic double goal that propelled the Blues to a Gather Round heist.

The Blues have now come from behind in three of their four victories this year, and kicked three goals in the final 150 seconds of a tight, dour struggle against the Dockers.

Star Sam Walsh will return against Adelaide next Saturday after another strong training session across the weekend to help a team that has finally thrown off the agony of a string of close losses.

Captain Patrick Cripps spoke about that “heartbreak” as he admitted tagger George Hewett’s quick snapped kick to Matthew Cottrell might have been touched.

Video replays showed Fremantle defender James Aish seemed to have touched the ball with his right arm.

But after Cottrell’s goal put Carlton in front, Dockers defender Clark walked towards the umpire and berated him in a clear sign of dissent.

Patrick Cripps celebrates a goal by acknowledging the recent birth of his first child. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos

Clark was held back by teammates as Matt Kennedy kicked the goal to put the Blues up by 10 points, and later apologised to umpire Alex Whetton.

Cripps said of that call: “I was nervous that the ball might’ve been touched off the mark when (Cottrell) kicked the goal, so I thought there might’ve been a review, but I think it was dissent.”

Voss said the Blues’ character in those moments to snap a seven-game Adelaide Oval losing streak was full of merit.

“You will have to fill me in on what just happened! When that (Michael Walters goal) was kicked it might have been too hard to score twice in the final four minutes and 42 seconds. But the boys stayed engaged and connected and still saw a possibility to be able to win.

“It is one thing to set it up and another to finish. And we weren’t really accurate today but we were accurate when we needed to be.

“We have had a lot of moments in the past, some really hard and harsh moments and the boys have gone to work on ourselves around that in being able to stand up when it counts. They are taking great pride in those moments in the game.”