AFL: Carlton cracks ton in thrashing of Western Bulldogs
With Patrick Cripps hurt and Sam Docherty quiet, Carlton’s second-tier hauled the Blues into the top eight for the first time since 2013 — and they did it playing a brand of football opposition supporters would be envious of.
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Carlton’s best-and-fairest function might need an extra segment to count the votes from Round 6.
It would probably be quicker to name the players who didn’t poll rather than the ones who did.
In a performance that was as even as it was impressive the Blues had clear winners in every part of the field.
Selecting the best players was a bit like picking horses for the final leg of the quaddie – most of the field made it in.
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“We had a lot of guys across the field that won or broke even in their position which is how we want to play,” coach David Teague said.
Key defenders Liam Jones and Jacob Weitering kept Josh Bruce and Josh Schache scoreless while key forwards Harry McKay (three goals), Mitch McGovern (two goals) and Levi Casboult (one goal) shared 18 marks.
Forget goals, it was almost a clean sheet of disposals for All-Australian prospect Weitering with Schache registering just one kick in a battle between the first two draft picks from 2015.
McKay set the tone with an early strike from 50m and then a great tackle on Jason Johannisen with his impact belittling the wet conditions.
Small forwards Eddie Betts, Michael Gibbons and Jack Martin shared eight goals and tackled and harassed like their lives depended on it.
The Bulldogs could’ve done with Gibbons’ delivery given they kicked just seven goals from 53 entries while Martin’s overhead marking is seriously clean for a player with skinny arms.
Martin’s goals came after outreaching Easton Wood and Bailey Williams and his three contested were a game-high.
They say the best things in life are free and that’s exactly the trade price the Blues gave up for the mercurial talent.
The list of winners rolled on and on and on.
Ruckman Marc Pittonet set up the clearance differential, Ed Curnow silenced Bontempelli and, in the last quarter, Bailey Smith and was crafty at centre bounces while Will Setterfield and Matthew Kennedy (both 20 disposals) played their best games in navy blue.
The Blues were made to look slow against St Kilda and so bringing in Kennedy instead of Zac Fisher raised some eyebrows but Teague explained the selection post-game.
“In the end, we just had to play him – we had no other option,” Teague said.
“We had to play him because his form was so good, his training was so good (and) that’s what we want.”
One of the most pleasing parts of the club’s biggest win since 2014 was the fact it was completed without the dominance of usual suspects Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty.
Docherty entered averaging 537m gained but finished with 325m against the Dogs, most of which came in the last quarter when he took six marks.
Cripps jarred his shoulder in the first quarter and had only one disposal in second as he returned sporting plenty of tape.
LEGO CONNECTION UNPLUGGED
The Western Bulldogs face Essendon on Friday night and only have to rewind 10 games for their last meeting against the Bombers, a remarkable night where they kicked 21 consecutive goals.
Their midfielders and forwards connected like Lego with the Dogs’ score of 21.11 (137) – their biggest score since 2015 – coming from 66 inside 50s.
Against Carlton the Dogs recorded 53 entries – 12 more than the Blues – which was the equivalent amount to the Bombers game, given this year’s shorter quarters.
But against the Blues they scored just 7.9 (51) and they have now been kept to fewer than eight goals in all three losses this year.
In the 104-point win against Essendon the Dogs kicked goals from 31.8 per cent of entries. Against Carlton they kicked goals from 13.2 per cent of entries. The AFL average is about 22 per cent.
The Bulldogs are a vastly different team compared with 10 games ago with the likes of Tory Dickson, Taylor Duryea, Sam Lloyd, Jackson Trengove and Matthew Suckling replaced by Laitham Vandermeer, Louis Butler, Rhylee West, Alex Keath and Bailey Williams.
Meanwhile incoming Essendon coach Ben Rutten has implemented a completely different game plan in 2020.
WAS IT A FREE KICK OR A MARK?
It will be interesting to see how the AFL reviews Mitch Wallis’s mark in front of goal during the second quarter.
Wallis stuck out his leg as he grabbed the ball, with his boot connecting with Sam Petrevski-Seton who dropped to the ground in pain.
Last season the AFL introduced the “Toby Greene rule” to penalise players who raise their leg in a way that exposes opponents to a boot stud injury.
The umpire at Metricon Stadium paid the mark and Wallis kicked the goal.
Teague was unsure whether the whistle should’ve gone his way, needing to see a replay from a different angle first.
SEXY FOOTBALL MIGHT BE THE KEY TO THIS YEAR’S FLAG
The Blues took notice of St Kilda’s aggressive ball movement against them last week and wanted to do the same.
Teague’s message last week focused on taking the game on with ball in hand. Carlton’s players delivered and that delivered the AFL’s first 100-point score since Round 2.
At a time when dour, defensive games are the norm it is refreshing to see the sexiest teams climb the ladder.
This year Port Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Geelong and St Kilda have played the season’s most intoxicating football and that has had them all spoken about as premiership fancies.
Similarly, former Saints star Leigh Montagna backed the Blues to play finals this year on the back of their mesmerising style against the Dogs.
At a time where AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, TV broadcasters, fans and even coaches — Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson among the recent critics — are crying out for more attractive games it is refreshing to see positive play being rewarded.
BLUES BRING SEXY BACK IN DOGS DEMOLITION
Let’s hope Alastair Clarkson and Damien Hardwick watched Carlton’s stunning upset win against the Western Bulldogs from their Coogee and Gold Coast hotel rooms.
Just one hour after Hardwick labelled the Richmond-Sydney slog a “horrendous game”, and two weeks after Clarkson lashed modern footy, the Blues and Dogs set the standard for the round, leaving the best for last.
In slippery conditions similar to Hardwick’s game, Eddie Betts snapped the 13th goal of an electric first half seconds before the siren.
The Blues led by 21 points largely thanks to forward-half pressure that was out of the Tigers’ 2017 premiership playbook.
Carlton coach David Teague hailed his team’s “courageous” ball movement – which he said they learnt from St Kilda, who beat the Blues by 18 points in Round 5.
“What I loved was the players’ courage,” Teague said.
“I wouldn’t say the game was played exactly how we wanted it – it spent a bit too much time in our back half – but when we got it through and we got some speed in the ball we thought our forwards worked really well together.
“Our tackling and our pressure is a great indicator to where we are mentally and how switched on we are.
“Our ability to win the contest early, get it in deep and then our forwards’ pressure.
“We had a lot of guys across the field that won or broke even in their position which is how we want to play.”
First-quarter goals to Betts and Ed Curnow rewarded great tackles from Harry McKay and Curnow, who brought down Jason Johannisen and Marcus Bontempelli respectively.
Betts then hit the post after mowing down Alex Keath. Jack Martin then nailed Johannisen in the second quarter, although Marc Murphy fluffed the resulting open goal.
But the message was clear. Carlton had won six of the first seven centre clearances and no Bulldog was safe.
As a thunderstorm hit Gold Coast the Blues were as hot as they were clean.
They recorded 16 tackles in the first quarter alone and nine of their first 11 goals came from turnovers.
Similar pressure from 100-gamer Lachie Plowman at the other end ensured an open goal from Mitch Wallis and Ed Richards ended in a snapped behind.
The Blues rose into the top eight for the first time since 2013 as they became the first team since Round 2 to kick 100 points.
The Dogs had more disposals (306-295) and inside 50s (53-41) but were outhunted as Carlton won clearances 34-29 and contested ball 131-114.
The 3-3 Blues have beaten 2019 finalists Geelong, Essendon and the Dogs and face top-of-the-ladder Port Adelaide on Sunday.
TROPICAL BLOOM
Former coach Brendon Bolton spoke endlessly about Carlton’s “green shoots” and perhaps they will bloom in tropical Queensland.
Then again maybe the Bulldogs are the fertiliser, given three of the Blues’ four 100-point scores from the past 83 games have all come against the Dogs, and they won last year’s encounter by 44 points.
This was a night for the mid-tier players. Former Giants and tough midfielders Will Setterfield and Matthew Kennedy enjoyed the rain while Michael Gibbons showed his footy IQ.
It was a four-quarter domination made even more impressive by the fact they did it while Patrick Cripps (13 disposals) was hampered by a shoulder injury.
The Blues and Bulldogs now share 3-3 records and Carlton is shaping as this season’s giant killers, with victories against 2019 finalists Geelong, Essendon and the Dogs.
Internally the Blues have prioritised chemistry, referencing the fruits enjoyed by Brisbane Lions through the amount of games they have now played together.
Well, Carlton is catching up.
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SMITH PIPS WALSH
Sam Walsh was the runaway winner of last year’s Rising Star but Bailey Smith’s performance Sunday night showed why he might have overtaken Walsh as the No. 1 midfielder from the 2018 super draft.
Smith (26 disposals) was concussed last week but largely kept the Bulldogs awake for the first three quarters and opened their account with a nice snap.
Incredibly, he has played 29 out of a possible 29 games and would probably be leading the Dogs’ best-and-fairest after Round 6.
Blues tagger Ed Curnow started on Bontempelli but by the last quarter he was minding Smith.
This isn’t a knock on Walsh, who is already among Carlton’s best players, simply recognition of Smith’s rise.
Similarly, this contest pitted the No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the 2015 draft against each other in Jacob Weitering and Josh Schache (one kick, no marks, no score).
It was a convincing win for Weitering and you wonder whether the Dogs would’ve been better served by an extra small in the rain.
BULLDOGS ON NOTICE
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has forecast changes for Friday night’s clash with Essendon, saying the players need to bring more energy to the contest.
Beveridge said he warned the players to be ready for a first quarter onslaught but the Dogs couldn’t match Carlton’s intensity.
“We’ve got to dust ourselves off. We play in five days and we’ve got our full squad up here,” he said.
“We’ve got to just keep presenting. There might be one or two boys who get an opportunity this Friday.
“It’s only up the road from the hotel but when you get here, you’ve got to be totally ready and we weren’t.
“So it’s up to all of us to make sure that we stimulate the energy levels to be ready make sure we swim against the rip when they’re trying to take us out to sea.”
EDDIE’S MESSAGE FOR HOME
Always smiling Eddie Betts outlined why he is one of the most beloved men in footy with a heartfelt message for fans back home.
Bunkering down in the Queensland hub and leaving family at home has been tough for our footy stars, but Eddie had a message of hope for Victorians.
“It’s been good but it’s been tough, I’ve got a young family at home, it’s a bit scary,” Betts said on Fox Footy after the match.
“You read every day in the news and in the paper that we’re 200-plus cases in Victoria and only getting worse, so hopefully all the Victorians stay safe, stay healthy and look after each other back home because we’re up here, we’re keeping the game alive for you guys and hopefully they enjoyed the game tonight.”
Teague was happy with his charge.
“The work that (Betts) does before Round 1 told us it was the right decision (to recruit him),” Teague said.
“He’s a quality person, he teaches and educates those around him and his leadership and guidance that he’s shown all our forwards, but particularly our small forwards.”
GOODWILL HUNTING
Lachie Hunter had a game-high 27 disposals in his first game back from a four-match club suspension.
Beveridge said the coaches had to find the best way to utilise Hunter since changes were made in his absence.
“I thought Lachie was pretty good,” he said.
“He spent a bit of time forward and a bit of time on the wing. I thought he had an impact, especially in the middle stages where we stabilised and got back into the game.
“Now our challenge is to work out who plays on our wings and who plays forward. We’ve had a number of new players come into the side since Lachie’s been out of it.
“We’ll process that again this week.”
SCOREBOARD
CARLTON 5.2 8.5 10.6 16.7 (103)
def
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.1 5.2 7.6 7.9 (51)
GOALS
Blues: Betts 4, McKay 3, Gibbons 2, Martin 2, McGovern 2, Curnow, Newnes, Casboult
Bulldogs: Vandermeer 2, Smith, Dale, Lipinski, Wallis, Bontempelli
SAM LANDSBERGER’S BEST
Blues: Martin, Betts, Gibbons, Setterfield, McKay, Curnow, Kennedy, Weitering, Jones, Pittonet, Petrevski-Seton
Bulldogs: Macrae, Smith, Hunter, Liberatore, Bontempelli
SAM LANDSBERGER’S VOTES
3 — Jack Martin (Carl)
2 — Eddie Betts (Carl)
1 — Michael Gibbons (Carl)
INJURIES
Blues: Cripps (shoulder), Murphy (ankle)
Bulldogs: Nil