Carlton AFL news: Liam Stocker dominates VFL, in line for senior return
The prized draftee who made waves on draft night several years ago is finally set to return to Carlton’s team — can he provide a spark the Blues sorely need?
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Liam Stocker is closing in on his first game for Carlton in nearly two years as Carlton rebounds from another failed test against an AFL contender.
The Blues were hoping to flex their muscles against Port Adelaide at home but again were found wanting after a pair of victories over injury-hit Fremantle and Gold Coast.
While their finals hopes are far from over at 2-3 the Blues are yet to show they are anything approximating an AFL premiership contender.
Mitch McGovern’s stint down back relieving Jacob Weitering after a heavy knock showed real signs of promise.
Weitering was eventually passed fit to return so will be available to take on Brisbane at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
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But with Paddy Dow the unused medical sub, No. 10 pick Liam Stocker playing VFL and Sam Petrevski-Seton below par in defence, attention has again turned to the club’s recruiting hits and misses.
Carlton handed over a future first-round pick for the long-kicking contested midfielder in the 2018 national draft but he has played only five games.
He battled fitness issues in his first year and then after that five-game 2019 he had personal issues and left Carlton’s hub in 2020.
He has not played for the Blues since a string of games since Rounds 7-11, 2019.
In Round 1 of the VFL season on Saturday he was spectacular with 38 possessions, 146 ranking points, 31 kicks, nine rebound 50s, 13 marks, six intercept marks and 10 intercept possessions.
He also kicked a goal to go with nine score involvements in a complete VFL game.
The Blues will have to assess whether he can move into the side given so few four-quarter contributors against Port Adelaide.
Blues coach David Teague said Carlton learned a lesson about clean ball use going forward after winning clearances by four and losing contested possession by only seven against the Power.
“At the end of the day, we learned a lesson,” Teague said.
“In terms of how clean they were with the ball, their ball use hurt us and their ability to defend us on both sides.
“When they got their looks, they went forward and scored: at the end of the day, we had 75 chains and kicked 4.11, they had 72 and kicked 10.1. That’s the game in itself.”
Liam Stocker
— Paolo Antonio Sebastiani (@paulseb05) April 17, 2021
38 disposals. 31 kicks. 7 handballs. 12 marks.
Barely missed a target by foot.
Repeat after me: ‘forget the result, forget the result, forget the result.’ 😅 #VFL
THE GLARING STAT WHICH CONTINUES TO HAUNT BLUES
Glenn McFarlane
They are the glaring stats that Carlton must swiftly address or run the risk of missing the finals for an eighth consecutive season.
The first is simple but damning.
The Blues haven’t been ahead of the win-loss ledger during a season since mid-2016.
They had the chance to go to 3-2 on Saturday night against Port Adelaide, but forfeited any hope with poor ball use and decision-making against a clinically efficient opposition.
The other stat is equally telling.
Since the start of 2014, Carlton has won only NINE games against teams that went on to play finals in that given season.
In fairness, that’s not all David Teague’s fault, given those years encompass the tenures of Mick Malthouse and Brendon Bolton.
But the current Blues coach conceded after the 28-point loss to Port Adelaide that the Blues had to start regularly beating elite teams if they wanted to be in the finals equation again.
Until the Blues fix that - and clean up their lack of polish and composure at times by hand and foot - they won’t be playing finals.
With matches against three flag fancies - Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne - across the next month, the opportunities are there. But can this 2021 Carlton outfit buck the trend, given their two wins this year have come against Fremantle and Gold Coast?
“These are the games you want to play in … you want to compete against the best and you want to beat the best,” Teague said of the upcoming clash with the Lions at Marvel Stadium.
“That’s where we have to get to, and right now (the Port loss) tells us we are not there yet.
“We get another opportunity against Brisbane … it is a great challenge.
“We need to beat these teams to show our progression.”
The Blues defeated Geelong and Western Bulldogs last season, who went on to play in a Grand Final and an elimination final respectively, and were only beaten by Port Adelaide - a preliminary finalist - with a Robbie Gray kick after the siren.
But the challenge is in front of Carlton.
“That’s a huge month - and that’s Carlton’s season right there,” former Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson said on Fox Footy about the Blues’ upcoming clashes, which also include Essendon.
“Their season mightn’t go the way they want anyway, but that next month is about effort first off and then hopefully the other aspects of their game can flow from that.”
Jacob’s relief, Ollie’s surprise
The Blues are breathing a sigh of relief after John Nicholls Medallist Jacob Weitering passed a concussion test after copping a head knock on Saturday night.
But the man who accidentally crashed into him, Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines, admitted he was initially concerned that Weitering stayed on the ground after the Blues’ defender looked a little dazed.
“I was trying to get him (Weitering) off, I thought he was knocked out,” Wines said on 3AW.
“You don’t want to see a player keep playing when concussed … it’s a serious issue, you don’t want to be pushing the limits on it.”
The Blues insisted Weitering was right to go, having stayed on the field briefly as he regained his composure, before heading off for his concussion test, which he passed.
Teague said: “He stayed on the field, so I thought he must have been OK and then we got the heads up that he was doing the (concussion) protocols.”
“Then at three-quarter-time when I put the magnets on the board, they (the medical staff) said he was right to go.
“ (Weitering) said ‘Sorry, I wasn’t out there for 15 minutes’. We saw him late in the game make a great tackle when they (Port Adelaide) looked like they were out.
“He just competed.”
Switch Mitch?
Weitering’s concussion test provided Teague with the chance to experiment briefly with Mitch McGovern playing down back.
McGovern had 13 disposals and kicked a goal in his first AFL game back this season.
He almost set up the Blues’ first chance at goal when he squared the ball to Jack Newnes, who missed, then kicked a major in the third term.
Teague is confident his influence will grow with more game time, but left the door ajar to sometimes play McGovern in defence if required.
“We see him more as a forward,” he said. “We have flagged him playing down in the back half … it is a possibility …”
“It will be horses for courses … (but) we also like (his) creativity up forward as well.
“When he got his hands on the ball (against Port Adelaide) it looked like something would happen. We just need to get his hands on the ball a bit more.”
Inaccurate Blues
Kicking 9.16 can win you games against inferior teams (Gold Coast in Round 4), but 9.14 won’t win you too many games against elite sides such as Port Adelaide.
As Teague pointed out post-game, the Blues had plenty of ‘looks’ at stages of Saturday night’s game and even had two more scoring shots than the opposition.
But too often they made a mess of the execution.
Newnes missed one early; Patrick Cripps sprayed another shot when the Blues desperately needed it; Zac Williams kicked two behinds, including one that a player of his status and his remuneration simply had to kick.
Contrast that to the slick and smooth Power, who peeled off an accurate 15.6, and Robbie Gray, who again helped to sink the Blues, with three goals without a blemish.
Elite Aliir?
Could Aliir Aliir be in preliminary All-Australian discussions just five weeks into his time at Port Adelaide?
Kane Cornes definitely thinks so.
He said on SEN: “Aliir Aliir is in All-Australian form at the moment … he beat Jack Riewoldt last week and he’s destroyed Harry McKay (on Saturday night).”
Aliir shared the McKay job with teammate Tom Clurey, with both keeping the Blues forward to only 1.2 from five disposals.
The former Swan has slotted into Port Adelaide’s defence with aplomb, with Wines excited by what he has brought to the team.
“It’s a wonder Sydney gave him away so cheaply … he has been unreal,” Wines said.
Port Adelaide gave Sydney a second round-pick for Aliir, which the Swans then passed onto West Coast in a deal for ruckman Tom Hickey.
‘G, it’s good to be back
It may have been almost 640 days since Port Adelaide previously played at the MCG, but absence made their hearts grow fonder.
Wines revealed the Power players had been buoyed by the return to the home of footy, given they hadn’t played there since the pre-pandemic days of July 2019.
They have a second home and away game at the ‘G against Collingwood in Round 10 - and potentially finals.
Was it any wonder skipper Tom Jonas called the ground together after the game for a chat about what the win meant to the group.
“Tom recognised the week I reckon,” Power coach Ken Hinkley said.
“That’s what good captains do, they recognise the moment.
“The moment was that we’d come off a big game and we have to be a side that over and over and over again keeps turning up.
“That’s what good sides do.”
POWER DISMANTLE BLUES AS GRAY HAUNTS AGAIN
– David Schout
Port Adelaide underlined their flag credentials with a professional 28-point dismantling of Carlton at the MCG on Saturday night.
In a win that propelled them back into the top four, the Power’s forwards ran riot over a dour Carlton outfit, Robbie Gray and Mitch Georgiades bagging three goals apiece.
Ken Hinkley’s men had not played at the MCG since July 2019, but showed they may just feel at home there come September with a brilliant performance across the ground.
Ollie Wines led all comers with 32 disposals, while Sam Walsh (29 disposals, eight clearances) was again the shining light in an otherwise poor evening for the Blues.
Port’s Karl Amon was equally superb as his raking left foot sliced and diced the Blues around the MCG.
After an opening term saw both sides trade early blows, it was the Power that stamped their foot down after the first break.
From there, the gulf between the two sides became evident as Port (now 4 wins, one loss) dominated in almost every key indicator.
The Blues faithful were upbeat when key forward Harry McKay got on the board in the opening minute of the second half, but two Power goals in a minute demoralised the home side.
From there, a series of classy finishes from Port’s forwards took the sting out of the contest as frustration grew for home fans at the MCG.
Boos rang out at three quarter time as the pressure on Carlton (two wins, three losses) grows.
GRAY HAUNTS BLUES
It was Robbie Gray who broke Carlton hearts last season, with an after-the-siren goal on the Gabba boundary to snatch victory.
And it was that man again who would haunt the Blues with a spellbinding first half.
Gray got on the board with a superb across the body finish in front of the MCC members, before an off-balance snap and set-shot in the second term saw familiar moans ring out around the MCG.
EYES ON MITCH
Having recovered from a back complaint that delayed his start to 2021, Mitch McGovern returned for his first taste of senior footy.
And it was a mixed bag.
McGovern’s first involvement was a lovely squaring ball across the body to Jack Newnes, before spraying a shot at goal out-on-the-full in the second term.
He eventually got on the board in the third quarter — just his second goal since Round 7, 2020.
ALIIR BRILLIANCE
While it was Port Adelaide’s forwards and midfielders who grabbed the headlines, defender Aliir Aliir again showed what an asset he had already become at the club.
The former Swan’s intercept defending repelled a number of Carlton attacks in the third term, proving he may just be the missing piece in Port’s premiership tilt.
SCOREBOARD
BLUES 3.3 4.5 6.10 9.14 68
POWER 4.2 8.4 14.5 15.6 96
SCHOUT’S BEST
Blues: Walsh, Docherty, Cripps, Casboult.
Power: Amon, Wines, Marshall, Byrne-Jones, Gray, Aliir.
GOALS
Blues: Casboult 2, Fogarty, Walsh, McKay, McGovern, Cottrell, Newnes, Pittonet.
Power: Gray 3, Georgiades 3, Fantasia 2, Dixon 2, Lycett, Marshall, Amon, Woodcock, Rozee.
INJURIES Blues: nil. Power: Houston (shoulder).
UMPIRES O’Gorman, Mollison, Wallace.
ATTENDANCE 32,893 at MCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DAVID SCHOUT’S VOTES
3 Karl Amon (Port)
2 Ollie Wines (Port)
1 Sam Walsh (Carl)
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