Carlton players rediscovered their passion but ultimately couldn’t capitalise against St Kilda
Carlton players rediscovered their passion against St Kilda and one moment in particular symbolised just how much the players wanted to perform but ultimately it wasn’t enough as the Saints got back on the winners’ list.
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The blowtorch remains on Carlton.
At the start of the season there was plenty of chat around the water cooler that Carlton had a better list, and therefore by extension, was closer to a flag than the Saints.
But after 10 rounds, Carlton is the club chained to the bottom of the ladder after another 13-point loss to St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
It relieves the pressure on Saints boss Alan Richardson but will make sure Brendon Bolton remains under the pump as part of what is widely considered a make-or-break month.
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The Blues had their chances to win this one in the second and third terms, racking up 21 of a run of 24 inside 50s, but scored only 1.3 from that period of dominance.
Their ball use was sloppy throughout, and you wonder whether the forward line is too tall for the modern game.
Carlton booted eight goals for the day and took only seven marks inside 50m to St Kilda’s 14.
Rodney Eade was also critical of the Blues’ wide ball use instead of attacking the corridor when the game was up for grabs.
Jade Gresham (29 possessions) starred for the Saints in his emergence as an A-Grade midfielder this season, while Jack Steele battled manfully on Patrick Cripps.
TUG OF THE JUMPER
The Carlton passion was there for everyone to see early.
There was Charlie Curnow’s 60m bomb against the run of St Kilda goals in the second term and then the emotional tug of the jumper.
Reading his lips, Curnow appeared to say ‘This is why’.
There was no pride in the jumper in last weekend’s shocker, but the spirit was back on show early as Carlton trailed by only three points at half time.
While some shoddy skills against cost them, at least the Blues had a dip.
The Curnow chain started with a shocking turnover from Saint Shane Savage who gifted the ball over to Paddy Dow at centre halfback.
Dow linked up with Matthew Kennedy and Cripps as Curnow let fly from the back of the centre square.
Even Bolton thumped the desk as it sailed through.
ARGY BARGY
Carlton was unhappy last week when the Blues didn’t fly the flag when Marc Murphy was poleaxed by Shane Mumford.
But the Blues certainly remonstrated with Ben Long when the Saint flattened Levi Casboult with a heavy bump in the third term.
Long, who came off second best in the collision, was reported for the incident but should be cleared.
MODEST RETURNS
It has been a slow burn for Mitch McGovern in his first season at Carlton.
The former Crow has managed to boot 14 goals in his first eight games but had minimal impact with three touches in the first three quarters.
Things got worse midway through the last term when McGovern went down with a left ankle injury.
Casboult played his third game in a new key defensive position and did a decent job stopping Josh Bruce.
INDIGENOUS DANCE
Saints livewire Matthew Parker is quickly becoming one of the club’s most exciting talents.
And the goal kicker celebrated an early third-term goal from 25m out with an unmissable indigenous dance to mark Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
But his biggest moment came at the 18-minute mark of the last term when the mature-age recruit controversially caught Dow holding the ball.
Again, Parker stepped up and slotted the sealer from 40m out.
Carlton fans didn’t like the Dow decision.
BOLTON, BLUES WON’T BE DISTRACTED BY PRESSURE
Carlton coach Brendon Bolton will brush aside mounting speculation about his job security to focus on improving the Blues’ forward-half connection this week.
Bolton said poor turnovers and a lack of movement forward of the ball cost his side in a see-sawing 13-point loss to St Kilda.
The defeat leaves the Blues on the bottom of the ladder with only one win playing a three-pronged key forward setup.
Bolton lamented the Blues’ inability to capitalise on their forward entries and said the marking targets, including big men Harry McKay and Mitch McGovern, were partly responsible for a lack of movement ahead of the ball.
“We thought we could get more movement out of our whole front half today,” Bolton said.
“They are mobile, they are learning how to put pressure on and we need to get the right mix in and around them as well.
“So that is a work in progress, and a part of the game we can keep growing.”
Bolton said the Blues’ powerbrokers remained united but were still “annoyed and frustrated” by the mounting losses this season.
They will assess McGovern’s injured ankle ahead of Sunday’s clash against Essendon at the MCG.
Bolton said the Blues would not be distracted by the pressure he and the team faced to rise up the ladder in the back half of the season.
“I acknowledge there is pressure in this industry but my job is to not take the easy option, front up and do my job,” he said.
“I’ll work on the parts of the game that need to need to be improved.
“We over used it (the ball) under pressure today and we needed to connect better centre forward. My energy will go into that.”
He said he wanted the Blues to keep taking aggressive kicks despite the turnovers against the Saints.
KEY SAINTS CLOSE IN ON RETURN
St Kilda coach Alan Richardson says his troops have built a platform to push for finals as some of their most important players close in on a senior return.
The Saints ended a run of four-straight losses with a hard-fought 13-point win over Carlton.
Richardson said it was clear the club had made significant progress on last season despite losing some of their most important players including Jake Carlisle (back), Dylan Roberton (heart), captain Jarryn Geary (quad), Paddy McCartin (head) and new recruit Daniel Hannebery (legs).
Richardson said Hannebery would likely play in the VFL this weekend after “embarrassing” some teammates with his excellent stoppage work at training, while Geary is in the mix to play Port Adelaide in China on Sunday as part of a better-than-expected recovery from surgery.
No.4 draft pick Max King is also pushing for selection after impressing in his first three VFL games on the back of last year’s knee reconstruction.
Richardson said the club’s fifth win of the season showed the Saints had clearly taken a step forward this year, given the injury toll, and remained in the hunt for a finals berth.
“Most definitely, we have won more games than we won the whole of last year, so we are now 5-5 with some real challenges,” Richardson said.
“We had a five-man leadership group and three of them aren’t playing and when you are young group you need your leaders outthereto be strong.
“But I’m really, really bullish the way the group is going.
“We want to push to give ourselves the best opportunity to play finals and five and five gives us a bit of a platform. We know that Port (Adelaide) at their best is an outstanding team.”
Richardson said he was most pleased with the way the Saints’ defended when Carlton had momentum, but was adamant the club needed more “bang for buck” converting easier opportunities in the forward half.
Richardson said the Saints would embrace the opportunity to play in Shanghai on Sunday afternoon.
He said the plane trip didn’t pose any threat to Geary who was pushing to play five weeks after having surgery to repair a blood problem stemming from a corked quad.
“I asked the same question. Initially it was a corkie and corkies you don’t like them flying from an altitude perspective,” he said.
“But he wouldn’t go if that was an issue but my understanding is it’s not.”
Richardson said the progress of Hannebery, who has the missed the first half of the season because of ongoing soft tissue dramas, and King, a prodigiously talented first-year key forward, was exciting for the club.
“Kingy was pretty good in the VFL again today, which is exciting for us,” Richardson said.
“Hanners would have to have something go wrong not to play (VFL this weekend).
“He is going really well, he is training really strong and he’s covering the ground really well.
“He has had to wait but he will get a crack next week.
“(Jake) Carlisle is not too far away either, he is a bit further advanced than we thought and he will have to play some VFLfootybefore he comes back in, but that’s good.”
King has kicked seven goals in three weeks in the VFL. Richardson said the club would be careful to make sure his reconstructedkneewas ready for top-flight footy before he got the call-up.
“He had a pretty good second-half last week, and I said to him last week, just let me know when you think you are right,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean he is straight in because I’m half expecting a message or a phone call now. But he’s a really ambitiouskid,he’s a driven kid.
“He’s moving really well and we’re pleased he’s starting to play good footy.”
JAY CLARK’S BEST
SAINTS: Gresham, Dunstan, Steele, Membrey, Wilkie, McKenzie, Ross
BLUES: Cripps, Ed Curnow, Walsh, Charlie Curnow, Simpson, Casboult
Votes
3. J Gresham
2. P Cripps
1. L Dunstan
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