AFL 2021 Carlton v Adelaide: Maligned Blues Paddy Dow and Liam Stocker show positive signs in win over Crows
Two kids who have copped criticism showed signs of their potential with a number of eye-catching moments that should excite the Carlton faithful.
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It has been 1311 days since Carlton drafted Paddy Dow and on Sunday night Blues fans would’ve gone to sleep thinking they have a serious player on their hands.
This was no Brownlow Medal-polling breakout game for Dow.
Instead it was Sam Walsh who ran 16.2km to collect a career-best 38 disposals and the twin defensive towers of Liam Jones and Jacob Weitering (six intercept marks each) who set up the victory over Adelaide.
But it was a ‘believe’ game for Dow.
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The Swan Hill boy had 20 disposals, nine score involvements and thumped a goal from 55m, which was his first since the opening round.
Carlton fans should now believe he can make it and, most importantly, Dow should, too.
“Some of his ball use was as good as we’ve seen,” coach David Teague said after the match.
When Dow marked at true centre half-forward, wheeled on to his right foot and knocked it through it was a, ‘Gee, look at this kid’ moment.
How often before has Dow kicked blindly or blazed away, seemingly unaware of his speed?
Sometimes it has appeared as though Dow hasn’t even wanted to kick the ball.
But there were little moments like that in every quarter.
The 21-year-old executed a beautiful pass to Harry McKay in the second term and took an important intercept mark in the last.
It wasn’t the perfect game – Ned McHenry out-marked Dow in front of goal in the third quarter – but in game No.51 there were times where you could see what this kid could be.
“I thought he played with more confidence and belief,” Teague said.
“He trained really well this week.”
The Blues had “isolated a couple of areas” for Dow to work on recently, notably his blistering speed.
Basically, they wanted more of it on weekends.
“He’s got burst – but we wanted to see it more gameday and top-end running,” Teague said.
“I thought today he did that. He ran harder and then after running harder he started to find a little bit more of the ball and find a little bit more space when he had the ball.”
It’s easy to see why the burst factor is critical for the Blues.
When former list boss Stephen Silvagni drafted Dow at pick No.3 in 2017, the Blues had just traded for workhorse midfielder Matthew Kennedy.
They knew that combining Kennedy with warrior Patrick Cripps and Ed Curnow would make for a midfield big on heart.
But it would also be one alarmingly low on speed and, perhaps, even ball use.
It would need some razzle dazzle. Dow was the oomph the Blues had been banking on.
The kid who could put the jets on and explode away from stoppages, blending in nicely next to Cripps the warrior.
The Blues’ midfield looked like it was better balanced against Adelaide.
There were less players fighting for it inside and more on the spread outside.
It has been a slow burn for Dow. But maybe, just maybe, he will become the player Silvagni had hoped for.
The football world’s fascination with Carlton is about to focus on the external review, but it is worth reviewing what was a seriously impressive response against the Crows.
Weitering and Jones should’ve been under more pressure than Gladys Berejiklian, given the Blues were belted 22-38 in clearances.
But they set up beautifully behind the ball and continually won it back. It was a big win for the defensive structures.
Liam Stocker was another maligned player who earned a big tick. This kid grew up as a tough, inside midfielder.
But Stocker’s opportunity has come in the backline and on Sunday he helped keep Shane McAdam scoreless.
“We’ve loved his ability to concentrate,” Teague said.
“We feel at times that’s an underrated skill – to just concentrate and stay on task.”
What stood out about Stocker was his piercing ball use.
Teague said he had always been an excellent kick – on both feet.
Dow and Stocker have been the kids that have copped a kick, but the critics have taken the longest run at Zac Williams, Adam Saad and Jack Martin.
The trio of recruits are on more than $2 million combined and on Sunday they started to show why.
Martin (2.2) was deployed as a third tall forward and in the second quarter his aerial work helped spark the Blues.
He took five marks inside 50m, which was half of Adelaide’s tally.
One of those was courtesy of a pass from Williams, while Martin’s handball to Eddie Betts in the second quarter led to another goal during the avalanche.
When Walsh found Williams with a sweeping handball and the former Greater Western Sydney star brought the house down with a running goal it must’ve felt like the weight of the world had been lifted.
Saad opened Carlton’s account with a trademark two-bounce dash through the centre and bomb from 60m.
But it was Sada’s goal-saving rundown tackle on Sam Berry in the final quarter which earned him the applause of the faithful when he next came to the bench.
It was a high five for perhaps Carlton’s most maligned five.
WHY WAS 191cm JACK SILVAGNI PLAYING IN THE RUCK?
“We didn’t really have anyone over six-foot-one playing in our VFL side, so we had to improvise,” Teague said.
“(Jack) came to me after the game, he reckons he’s only been put down for one hit-out – but he had two.
“He’s going to go to Champion Data and make sure they review that, because he got a centre bounce (hit-out) that hasn’t been counted.”
Blues do it for Teague, but coach in dark over review
Carlton coach David Teague remains largely in the dark over how the club’s external review will work as he prepares to sit down on Monday with the three men who will help decide his future.
Teague will meet Matthew Pavlich, Geoff Walsh and Graham Lowe, after the Blues eased some of the suffocating pressure by defeating Adelaide by 11 points at Marvel Stadium.
“I’ve got a meeting with them and they’re going to explain how they’re going to do it,” Teague said on Sunday night.
“We haven’t even heard how they’re going to do it yet. I think they’re going to inform us on what the process is going to look like, and then from there the review will start taking place.
“It’ll be exciting to see what they hear. We’ll get some great feedback from them.
“I’m curious as to how it’s going to happen. I’ve still got a job at hand though, and that’s to make sure we’re playing our best footy.”
Players have been given Monday off however Teague confirmed they would be interviewed by the panel, where they are certain to be asked to provide feedback on their coach.
“They have to (speak to them) to get a players’ perspective of what we’re doing,” Teague said.
“Over the journey they’ll speak to maybe not all of them, but some of them.”
The review is a full-scale football department audit that is not expected to finish until August.
The Blues expect to fly to Perth on Friday for Saturday night’s clash against Fremantle, despite fresh coronavirus concerns in the west.
Marc Murphy sustained a “minor” calf injury in his 296th game on Sunday, which is expected to sideline the veteran for multiple weeks.
The race is now on for Murphy, 33, to get to 300 games, with just eight rounds left this season.
Teague said Murphy’s form must warrant selection, despite the club wanting to reward his “loyalty” by getting him to the milestone.
Coleman Medal leader Harry McKay booted 2.2 from five shots as Teague conceded his confidence in front of the goals had dropped.
The Blues kicked 0.4 from set-shots in the final quarter, but held on courtesy of their eight-goal second quarter.
Playing against his old mates and desperate to respond for close mate Teague, Eddie Betts inspired the Blues as they converted an 18-point deficit into a 34-point lead in just over 30 minutes.
Teague was thrilled with Paddy Dow’s top-end running and heaped praise on Jack Martin, who was required to play as a third tall forward.
The 191cm Jack Silvagni was used as a second ruckman against Reilly O’Brien (202cm), but Carlton’s midfield helped Silvagni by getting physical against the big Crow.
Sam Walsh ran 16.2km to rack up a career-best 38 disposals while the Blues took a season-high 117 uncontested marks to control the ball.
The Blues had lost their previous three games, which were all in Sydney, but improved their balance around the contest to reignite their ball movement.
“You don’t expect to play like that all the time,” Teague said.
“Our ability to either go quickly or use our free player was as well as we’ve done in a long time.”
BLUES SURVIVE BUT PRESSURE RELIEF ONLY SLIGHT FOR TEAGUE
Ronny Lerner
Carlton coach David Teague has been afforded a much-needed pressure release ahead of the club’s football review commencing on Monday with a hard-fought 10-point victory over Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
But the performance certainly won’t give Teague too much breathing space, as the Blues were outscored in each quarter except for the second, with their reputation for failing to run out games threatening to derail their victory after they got out to a 34-point lead in the first half.
However, the second quarter proved enough for the Blues, booting eight goals to three to turn a six-point quarter-time deficit into a 28-point halftime lead and the Crows weren’t able to reel them in thereafter.
The rest of the game still provided plenty for Carlton’s review committee to mull over and fitness looks like it will be close to the top of the agenda.
It was looking dire for Teague in the first quarter as the Crows had nine of the first 10 shots on goal, but they couldn’t make Carlton pay, only managing 2.6, with Taylor Walker kicking three behinds.
The Blues’ defence looked in disarray at stages, but despite taking 25 minutes to register their first score, they completely turned the game on its head as they kicked 10 of the next 12 goals.
Largely on the back of quicker ball movement, Carlton looked like a totally different team to the passive and unsure outfit they were in the first term.
The Blues also beat the Crows soundly at the coal face in the second term, winning the contested possessions 38-31 and dominating the inside 50s 21-10 while controlling the ball, too, with 38 more disposals (111-73).
In the second half, Carlton lacked the energy that helped put them in a such a strong position in the and the Crows made the most of it, kicking five goals to two.
Carlton players Lachie Fogarty (twice), Harry McKay, Sam Petrevski-Seton and Matt Owies missed a host of set shots for goal in the final term to keep the Crows in the game until late. Lachie Sholl had the chance to trim the margin to six points with 66 seconds left in the game, but he too missed a sitter from 25m out, sealing Adelaide’s fate.
The win came at a cost for the Blues with Marc Murphy injuring his calf early in the game, threatening his ability to play four more games to reach the 300 milestone this year.
BETTS STILL HAS IT
Eddie Betts kicked the goal of the day late in the second quarter when he sold some candy to Jake Kelly and threaded a beautiful banana from a sharp angle in pocket. He could’ve also had the mark of the century, let alone the day, earlier in the quarter when he flew high over the pack in the goalsquare, but failed to hang onto the ball. The spectacular a leap would’ve made Collingwood high-flyer Jeremy Howe proud.
CROWS RUE POOR DISCIPLINE
Adelaide let themselves down with poor discipline at crucial times. Late in the first quarter with the Crows still well on top, Darcy Fogarty gave away a stupid 50m penalty to Lachie Plowman for punching Jacob Weitering in the stomach right in front of the umpire. It brought Plowman from the half-back flank to the 50m line and he set up Harry McKay’s first goal with 17 seconds left in the term to cut the Crows’ lead to six points. And late in the third quarter, just as Adelaide got themselves back in the contest with three consecutive goals, Ned McHenry gave away a silly downfield free kick to Jack Martin for an unnecessary late hit on Jack Newnes. Martin converted the set shot to put Carlton back in front by 21 points.
FOGARTY IN HOT WATER
Darcy Fogarty could come under MRO scrutiny for a late hit on Weitering in the third quarter which left the star Carlton defender grounded for a long time, before forcing him to leave the field for further medical attention. Weitering was able to return to the game fairly quickly, but the clash wasn’t a great look for Fogarty and it also sparked a huge melee.
SCOREBOARD
BLUES 2.0 10.4 12.6 12.11 (83)
CROWS 2.6 5.6 8.9 10.13 (73)
LERNER’S BEST
Blues: Walsh, Jones, Williams, Plowman, Saad, Weitering, Betts.
Crows: Keays, Laird, Butts, Seedsman, Walker, O’Brien.
GOALS
Blues: Betts 3, McKay 2, Martin 2, Saad, Owies, Dow, Cripps, Williams.
Crows: Walker 3, Fogarty 2, Seedsman 2, Rowe, McHenry, Keays.
INJURIES
Blues: Murphy (calf).
Crows: Sloane (finger)
UMPIRES
Fisher, Chamberlain, Heffernan
VENUE
Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 S.Walsh (Carl)
2 B.Keays (Adel)
1 L.Jones (Carl)
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