AFL round 7: Geelong v Carlton, result, news and SuperCoach scores
Carlton coach Michael Voss has vented his frustration after his side blew several key moments and the chance to stamp into as a premiership favourite against Geelong.
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Carlton coach Michael Voss has laid bare his frustrations with the defensive side of his team’s game for the second time in three weeks.
The Blues 13-point loss to Geelong was only their second of the season but it was the third successive game that they have conceded 15 goals or more.
“We had 66 entries and they’ve had 45. If you asked me before the game, I’d think the game was in a good place,” Voss said.
“I don’t want us to settle that it was a good effort, or that it was close. It was unacceptable and we’ve got to be better.
“Geelong are currently top of the ladder but I’d like to think that we benchmark ourselves off our own standards and we fell below those tonight off defending.
“We’ve got to be better and we’re going to expect better from each other.”
Carlton won the clearance battle for a third straight week since bringing Marc Pittonet back into the side to partner Tom De Koning in the ruck, with Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh leading the charge.
Their stars stood up with Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay combining for five goals, while Jacob Weitering held Tom Hawkins goalless but Voss was not interested in highlighting individual performances.
“I’m not really in the mood to talk up individuals today,” Voss said.
“It takes a team to come out and play well, and it takes a team to get the win.”.
The Cats easily exited their defensive 50 on many occasions as Carlton’s forward pressure dropped away.
Orazio Fantasia was a late withdrawal to the side due to illness and it changed Carlton’s forward mix with an extra midfielder, Jack Carroll, pushing the forward line.
Small forward Matt Owies was subbed off for debutant Jaxon Binns at three quarter times as pressure players Owies, Carroll, Matt Cottrell and Corey Durdin combined for only five tackles and two goals.
“We scored well and that was probably entertaining for everybody,” Voss said.
“We made it a good game in that way so if you’re a footy follower I’m sure that was an entertaining game but we didn’t get some important moments right and we didn’t defend when we needed to for long enough.”
Carlton opened the door to pulling off a miracle comeback when it kicked four quick goals to be within eight points late in the last quarter.
The Cats led by as much as 33 points in the final term but the Blues never gave in front of a record crowd for a home-and-away clash between the pair of 87,775.
“It shouldn’t get to that stage where you need to snatch it,” Voss said.
“Some critical moments that we didn’t get right and we certainly didn’t defend the way we expect.
“The game was always balanced slightly in their favour as much as we fought back and kept boxing on. It was just too easy for them to score down the other end.”
On Friday night, Carlton faces archrival Collingwood in front of what is tipped to be another bumper crowd and Voss expects some of their injuries woes to ease.
“We are expecting a couple to return next week. Throughout the week it’ll become clearer who that actually is,” Voss said.
“Cerra will probably be okay, Cuningham will get another week and be okay, and obviously Fantasia came out through illness so he’ll be back into the fold.
“(McGovern) might be around the mark but more likely another week.”
CATS WITHSTAND BLUES SURGE TO STAY UNBEATEN
Geelong continue to pass every test with flying colours as their stellar outside game kept their unbeaten start to the season intact in their high-scoring heavyweight battle with Carlton.
A record crowd for a Geelong home game piled into the MCG to create a finals-like atmosphere as the younger challenger failed to out gun the seasoned veteran with the Cats’ defensive pressure and rapid ball movement proving too much for the Blues to handle.
The Blues got within four points late in the third quarter and then eight points with three minutes remaining in the game after they booted four successive goals in five and a half minutes but Geelong hung on to extend their winning streak to seven with a 13-point triumph.
Geelong’s unbeaten start to the season has been built on the collective effort and it was once again the case as their under siege backline held firm in Tom Stewart’s absence.
The Blues won the clearance battle, courtesy of strong showings from ruck tandem Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning and midfield double act Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh, which led to more Inside 50s but the dam wall never burst.
Cats defenders wrestled, spoiled and tackled ferociously to win the ball back and once they did they were lethal with Max Holmes, Mitch Duncan and the returning Cameron Guthrie the chief architects of their ball movement.
Holmes along with Jack Henry, Guthrie and his brother Zach were the leading interceptors for Geelong and their work allowed Gryan Miers and Tyson Stengle, who combined for 20 score involvements, to the damage forward of centres.
Jeremy Cameron then reaped the rewards with five goals including his 600th career goal in a best on ground showing and he was strongly supported by Zach Tuohy and Oliver Henry with three goals a piece.
The Blues were always playing catch up after a wasteful 2.8 opening term and they were left with too much to do as they trailed by 33 points in the final quarter despite Blake Acres attempting to inspire a stunning comeback with two of the Blues’ late four goals.
Geelong’s forwards also exposed the cracks in Carlton’s backline left by injured pair Adam Saad and Mitch McGovern with Jacob Weitering often left alone to fight a losing battle.
Old-fashioned shootout
With the Coleman medallists from the last five years – Charlie Curnow (2022 & 2023), Harry McKay (2021), Tom Hawkins (2020) and Jeremy Cameron (2019) – playing neither team was short on fire power Inside 50.
It translated into a shootout of a bygone area as two sides that started the round in the top four attempted to out gun one another.
Curnow and Cameron are arguably the two best key forwards in the competition and they loved trying to outshine one another as they booted three and four goals respectively.
McKay was also one of his side’s best with two goals and he took more contested marks than any other player on the ground.
Hawkins was held goalless for a third straight game as he was blanketed by Jacob Weitering but the Cats small forwards outclassed their counterpart and proved to be the difference in the game.
DANGERFIELD PAIN
Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield was subbed out of the game during the third quarter with a suspected hamstring issue.
Dangerfield’s latest setback comes after he returned to the side for last week’s win in Brisbane from injury.
Prior to the incident, where he fell forward at a stoppage, he had been one of the most influential players on the ground as he went head-to-head with opposing skipper Patrick Cripps at many stoppages
RECORD CROWD
The largest ever home-and-away crowd for a clash between Geelong and Carlton piled into the MCG with 87,775 fans smashing the previous record of 71,399 set in 2010.
The awakening of the Navy Blue faithful means the turnstiles keep ticking over and the fact this contest was a Geelong home game shows that the AFL eager is to maximise Carlton crowds.
The last time the Cats hosted the Blues at the MCG was in 2001 and Carlton were sent down the highway in 2018, 2019 and 2020 – the three most recent matches where Geelong was the home team.
More big crowds are expected as both teams return to the MCG next round with Carlton taking on arch rival Collingwood on Friday night while Geelong face Melbourne on Saturday night
CONTROVERSIAL CALL
As Carlton surged and got within four points in the third quarter, Oliver Henry was rewarded for hitting Zac Williams high with a stray swinging arm with a set shot that he slotted for his second goal.
Williams lay on the ground unable to chase Henry as he waltzed inside 50 to mark uncontested 40 metres out directly in front.
No free kick was awarded to Williams despite the protests of Carlton players and it came after Henry booted his first goal in controversial circumstances.
During the second quarter, Henry marked between the goal and the behind post and it was sent for review after the goal umpire called a behind.
On replay, Henry was awarded the mark but the footage also showed he had pushed Lewis Young in the back.
Blues fans were also up in arms in the last quarter when an innocuous 50m penalty was awarded against a limping Harry McKay for being in the protected area and it handed Jeremy Cameron his fourth goal and killed the contest.
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