Carlton back in winners circle despite shaky showing against Port Adelaide
Under new coach Michael Voss, Carlton is developing a bad habit of building big leads only to surrender them in the second half of games.
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Carlton survived a massive scare from a Port Adelaide side desperate to avoid its worst start to an AFL season, holding on for a thrilling three-point win after leading by 50 points late in the second term at the MCG on Sunday.
Port’s hopes of eluding a first-ever 0-5 start to the season looked all but dashed by the main break, before a stunning second-half reversal set the stage for a nailbiting final term where the Power threatened to take the lead but were ultimately denied.
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Carlton key forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay proved the difference, combining for eight goals and 10 marks against a Port defence bolstered by the return of Aliir Aliir.
The pair was significant at the death, with Curnow booting the Blues’ sole major of the frenetic final term and McKay taking a towering mark in the dying stages after a long kick out of the defensive 50m.
On a day when Port was missing Ollie Wines, Robbie Gray was like a fine wine, putting in a vintage performance with three goals and six score involvements.
Zak Butters was monumental through the midfield in the second half and found running support from Ryan Burton and Dan Houston, while Darcy Byrne-Jones was equally threatening out of defence.
But the Power now faces the highly likely prospect of missing September after consecutive preliminary finals, and the pressure on coach Ken Hinkley will only mount.
The Blues, on the other hand, move to 4-1, with Sunday’s holding off of the Power meaning they will realistically need to win only eight-to-10 of their remaining 17 games to qualify for finals.
Carlton fans might be nervous rather than confident, given their team hasn’t featured in September since 2013 and hasn’t progressed deeper than a semi-final since 2000.
But with clubs rising from generations of mediocrity to sudden premiership success in recent times – think the Western Bulldogs, Richmond and Melbourne – it’s difficult to see why the now 4-1 Blues can’t be the next to shoot into flag contention.
FAST STARTS AND FADEOUTS
The Blues are making a habit of starting fast in 2022 and Sunday was no exception, with six goals in both the first and second quarters to establish a 49-point lead by halftime.
It followed other main-break leads of 31 against the Bulldogs in round two and 30 against Hawthorn in round three.
But those games were ultimately only won by two goals and one point respectively, with second-half fade-outs nearly costing the four points on both occasions.
Port slammed home six goals to one in third term, cutting what seemed an unassailable halftime deficit back to a very reachable 17 points in only half-an-hour of play.
The Blues again found a way to hold off their opponents, but the second-half fade-outs are surely shaping as a concerning trend.
HARRY AND CHARLIE
All the talk is around the Carlton crew – the Blues’ industrious on-ball brigade – the team’s biggest weapon may well be in the twin towers of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
Curnow booted five goals from 15 disposals, while McKay slammed home three majors from 18 touches.
HUNGRY JACK
The last time the Blues played finals, Jack Martin was a teenage prodigy.
It hasn’t panned out the way it was supposed to. Six unfruitful seasons on the Gold Coast preceded a pair of similarly unproductive years at the Blues.
This campaign, he’s missed one game through Covid protocols and was handed the medical sub role in another.
But Martin’s back-to-back goals when the game was up for grabs in the first quarter were a reminder of his talent, following up a neat snap at the seven-minute mark with a second major only three minutes later.
The 27-year-old proved he can still provide the Blues with a classy point-of-difference in the front half.
SCOREBOARD
Carlton: 6.4 12.6 13.8 14.10 (94)
Port Adelaide: 2.3 4.5 10.9 13.13 (91)
BEST
Carlton: Curnow, McKay, Walsh, Hewett, Cerra, Fisher
Port Adelaide: Butters, Burton, Byrne-Jones, Houston, Gray, Rozee
GOALS
Carlton: Curnow 5, McKay 3, Fisher 2, Martin 2, Silvagni, Durdin
Port Adelaide: Gray 3, Powell-Pepper 2, Burton 2, Georgiades 2, Finlayson, Butters, Boak, Rozee
INJURIES
Carlton
Port Adelaide
UMPIRES
Chamberlain, Broadbent, Rebeschini
VENUE
MCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Charlie Curnow 3
Harry McKay 2
Sam Walsh 1
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