Carlton break 10-year finals drought with ninth win in a row
Carlton will play finals footy for the first time in a decade after the Blues survived a scare to continue their lengthy winning streak.
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The Carlton Blues have secured a spot in an AFL finals series for the first time in a decade, after surviving a dauntless performance from the Gold Coast Suns at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday.
The win marks Carlton’s ninth on the trot and will see them return to September football for the first time since 2013, when they were knocked out in the semi-finals by the Sydney Swans.
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Gold Coast were hoping to equal their club record of 10 wins in a season, but instead were eventually overcome by a Charlie Curnow masterclass.
It was a picture-perfect start for the Suns, who, in pristine conditions, took full advantage of a healthy home-crowd to finish the quarter with their best result all season: six goals to Carlton’s one.
Coming into the senior side after a stellar season in the VFL, Alex Sexton proved why he is Gold Coast’s second highest goal scorer in history, booting two goals in the first 11 minutes in just his seventh AFL game this season.
The side were without star forward Ben King, who has kicked 40 goals from 20 matches in his comeback season after missing the 2022 season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
King was initially named in the Suns’ team on Thursday night, only to be removed on Friday morning and replaced by Mabior Chol, who returned to the senior side for the first time since Round 9.
It took 30 minutes for Carlton to get their first of the match through a snap from Matthew Cottrell, in what was an underwhelming quarter from the Blues.
But it wasn’t to last long, with the Blues steadily managing to grow their opportunities inside 50 in the second term. Charlie Curnow breathed life into the Blues, kicking three goals in a row, reaching a total of four for the term.
The Blues worked hard to shut down Swallow — the playmaker of the first term — and quickly reaped the rewards. A free 50 metre penalty against Jack Lukosius, and poor reactive defence from the Suns, and Carlton had flipped the switch on Gold Coast – kicking six in a row to trail by just two at half time.
Despite the newfound pressure from Carlton, the Suns continued to grind in the third term to bring the game back to even through the hands of Ben Ainsworth, before David Swallow gave them the one-point lead into the third term.
Strong performances from Mac Andrew and Levi Casboult kept the Suns in the contest, both providing key intercepts when it mattered, working with Sam Collins nicely.
But, it was a clutch delivery from none-other than Curnow to Harry McKay — who was returning for the first time in five weeks — in the fourth quarter, which set up Carlton’s eventual win.
CHARLIE’S DAY
Carlton star Charlie Curnow proved why he is one of the competition’s most in-form forwards, kicking five goals of his own and setting up an all-important goal from Harry McKay in the last seven minutes.
Opportunities weren’t plentiful for either side, but Curnow made the most of every touch of the leather.
FINALS FEVER
The Carlton Blues have proved exactly why deserve to play finals in 2023, showing they can come back from behind — no matter the margin.
Emotions were high around the grounds — despite it being an away game — with fans overjoyed to make their return to finals.
CAREER-HIGH FOR SWALLOW
Despite the loss for the Gold Coast, club stalwart David Swallow marked his highest ever goal kicking performance in his 12-year career — four goals in a game.
Originally published as Carlton break 10-year finals drought with ninth win in a row
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