Carlton has taken another big step towards their first Finals campaign in a decade, holding off a late Melbourne surge to record their eighth win in a row.
A last minute shot at goal from Christian Petracca was sent upstairs to the score review with insufficient evidence available to overturn the on field call of behind, ruling the ball had touched the back of Caleb Marchbank’s right hand.
With the score deadlocked at 42 points apice at three quarter time, the Blues kicked away with the first three goals of the final quarter before the Demons came roaring back, with the blues holding on to claim a four point victory 9.6 (60) – 8.8 (56).
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QUARTER-BY-QUARTER MATCH REPORT
There were no late changes for either side with Ed Curnow (Carlton) and Michael Hibberd (Melbourne) named as the starting tactical subs.
Carlton had the early territory dominance, have 12 of the opening 15 inside 50s. After spraying his first set shot out of bounds, Charlie Curnow converted the first goal of the game.
The Bluies maintained control but couldn’t make the Demons pay, ultimately conceding a late goal on the cusp of quarter time to Ed Langdon to open the Demons account.
Carlton took a three point lead into quarter-time, 1.3 (9) – 1.0 (6).
The Blues continued to dominate the territory and the inside 50 count, leading 27-6 in the early stages of the second quarter. The Dees though were able to capitalize on a rare foray forward and hit the front when Jake Melksham found Kade Chandler alone in the goal square.
A moment of brilliance from Kysaiah Pickett led to Christian Petracca extending Melbourne’s lead before a precise kick from last weeks Rising star nominee Ollie Hollands found Jack Martin inside 50 who converted the Blues second goal of the match.
The Demons were starting to move the ball freely and were moving the ball up the field freely before an Adam Saad intercept at half-back and a led to a contested mark to Blake Acres to put the Blues back in front in the shadows of half time.
The Blues took a two point lead into the main break, leading 3.5 (23) – 3.3 (21).
Patrick Cripps extended his side’s lead in the opening stages of the main break after Clayton Oliver was penalized for a throw deep in defence, with the Blues skipper making no mistake from straight in front.
A laser like pass from Charlie Curnow found Matthew Owies in the goal-square who dribbled through another goal for the Blues to extend to lead to double figures for the first time.
The Demons responded quickly through Tom Sparrow which was immediately canceled out by some clever work from Sam Docherty roving the front of a pack.
The Dees hit back with back to back goals through Christian Petracca and then Alex Neal-Bullen converted a ripping goal, tight up against the boundary line to trim the margin back to two points.
The three quarter time siren rang out with scores level, 6.6 (42) apiece.
The Blues got the perfect start to the final quarter with Matt Owies and Tom De Koning converting two quick goals from centre clearances to open up a 12 point lead.
A Charlie Curnow bomb from 50 got the lead out to three goals before The Demons hit back through Pickett and Joel Smith to draw the margin back to within one goal once again.
“They’ve seen this movie before” Hamish McLachlan said on Channel 7 as the Demons closed in.
The Demons thought they had once again pinched it late when Christian Petracca set sailed from 50 metres out thinking he had scored the match winner with just over a minute to play. The score-review was called in with insufficient evidence available to overturn the soft call of touched.
It was enough for the Blues to hold on and record their eighth straight victory.
The 3-2-1
FRANTIC FINISH IN CONTEST EVERY BIT LIKE “FINALS FOOTY”
The Blues are yearning to play finals footy for the first time in a decade. Their eighth straight win over Melbourne sees them on the doorstep of breaking the drought.
Saturday night’s contest against the Demons was the perfect dress rehearsal for what they can expect come September.
Tough, hard, pressure filled football with tackles galore and committing bodies on the line to every contest.
The Blues shot out to an early three goal cushion in the final quarter with their skipper Patrick Cripps in everything as the Blues started to get control at the coal face.
“Carlton are coming out the front of stoppages, it’s been a real shift in the way they’ve moved the ball” Former Essendon captain Jobe Watson said on Channel 7.
‘They give their forwards such better looks when the ball is coming at them at speed.”
“It’s a credit to Melbourne that they didn’t allow them to do that through three quarters of this game.” Daisy Pearce added.
“Cripps has been involved in every goal” Pearce later added
The Dees came roaring back through goals to Pickett and Joel Smith to bring the game back into the balance ticking into time on.
Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca thought he had the game won when he set sailed from 50m out to break Carlton hearts for the second successive year, only to be denied by the on field goal umpire call of “behind” ruling it touched off Caleb Marchbank’s right hand.
The Blues were throwing their bodies at every contest and could have been penalized for multiple dangerous tackles including a missed tripping call on Jacob van Rooyen in the final minutes.
Carlton kept on clearing the ball but were ruled to deliberately keep finding the boundary line which gave the Demons opportunities to attack late.
Carlton held stead to repel the Demons effort and hold on for another famous victory, With Western Bulldogs games record holder Brad Johnson heaping praise on the Blues ability to withstand the relentless demons pressure.
“That’s finals footy.” Johnson said on Fox Footy.
“Low scoring, pressurized game, they were challenged at different stages and they really stood up.”
‘They’re on the way (to finals) you sense” Luke Darcy said on Channel 7.
TEAMS LOCKED IN ‘CAGE FIGHT’ AFTER BLUES FAIL TO CONVERT EARLY TERRITORY DOMINANCE
Carlton dominated the early territory battle but couldn’t make the most of their early dominance, only leading by three points at the first change.
The two in form sides in the competition both sides brought the heat to a cool and damp MCG with a hot contest dominating proceedings early.
Despite the heat, Carlton held the early territory dominance, having 20 more inside 50s at halftime but only having three goals to show for it.
“It’s been a grind” Hamish McLachlan said on Channel 7.
Hawthorn legend Ben Dixon likened the opening half to a “cage fight” as the sides couldn’t separate themselves through their contrasting styles.
“Melbourne are being very aggressive, they’ve opened up their offence over the last month, they want to be aggressive down the middle but Carlton are ready for it” Dixon said on Fox Footy.
“They know they want to be aggressive, they get the numbers there, get the numerical advantage and that’s the cue for the guys up the field to take their opportunity.
“That’s how offensive Carlton want to be, but Carlton are ready for it.”
The pressure was high from both sides and didn’t relent all night, in what Dixon pointed to being the big change in Carlton game that has fuelled their now eight game winning run.
“it’s incredible, it’s where Carlton have really turned their game up over the past eight weeks.” He said.
“That provides turnovers and ability to score.
“These two teams over the past six weeks average 100 points, they’re very aggressive.
“It’s a bit of a cage match at the moment, the pressure is incredible.”
OLIVER READY TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME WHILE GRUNDY ‘DIDN’T WORK’
Superstar Clayton Oliver was like a bull at a gate waiting to return after his 10 match layoff with a hamstring injury.
He was scratchy early as the rust and time out of the game showed with the ball magnet only registering eight possessions to half time.
Despite the low disposal numbers, Oliver was making his presence felt with six first half tackles before he really made his presence felt after half time, laying a game high 13 tackles for the match and finishing with 27 disposals.
He also finished with nine clearances and 429 metres gained, adding the extra potency to the Demons midfield that they have desperately missed in his absence.
While Oliver excelled on return, the returns weren’t the same for Brodie Grundy who was brought in to fill the void of Harrison Petty up forward.
Grundy had no profound influence with just nine disposals, five marks, 11 hit -outs in a quiet display.
Despite the loss and the performance of Grundy, Hawthorn legend Ben Dixon believes that the Demons are still the “hottest property” in the competition,
But Western Bulldogs games record holder Brad Johnson says that the second tall forward spot in their side is the “key component” the Demons have to find in the run into the finals.
“What they’ve done over the past month in their offence… they’re a serious weapon.” Dixon said on Fox Footy.
“That second tall forward is the key component now” Johnson added.
“Grundy didn’t work tonight, conditions weren’t great but that’s a reality of what they had to deal with.
“Do they throw Ben Brown back in there? Petty is out… That second tall and who that is is the number one key for the Demons to sort out.”
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