In the swinging pendulum of a long AFL season, Carlton’s one-point win over Melbourne on Thursday night has reignited their premiership credentials, while a week after toppling unbeaten Geelong, Melbourne’s flag bid can be questioned.
Hot takes in this highly opinionated industry can become tiring, but it was hard not to draw conclusions about the Blues and Demons on a bleak night at the MCG when the rain refused to go away.
Carlton celebrates getting back on the winners’ list against Melbourne after consecutive losses to Geelong and Collingwood.Credit: Getty Images
Having lost three of their past four games, including a thriller to Collingwood last week when they admitted to over-possessing the ball, the Blues did enough to hold on in this wire-to-wire victory, sparking coach Michael Voss to note a “real shift” in the Blues’ composure under pressure.
The win was crucial, for a fourth defeat so early in the season would have put their top-two aspirations in peril. Collingwood (five losses), Brisbane (six losses) and Port Adelaide (six losses) filled the top three spots after the home-and-away campaign ended last season, with Melbourne (seven losses) in fourth.
“It just instils that belief in us, and I think we have got that now. It’s just about being a consistent home-and-away side,” Blues defender Brodie Kemp told this masthead post match.
“This was a good step in the right direction.”
As so often is the case, skipper Patrick Cripps and the indefatigable Sam Walsh were superb, combining for 69 disposals, the latter providing 13 of them in the first term. His willingness to cover so much of the field is a pleasure to watch, and he was damaging any time he had the ball in hand.
While Nic Newman won the free kick for a late holding-the-ball decision on Christian Petracca with a point the difference, Cripps was alongside him hanging on to the Demons’ gun.
Jacob Weitering, arguably the Blues’ most important player, was a pillar in defence. Standing Harrison Petty, Jacob Van Rooyan and Bayley Fritsch at various points – who, between them, contributed just two goals for the match – Weitering played the “goalkeeper” role to perfection, finding himself goal side to mark after a long Demons kick.
Weitering, surely, is favourite to be the All-Australian full-back.
“Weiters backs himself, backs his instincts, and you have seen the class of player he is in the contest,” Kemp said.
Importantly, with a potential September rematch in mind, Charlie Curnow had a major impact, giving nemesis Steven May plenty to think about, including pushing the defender further up the ground, where he is not as comfortable.
Curnow had two goals, and was involved in at least seven scoring chains.
The Blues won the battle of the match-ups, Demons coach Simon Goodwin later admitting intercept king Jake Lever’s impotence early hurt.
Carlton’s Sam Walsh flexes his muscles after kicking the Blues’ first goal against Melbourne on Thursday night.Credit: Getty
Carlton forward Harry McKay and Melbourne’s reborn defender Tom McDonald played each other to a draw, while Jack Martin’s return, in combination with Tom De Koning, meant Lever had to be accountable for most of the night, although the Melbourne defender’s influence did grow as the night wore on.
Martin’s importance as a medium-sized forward who can play tall, but also pounce on the loose ball, cannot be underestimated.
“They [May and Lever] always seem to play really well against us, so I thought Charlie, ‘H’ (McKay), even Jack Martin coming back in, did their jobs,” Kemp said.
However, Adam Cerra became the latest Blue sidelined with a hamstring strain. He’ll have scans on Friday to determine how serious that injury is, while Newman’s high hit on Alex Neal-Bullen in the third term will be scrutinised by the match review officer, and may result in a one-week suspension.
For the Demons, there is much to think about.
Petracca recently said he was unfazed by taggers, but Matt Kennedy may have proven otherwise, for the 2021 Norm Smith medallist was held to only four touches in the first term as his team was kept scoreless in a quarter for the first time since 2019.
Petracca, delivering what Voss said ultimately was a “pretty special” performance, booted a career-high five goals, briefly giving his side some life in the second term, but Kennedy delivered a masterclass in the first term on how to stop the Demons’ prime mover.
But how can a team supposedly in the premiership mix concede the opening six goals of the game?
Jack Billings congratulates Christian Petracca on one of his five goals against the Blues.Credit: Getty Images
Goodwin said this had been the difference between winning and losing.
“In terms of how we started, any time you want to give a team six goals headstart … both ends of the ground were really poor, and our defence was poor,” Goodwin said.
“That’s where the game was won and lost early. There was a lot of like after that, but the damage was done.
“Obviously, Carlton was outstanding, their pressure was great early, I thought they won contests at both ends of the ground, and they put us under pressure. We have got some work to do to get our starts right.”
After a rousing win over the Cats, the Demons’ rewired ball movement was seen to have been central to their rise.
McDonald suggested through the week they had been boring and predictable this season, putting a premium on retaining the ball and using angles to find their way to goal.
But that method deserted them on Thursday night.
Goodwin pointed to the inclement weather as a reason for this, and will be hoping his team gets a chance to rediscover its groove against West Coast next weekend.
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