Carlton’s 50-point loss to Port on Thursday night was the kind of debacle you can’t look away from. Here are the most damning moments from the Blues’ night of carnage, captured by AFL broadcaster Seven.
Doc’s failed dump kick from defence
First term
In a goalless opening quarter for the Blues the visitors failed to handle the pressure. This was highlighted when veteran Sam Docherty opted for a floating dump kick from defence, the ball landing in the arms of Port’s Kane Farrell on the 50m line. Farrell drilled the long goal. AFL great Jack Riewoldt, in commentary on Fox Footy, said Docherty had needed to show greater composure.
“The panic from Sam Docherty though, to pick the ball and just blast it into what is a dangerous zone, opposition defences set up for turnovers like that. Docherty has to be better there. A blast kick like that, whether a forward needs to be a little bit higher to make sure a contest is good, you cannot have easy marks,” Riewoldt said.
In fairness to Docherty, it wasn’t the only poor kick – or even dump kick – of the night.
Weitering outmarked by Georgiades
Second term
Jacob Weitering is one of the league’s best one-on-one defenders, but he wasn’t at his best a week after hurting his ankle against North Melbourne. Weitering was seen in discussions with the club’s medical staff about his ankle just minutes before the opening bounce. That lack of confidence may have impacted his ability to body up, reinforced when he could not go with Mitch Georgiades in a crucial marking contest.
David King, a dual North Melbourne premiership player, said Weitering had to be stronger.
“Body on body, Weitering is the bigger body, he [Georgiades] just loses him. He [Weitering] has got to be stronger than that to deny Georgiades the clear run and jump at the ball,” King said on Fox Footy.
Seven’s expert commentator Kane Cornes added: “Well, he’d be frustrated by that, Michael Voss, because you should be able to defend that. Weitering just wasn’t physical enough.”
It wasn’t a good sign for the Blues when their premier defender was beaten so easily. Weitering was later switched off Georgiades.
Acres misses a regulation shot
Second term
The Blues needed to regroup in the second term, and had a golden opportunity early when Blake Acres marked a chipped kick from Patrick Cripps. Acres has booted some big goals for the Blues but, on this occasion, botched a regulation shot from 40m on a slight angle.
Acres wasn’t the only Blue guilty of making … a blue in front of goal. How on earth did Curnow’s shot for goal from the right pocket end up out on the full in the left pocket with just over a minute remaining in the game?
Motlop caught ‘plodding’
Third term
Late in the third term, with the Blues trailing by 10 goals, small forward Jesse Motlop fails to man up on Joe Richards, and even points to nearby teammate Orazio Fantasia to take the Power runner. Richards, meanwhile, pushes forward from the defensive 50 metre line, where he started on Motlop, to the wing to mark, the Power soon celebrating another goal to Willie Rioli.
Riewoldt, in commentary, takes aim at Motlop.
“Just look at Jesse Motlop here. You talk about the little things here. Joe Richards runs past him, that there is not trying. Just trying to hand it off to someone else to do your job, plodding through, Richards runs past him and puts 50m on him,” Riewoldt said.
“This ball goes to the other end. You wonder why Carlton’s backs are under pressure. It’s efforts like these that are frustrating Michael Voss.”
McGovern goes for goal instead of looking for a teammate
Final term
Charlie Curnow finds McGovern in the right forward pocket. Instead of centring the ball, McGovern opts for a tough check side shot at goal, the ball finishing out on the full in the opposite pocket.
“He had players on, 30m from goal, for the chip pass, and he put himself before the team. He could have chipped it, I think, to [Zac] Williams unopposed 30 metres from goal,” King said on Fox.
Cornes, on Seven, could not believe that McGovern had missed the goal.
“Harder not to score a goal than a score a goal there. When Curnow took possession of that ball, they had two players – Docherty and McGovern – almost running into an open goal. The Curnow kick was poor. But you can’t be an AFL footballer missing that shot under no pressure by 20 metres out on the full,” Cornes said.
