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| Venue: | Marvel Stadium, Docklands. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Friday, 28th March 2025 (7.40 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 8 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 44,894 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | B. Kemp 5.1, C. Curnow 3.1, L. Young 2.1, J. Motlop 1.1, S. Walsh 0.1, A. Saad 0.1, M. Cottrell 0.1, Rushed 0.2. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Matt Stevic, Curtis Deboy, Andrew Stephens, Jamie Broadbent. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Z. Williams (achilles) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 16th. | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Blues fall late to Dogs
Carlton went down to the Western Bulldogs by eight points on Friday night. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.Carlton has fallen by eight points in a back-and-forth affair against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Friday night. After leading for the majority of the night, the Blues were pipped by two late goals in the 11.9 (75) and 12.11 (83) defeat. Brodie Kemp produced a career-high five goals while Tom De Koning and Adam Cerra contested all night - however, it wasn’t to be for the Blues in a taxing affair. Carlton’s intent from the outset was evident courtesy of Jesse Motlop, who produced a holding-the-ball tackle and a set shot to match to open the Blues’ account for the night. Zac Williams’ dare to take the game on brought immediate dividends, as Charlie Curnow went back for his first goal of the season, while the Carlton defence held up brilliantly amidst a flurry of Western Bulldogs inside 50. Adam Cerra’s work-rate stopped two Bulldogs’ scoring opportunities on the goal line, while Blake Acres’ commitment to the defensive cause was showcased with three first-quarter tackles. Down back, Jacob Weitering’s seven marks was an equal career-best for the All-Australian defender in a single quarter, while at the other end, Curnow’s second on the siren - from an end-to-end passage of play - meant the Blues had the first four of the game.
The Blues’ mandate to own the ball and be patient was clear, accumulating 25 more marks than the Dogs in the first term while also producing six more tackles for the quarter. The Bulldogs came back into the game in the second term, but not before the Blues were unable to capitalise on some early forward territory, with only one behind to show from 86 per cent forward territory in the opening five minutes. When the Dogs started to challenge after getting on top around the ball, Tom De Koning lifted with six second-quarter disposals, while also contributing two direct goal assists. Brodie Kemp was the main beneficiary up forward, kicking two goals from set shots, while Adam Saad was also prolific with 13 disposals in the first half - second only to Adam Cerra’s 14 in Navy Blue. Jordan Boyd was subbed into the game for his first game of the season in place of Zac Williams (Achilles soreness). The margin hovered between three and four goals, as a late Tom Liberatore goal from a forward stoppage brought the Blues’ lead back to 18 at the main break. On the back of that goal, the Dogs came out with the momentum in the third term, nailing their early shots on goal while half chances went begging for the Blues. Matthew Cottrell continued to quell Bailey Dale across half-back while Lewis Young (two goals) did the same to Rory Lobb, keeping him to two marks in the opening three quarters.
The scoreboard impact came off the boot of Kemp, who - after the Dogs levelled the scores - produced another two to equal his career-high of four goals, seeing the Blues take a narrow two-point lead into three-quarter time. The third term saw the Dogs’ ball winners get going with seven of the top nine for the term, as De Koning (eight disposals, six contested) and Cerra (seven disposals) continued to will themselves at the coalface. The two sides continued to duke it out at the start of the last term, with the Dogs taking the lead for the first time for the night - that was until Kemp kicked a career-high fifth to put the Blues back in front. However, two quick-fire goals to the Dogs made life tough for the Blues.
Best: T. De Koning, B. Kemp, A. Cerra, J. Weitering, A. Saad, G. Hewett, J. Silvagni.
Dogs bite back at fast-starting Blues to notch thrilling win
Carlton started strong but the Western Bulldogs fought back to a thrilling eight-point win. - By Riley Beveridge.It was a key game, and it was a game of keys. Whether it was Sam Darcy or Jacob Weitering, Rory Lobb or Brodie Kemp, Buku Khamis or Charlie Curnow, this thrilling encounter was shaped by the big guys. But it was defined by the one whose impact, right up until the final moments, had been barely felt.
Aaron Naughton was beaten all night by Jack Silvagni. In fact, as the game ticked into its dying embers, the Western Bulldogs key forward was goalless with just four measly disposals to his name. A few seconds later, that mattered little. With his side trailing by less than a kick with under five minutes remaining, it was Naughton's that brought the Dogs back from the brink to secure what had just moments earlier appeared an unlikely 12.11 (83) to 11.9 (75) win. His next, setting up Darcy for another, extended the margin to one Carlton couldn't whittle back. The Blues falling to a dismal 0-3, the Dogs getting the result their effort and application had perhaps deserved last week. Carlton had started hot. It had kicked the game's opening three goals and leapt into a 24-point lead, supercharged by Kemp's five goals, Curnow's three and Weitering's effective shutdown job on Darcy through the game's first three quarters. But, as Darcy grew into the game to finish with three majors, Tom Liberatore (30 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal), Sam Davidson (31 disposals, 10 marks) and ex-Blue Matt Kennedy (22 disposals, two goals) drove the Dogs to victory.
Carlton's start was almost like a sneak attack. Playing a brand unrecognisable from the opening fortnight of the season, the Blues had three goals on the board before the Bulldogs could blink. The question was whether they could sustain the momentum and, while the answer wasn't a resounding yes, there were positive signs. The Dogs eventually settled into their groove and had four more entries and close to 75 percent of the ball in their forward half to quarter time, yet Carlton grew optimistic through its resilience. It held its opponents goalless in the opening term – and indeed for the first 37 minutes of the match – adding to the lead through Curnow's second. As the pattern of play evened out in the second quarter, so too did the scoring. Both sides traded goals, including a Kennedy snap against his former side and Curnow slotting his third, with neither side able to put a sizeable dent in the margin. Instead, it fluctuated on either side of 20 points. Where the Blues couldn't get the advantage beyond four goals, the Dogs struggled to get within two at the other end. The result was a cage fight, as the contest grew into a scrappy tug of war. Darcy eventually got the better of Weitering to kickstart the third term, before Kemp – having an impact at the other – kicked his third, as the game hovered through a precarious period. Carlton's lead simply wasn't big enough to be comfortable, giving the Bulldogs a sniff of hope. They seized on that glimmer late in the third. Laitham Vandermeer's pressure got one back, Lachie McNeil's smarts brought it closer, before Kennedy's second of the evening drew the scores level for the first time since the game's first moments. The Blues needed a circuit-breaker. Kemp, his influence on the match growing as it went on, proved exactly that. Spotted up by George Hewett, he kicked his fourth from an intimidating angle to restore a slender lead at the final change.
But the Dogs now had a pulse. Spurred on by Rhylee West's unnerving set-shot on the three-quarter time siren, they sought to gain their first lead of the night. A flashpoint involving a lengthy score review, which determined a touched Darcy shot, delayed their hopes, but not for long. Darcy beat Weitering on the lead, eventually had his second of the night, and the Bulldogs saw an advantage for the very first time. Now, it was up to the Blues to respond and, once again, it looked to Kemp. A dolly over the top, from Francis Evans' pass, brought about a fifth and the restoration of a buffer that had just evaporated. But the Dogs never wavered. Now full of belief following their fightback, Naughton kicked the goal that put them in front and then set up Darcy for the one that denied any hopes of the Blues getting back in the match.
Blue dealt another frustrating blow
The disappointment in Zac Williams' face as he made his way to the changerooms midway through the second term said it all. For a player that has already suffered one ruptured Achilles in 2018, then came dangerously close to another in 2022 – that time it proved to be a high-grade calf injury that ruled him out for three months, rather than another Achilles issue – his latest setback was a frustrating one. Williams limped off with what Carlton described as 'Achilles soreness', having just moments earlier sparked the Blues' lightning start. Jordan Boyd came on as the substitute, with Williams now facing the prospect of yet another dispiriting period on the sidelines.
The battle of the night
An unstoppable force against an immovable object. The best young key forward in the game against the reigning All-Australian full back. Jacob Weitering had got the better of Sam Darcy in their ongoing sparring match on Friday night, until a third quarter moment lit the fuse for the contest's most intriguing matchup. The pair went at each other when Darcy complained about a non-call. They went at each other again moments later when Weitering gave away a free kick to hand his opponent his first of the night. Tensions grew more fraught in the final term, when a lengthy score review determined Weitering touched a Darcy shot off the boot to deny him a second. Weitering, for all his efforts in the first three quarters, perhaps ended coming up second best as Darcy's second and third majors proved crucial in the Dogs clawing back the victory.
Best: B. Kemp, T. De Koning, J. Silvagni, J. Weitering, A. Cerra, C. Curnow.
"Lack of composure" costly in Dogs defeat.
Michael Voss sums up the Round 3 defeat to the Western Bulldogs. - By Carlton Media.A costly lack of composure. For the third straight week, Carlton set the game up how it wanted and had the game on its boot, only to fall narrowly in the final minutes during a back-and-forth affair with the Western Bulldogs. The Blues continued to show the capabilities of their best footy, particularly in an efficient first half, but were unable to complete key moments late as the Bulldogs came away with an eight-point victory. Speaking to media post-match, here's what AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss had to say.
On how the game got away:
"We lacked composure through different times of the game. Right now, our best has been pretty good. But we seem to be straying from us more than we’d like. That’s giving pockets or windows for opposition to walk through, we’re inviting them into the game. "The second quarter, we give two defensive-50 stoppage goals against, the detail of that and being able to stick to that and our method and how we want to defend that part of the ground. The third quarter, enabling their marks and getting territory really easy, we weren’t able to take that off them. Through the third quarter, our inside-50 entries were off and we fuelled their game and invited them back in. Then the last quarter, to not have the composure - we gave away eight free kicks. We’ve just got to get better. "The consistency of what we need to be able to play at is clearly not where we want it. We’re really confident in the manner we play - I can spend a lot of time on the numbers, but it’s not going to matter. The numbers are okay, but it’s the small moments that is enabling an opposition to get back in the game. It’s been on our boot, but we haven’t been able to finish the deal. We’re going to have to own that."
On a four-goal-to-eight second half:
"We’ve got to find a way through that. We’ll go back and have a look at it. Some people will say ‘it’s how you’re running out games’, and maybe that’s part of it and should factor that in. Because if we had some better moments to control the ball, we would’ve found ourselves on a different side of the ledger. That’s something we’ll have to have a look at. "A lot of that has been inefficiency. Today, ultimately the Bulldogs were able to step up their game and own the ball a bit more. The last quarter we weren’t able to finish the way we wanted to. We’ll keep looking for those moments and look to get better. A simple thing like giving away eight free kicks, that’s not running capacity - that’s showing care in the contest. "You can get frustrated by it, but they’re probably there. If we don’t accept it, we won’t get better."
On improved efficiency going forward, only to drop away:
"We did tonight, but as we went across the night it dropped off. It’s the consistency of reinforcing the way we want to be able to play. We had some great moments, and moments we’d like back. It’s glaring what we need to get better at. "What we’re really conscious of is ensuring that while we’re getting better at that, we hold onto some of the other parts of the game that are holding up okay. Our contest work, our clearance work has been really effective, how we’ve defended the ground has generally been pretty good. It’s about being able to put those fundamentals down strong, but also in the background just keep going to work on the things we need to get better at."
On how to 'teach composure':
"Repetition, trust in roles, consistency in how you play, staying connected to each other - that’s why we train. It’s an area we need to get better, and it’s up to me to make sure we do something about it. "We’ve progressively seen it improve from the first week, but again, you don’t always get it on your terms. Being able to play you for longer and the attention to detail, be better around contest at different times, knowing how to use the ball, defending critical moments - it’s why the game is really demanding, it includes all phases."
On Jack Silvagni, Lewis Young and Brodie Kemp's games:
"That speaks that there’s a lot of parts that are going well, there are individuals that are going well. Jacob with the role he had on Darcy, he persisted with that. There are plenty of parts and individuals to sit here and acknowledge, and we will highlight and reinforce those. "But as we know, it takes a squad and a team to get the job done, and we need to do it more often. We’re falling short right now. That’s what we need to accept to be able to get better."
On the need for a response:
"For us and for me, in terms of the context of the season, there’s plenty of runway. We’ve also got the feedback that we’ve got to get better. We’ve got some real parts of our game that are a bit more obvious than others. That’s what we’ll do. "When you watch us play and see the better parts of our games and how we’re able to play that, it’s worth persisting with. But the message will be pretty simple: make sure we’re really clear on our roles, make sure we’re playing us and we need to put composure in the game."
On looking at a different approach:
"One of the questions you get through these periods of time is ‘what do you need to change?’. The hardest part I find is what you need to continue to reinforce, and keep doing and keep making consistent. The more change you make, it doesn’t necessarily work out great. "But at the same time, you’ve got to look for adaptations and how you grow your game, where you can find the small bits of difference that can help us move forward. We’ll do that, we’ll flip every rock we possibly can, but it won’t come without a consistent message. "There’s enough there to suggest we’ve got something to build on, but we’ve got a few things to get after. That part I find a bit simpler."
The Blues can't put teams away.
Some have blamed it on fitness, some have blamed it on depth, but Michael Voss blamed it on composure. Whatever the case, Carlton simply can't close. The Blues fell to 0-3 on Friday night, blowing yet another sizeable lead to the Western Bulldogs, having now kicked just three goals in three final quarters so far this season. Carlton has also been outscored by 89 points in second halves to start the year, despite being +29 for entries throughout its first three games. Leads of 41, 11 and 24 have now evaporated before their eyes, with their finals chances also drying up with each passing week. Collingwood, a side which knows all about snatching late leads from its arch rivals, now lies ahead for Voss' troops in a blockbuster clash on Thursday night. - Riley BeveridgeTeam
| B: | 1 Jack Silvagni | 23 Jacob Weitering | 11 Mitch McGovern |
| HB: | 42 Adam Saad | 26 Nick Haynes | 4 Ollie Hollands |
| C: | 13 Blake Acres | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 46 Matt Cottrell |
| HF: | 3 Jesse Motlop | 33 Lewis Young | 6 Zac Williams |
| F: | 17 Brodie Kemp | 30 Charlie Curnow | 15 Sam Docherty |
| Ruck: | 12 Tom De Koning | 5 Adam Cerra | 29 George Hewett |
| Interchange: | 2 Lachlan Cowan | 18 Sam Walsh | 8 Lachie Fogarty |
| 44 Francis Evans | |||
| Substitute: | 37 Jordan Boyd | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 21 Lucas Camporeale | 38 Will White | 43 Ashton Moir |
Substitute: Jordan Boyd replaced Zac Williams during the second quarter.
In: Francis Evans, Jordan Boyd.
Out: Lucas Camporeale (omitted), Cooper Lord (omitted).
Free Kicks
Carlton 21Western Bulldogs 24
Last Quarter: The Bulldogs received 8 free kicks before Carlton's solitary free. Half back Adam Saad was the recipient with 2 minutes to go.
Front Runners
Matt Cottrell 15.2kmOliver Hollands 15.0km
Sam Docherty 14.7km
Sam Walsh 14.2km
Milestones
50 Games (Carlton): Lachie FogartyInteresting Facts
1. Brodie Kemp kicked a career-high 5 goals in this game.2. Lewis Young kicked a career-high 2 goals in this game.
AFLCA Votes
8 - Tom De Koning (CARL)8 - Tom Liberatore (WB)
8 - Sam Davidson (WB)
3 - Brodie Kemp (CARL)
3 - Matt Kennedy (WB)
Brownlow Votes
Best and Fairest Votes
Round 2 | Round 4