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| Venue: | MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Friday 3 May 2024 (7.40 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 6 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 88,362 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | H. McKay 4.1, M. Owies 3.0, T. De Koning 2.1, C. Curnow 2.0, M. Cottrell 1.0, M. Pittonet 0.2, S. Walsh 0.1, O. Fantasia 0.1, B. Acres 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | A. Cerra (CARL) careless contact with an umpire (first offence), with an early plea fined $1250. S. Pendlebury (COLL) careless contact with an umpire (first offence), with an early plea fined $1250. L. Schulz (COLL) stiking Blake Acres, rated as intentional contact, low impact and high contact - suspended for 1 match. |
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| Umpires: | Brett Rosebury, Andrew Stephens, Brendan Hosking, Jamie Broadbent. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 8th | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Blues pipped by Pies
Carlton has fallen by six points to Collingwood in a last-minute defeat. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton MediaPipped at the last. Carlton has fallen by six points to old enemy Collingwood, with a last-minute Nick Daicos goal confining the Blues to a 12.7 (79) to 12.13 (85) defeat. After kicking five goals in the opening term, the Blues were shackled by the Pies’ pressure, conceding a bevy of inside 50s but able to stand tall to turn the game into a fight until the last. Nic Newman and Blake Acres were both excellent with 32 disposals apiece, while Harry McKay contributed four goals in what was the Blues’ second consecutive narrow defeat at the MCG.
Quarter one
After an emotional pre-game scene with Carlton, Collingwood and a capacity crowd coming together, it was a hot start as soon as the ball was bounced. Both teams traded two goals apiece in the early going, with Harry McKay looming as the danger man in attack for the Blues. The 2021 Coleman Medallist contributed three goals in the opening term alone, with the Blues able to set up a wall and lock the ball inside their forward half. In something of a surprise, the Blues - who are usually such a prominent contested possession side - dominated the uncontested count in the first term, picking their way through the Magpies while also applying plenty of pressure when the ball was on the deck. Blake Acres ran rampant on the wing with 12 possessions, with Nic Newman - who was one of the Blues’ best the last time these two sides met - not far behind him with 10 disposals. Carlton’s defensive setup was able to hold firm in the second half of the term, keeping the Magpies goalless after the 12-minute mark of the quarter. A late contested mark and goal to Charlie Curnow was the perfect finish to the term for the Blues opening up a 14-point gap.
Quarter two
The Blues looked to pick up from where they left off in quarter one, and when some slick transition down the ground ended in the returning David Cuningham finding Curnow for his second, the Blues pushed out to a 19-point lead. However, from there, the game was well and truly played on the Pies’ terms, with the Blues unable to generate any run from out of their back half. The Blues were only able to generate six inside 50s for the quarter compared to the Pies’ 16, with Carlton’s defence under serious strain. The dam wall burst in the second half of the quarter with Collingwood piling on five consecutive goals, with the Blues’ lead rapidly turning into an 11-point half-time deficit. Sam Walsh (18 first-half disposals) and George Hewett (17) were busy around the ball, but the Blues couldn’t muster anything meaningful from there, with the Pies’ pressure forcing errors and restricting the Blues’ time on the ball. Collingwood’s contribution across the board was clear, with eight individual goalkickers to Carlton’s three (McKay, Curnow and Matt Owies) at the main break.
Quarter three
After Owies kicked the opening goal of the third term, the quarter followed a similar pattern to the previous, with nearly 80 per cent of the game played in Collingwood’s forward half inside the first 10 minutes. However, the Blues were able to hold firm where they couldn’t in the second term, restricting the Magpies to just three behinds as they fought to get their own game going. It was a grind, but eventually the Blues were able to break through, spending more time in their forward half and generating repeat entries. It presented the opportunities the Blues’ forwards had been lacking, with Owies roving his third. It wasn’t long after when Curnow found McKay, giving the Blues a lead from out of nowhere. Acres continued what he’d done all night, getting up and back on the wing to assist the Blues on the last line, accumulating nine disposals in the third term — more than anybody else on the ground.
Quarter four
It was clear from the outset that the Pies started the fourth term making all the running, kicking two goals inside the first couple of minutes to open up a gap on the Blues. Carlton was scrapping for each opportunity, unable to get the usual flow in their offensive game with Collingwood able to restrict its ball movement. However, as has been the case with the Blues so often, they weren’t going to go down without a fight, with Tom De Koning bobbing up with consecutive goals to give the Blues the lead back. An excellent Charlie Curnow assist to Matthew Cottrell ensured the Blues had an instant response to Scott Pendlebury’s goal, with scores tied inside the final five minutes in front of what was a record Carlton-Collingwood home-and-away record. The Pies had 20 last-quarter inside 50s compared to the Blues’ six, and the barrage of forward entires eventually broke the Blues. A Nick Daicos goal with just over a minute remaining took the result out of the Blues’ grasp, falling by a solitary kick to the old enemy.
Best: N. Newman, H. McKay, B. Acres, J. Weitering, G. Hewett, S. Walsh.
In the Nick of time: Daicos heroics hands Pies win
A late Nick Daicos goal has handed Collingwood a six-point win against traditional rival Carlton - By Josh GabelichNick Daicos was born for nights like this. With the game on the line, it was the 21-year-old who slotted the winning goal with a minute left to sink the arch enemy Carlton and launch Collingwood back into the top eight on Friday night. And by then, the Magpies superstar with the famous black and white pedigree had proven to be the difference, amassing 32 disposals, 16 contested possessions, seven tackles, seven clearances, six inside 50s, 626m gained and two goals to claim the Richard Pratt Medal following a standout performance. The Magpies not only reclaimed the Peter Mac Cup but emphatically dispelled any concerns the premiership hangover is still hovering somewhere, by banking the 12.13 (85) to 12.7 (79) win in front of a record home and away crowd of 88,362 between these two sides. With Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell both missing due to injury – and Adam Cerra returning for Carlton – Craig McRae adjusted his midfield mix and not only matched the Blues’ more fancied midfield department, but beat them. Collingwood laid a whopping 34 more tackles and recorded a massive 23 more inside 50 entries. Yet despite those sizeable stats wins, it came down to big moments late between two sides who have mastered the tight finishes across the past 24 months – Collingwood has now won 19 games by single digits under Craig McRae. Matt Cottrell did what he has done twice already in 2024 – kick important set shots in red time – and he did it again to level the scores.
That was after evergreen champion Scott Pendlebury had calmly slotted a goal in one of many crucial moments late. The 36-year-old was enormous, limiting the influence of Patrick Cripps around stoppage while also finishing with 23 touches, eight tackles and six clearances. Enter a dancing Daicos, weaving through traffic at the Punt Rd end to cement a famous victory on a ground where his famous father Peter used to do some of his best work. Before the game started all 46 players, both coaches and every umpire gathered in the centre before the opening bounce for a moment’s silence to take a united stance against gender-based violence in Australia. Minutes into play, Brayden Maynard launched a long-range bomb from outside 50 for the first goal of the game, after Zac Williams conceded the first of two free kicks against Jamie Elliott, which cost Carlton two early goals. But the Blues looked far more potent in attack early. Tom De Koning threatened in the air. Harry McKay kicked three goals in all different ways across the first 30 minutes, including an opportunistic snap for his third, before reigning Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow finally found some room off Billy Frampton to pluck a big pack mark and convert his first. Slow starts have been a problem for the Magpies in 2024, but it wasn’t the reason they were behind at the first change. Beau McCreery came off the ground following a gruesome incident where the South Australian copped a knee to the jaw early in the second quarter. He was swiftly subbed out of the game due to concussion, with debutant Lachie Sullivan entering the game halfway through the second quarter. That moment coincided with a change in the game.
Harvey Harrison kicked an important goal just when they needed one. Then Sullivan joined the ‘first kick, first goal’ club minutes after entering the game. Suddenly, Collingwood’s two most inexperienced players had provided the Pies with an injection of energy. Mason Cox then made it three in five minutes with a towering mark and silent salute that reduced the margin to two points. When Pat Lipinski got on the end of the hard work of Will Hoskin-Elliott and Harrison, the Magpies led and were being rewarded for superior intent, with Schultz making it five in a row just before half-time. Matt Owies ended that streak early in the second half after Maynard was penalised for a contentious dangerous tackle. The game meandered for more than 10 minutes, befor Owies kicked a textbook front and square goal to reduce the margin to under a kick with his third goal of the night. Game on. Curnow outmuscled Moore in a crucial one-on-one, turned and found McKay deep to put Carlton back in front and momentarily in control. Collingwood was held goalless across the third quarter, despite five shots at goal and the majority of possession at the city end of the ground. But they didn’t have to wait long in the final quarter. Bobby Hill threaded the needle from the boundary 40 seconds into the quarter, before Will Hoskin-Elliott capitalised on a half chance. De Koning responded again with two goals in four minutes, but it wasn’t enough to upstage the reigning premiers. This side has its mojo back and will take some beating across the next few months. So much for that premiership hangover.
New home and away record for Carlton v Collingwood
When Collingwood ended Carlton’s campaign by a single point in 2022, a record crowd of 88,287 people crammed in on the final Sunday of the home and away season. That was the goal on Friday night. And they beat it, but only just. 88,362 turned up for a brilliant battle between two old enemies. The all-time record is 121,696 in the 1970 Grand Final, during a different time for capacity. Carlton’s all-time home and away record was 91,571 against Essendon in 2000.
Williams subbed out
Carlton defender Zac Williams struggled to contain the dangerous Jamie Elliott on Friday night before being subbed out of the game in the third quarter. Michael Voss explained post game that it was due to a glute concern with the former Greater Western Sydney half-back in doubt for next Thursday night’s game against Melbourne.
Best: N. Newman, H. McKay, S. Walsh, B. Acres, M. Owies
Voss breaks down Collingwood clash
Michael Voss gives an overview of the Collingwood clash. - By Carlton Media.In what was a narrow defeat at the hands of the Pies, Senior Coach Michael Voss thought the Blues weren't sharp enough with their execution. Noting the over-possession of the ball and skill execution errors, Voss said they'll take the time to look over the vision and pinpoint areas of improvement, taking the feedback from their opponent in stride. Here's what he had to say.
On the message to the group:
"It was a difficult one, we didn’t debrief it for a long time. I think this is one of the ones you take 48 hours, look at the vision, break it down, take the emotion out of it and look through the process and what we improved from last week to this week. "There were some gains made but we also know that we have to progress in other areas. I think we’ll take some time to have a look at the vision so we can give some clarity on what we think it was."
On forward entries:
"We’ll look at the options themselves, there’s the decision and then there’s the actual error. It seemed like some of the decisions were right, but we didn’t execute it well enough and that’s probably what we need to look at."
On the disposal count:
"I thought we over-possessed it. Probably the bigger (numbers) were their tackles, the pressure that they were able to provide across the night probably forced us to over-possess it. "We had to make some corrections about how we wanted to move the ball out of those particular scenarios and it just didn’t feel like we were absorbing that well enough, then over-possession comes into play. "Credit to (Collingwood), they were able to force that turnover and force us to do something we wouldn’t usually do and we lost the territory battle and if you lose the territory battle against a good footy team, it’s going to be hard to win the game."
On losing the centre clearances:
"It’s been a strength of ours for the last couple of weeks, that’s one part of the game that you would like to back in that we can at least draw even. From our perspective, that’s been a real strength of our game and that’s what we have to continue to search for, we have to have balance in our game. "I often get asked about the transition part of our game, of course we want it better. We want our stoppage game to be better too and that part was off and for us. "They had 61 inside 50s to 38 so the supply wasn’t good enough for us tonight, but to be able to hold a side to 61 entries and get looks like that forward of the ball, that can probably go into the basket of improvement. We wanted to defend harder and we did that, but it still wasn’t good enough to get us a result."
On the surges of momentum:
"That was when we a bit more efficient with our play. That’s not just about hitting targets, its what our contest method looks like, how we take the ball away from those particular areas. "We were able to absorb it better and as a result, we got the scoreboard ticking over and that got us back into the game. It always felt like we had opportunities to score, it always felt like that, even late, we had an opportunity to be able to get the scoreboard in our favour. "In really tight games, it becomes about the margins, the little things, so we’ll give that the attention it needs."
On the progression throughout the season:
"We’re playing some really good footy. We also know that we’ve got to continue to progress. I talked about defence last week but we’re referring to that every week, it’s important to us every week and we’ve got to build off the back of it, because it can’t be the moving spotlight, one day its this and the next day is something else. "We look at a balanced profile that we want in our game, we’ll continue to look at where we get progressive and right now, we are getting some good feedback off some good opponents on what we need to get to work on. "It’s really clear for us, we’re not searching for it, it’s really clear, that our job is to make sure we execute for longer and be more disciplined for longer, do our role for longer, execute those kicks a bit more."
On Nick Daicos:
"I think very good players step up to the moment. He was fantastic tonight and we couldn’t stop his influence. We had a couple of things we were trying to do but across the whole night, we weren’t able to get it done and he stepped up in the last quarter and was able to get the ascendency and we went down in the clearance significantly."
On returning players:
"It looks like we’ll get a couple back next week with Jack Martin, Marchbank and McGovern, so there’s a few to come back over the next couple of weeks."
Team
| B: | 6 Zac Williams | 33 Lewis Young | 2 Lachie Cowan |
| HB: | 39 Alex Cincotta | 23 Jacob Weitering | 24 Nic Newman |
| C: | 28 David Cuningham | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 13 Blake Acres |
| HF: | 20 Elijah Hollands | 10 Harry McKay | 46 Matthew Cottrell |
| F: | 44 Matt Owies | 30 Charlie Curnow | 12 Tom De Koning |
| Ruck: | 27 Marc Pittonet | 18 Sam Walsh | 29 George Hewett |
| Interchange: | 37 Jordan Boyd | 5 Adam Cerra | 19 Corey Durdin |
| 14 Orazio Fantasia | |||
| Substitute: | 7 Matt Kennedy | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 16 Jack Carroll | 4 Ollie Hollands | 17 Brodie Kemp |
In: Adam Cerra, Alex Cincotta, David Cuningham, Orazio Fantasia.
Out: Jaxon Binns, Jack Carroll, Ollie Hollands, Brodie Kemp (all omitted).
Substitute: Matt Kennedy replaced Zac Williams in the fourth quarter.
Interesting Facts
1. The crowd of 88,362 was a record crowd between these two clubs beating their previous best of 88,287 which was played in Round 23, 2022.Front Runners
Matt Cottrell 16.2kmBlake Acres 14.5km
Harry McKay 14.4km
AFLCA Votes
10 - Nick Daicos (COLL)4 - Jack Crisp (COLL)
4 - Harry McKay (CARL)
4 - Nic Newman (CARL)
4 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
3 - Scott Pendlebury (COLL)
1 - Darcy Moore (COLL)
Brownlow Votes
Best and Fairest Votes
Video
Round 7 | Round 9