|
Venue: MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: Sun 2 September 2007, 5:10pm | Result: Loss by 31pts | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: Ellis, Kamolins, M Nicholls | Crowd: 26,156 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: Betts 5; Gibbs, Houlihan 2; Hampson, Kennedy, Simpson, Walker, Waite, Whitnall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: Newton (Melbourne) for charging Bower- Reprimand | Injuries: - | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Some in the media had dubbed this match the "Kruezer Cup", for if Carlton had lost this match it would be entitled to Pick #1 (despite not coming last) who was assumed to be a young Matthew Kreuzer in the upcoming National Draft. Melbourne, on the other hand, would lose a second round priority pick by winning.An injury depleted Melbourne team would take on a very young Blues outfit to finish the season. The Demons burst out of the blocks whilst Carlton could not take a trick in front of goal, with 1 goal 7 in the opening quarter. Melbourne were able to sustain the lead despite various Carlton purple patches, taking the game by a touch over 5 goals.
Eddie Betts kicked a career-high 5 goals to take his season tally to 21 from 17 games while Heath Scotland gathered a remarkable career-high 41 disposals. Bryce Gibbs also picked up a career-high 23 disposals and 2 goals in his best game for the season while Paul Bower also recorded a career-high 21 disposals. Marc Murphy and Andrew Walker were also solid with 23 and 24 disposals respectively.
This was the 4th youngest Carlton team to ever take the field with an average age of 22 years, 91 days and an average games tally of 55.3. The youngest player, Bryce Gibbs, was 18 years and 170 days old while our oldest player, Lance Whitnall, was 28 years and 10 days old.
Little did the fans realise, but this would also be the final game for two of our key position players on the day - Captain Lance Whitnall and young key forward Josh Kennedy, who would be traded as part of the massive Chris Judd trade only weeks later.
Team
| B: | 1 Andrew Walker | 17 Setanta Ó hAilpín | 21 Mark Austin |
| HB: | 18 Paul Bower | 40 Michael Jamieson | 29 Heath Scotland |
| C: | 6 Kade Simpson | 7 Adam Bentick | 3 Marc Murphy |
| HF: | 5 Josh Kennedy | 30 Jarrad Waite | 44 Andrew Carrazzo |
| F: | 2 Jordan Russell | 8 Lance Whitnall (c) | 22 Shaun Hampson |
| Ruck: | 11 Cain Ackland | 33 Ryan Houlihan | 4 Bryce Gibbs |
| Interchange: | 16 Shaun Grigg | 19 Eddie Betts | 31 Jordon Bannister |
| 38 Ryan Jackson | |||
| Coach: | Brett Ratten | ||
| Emg: | 9 Jason Saddington, 13 Luke Blackwell, 34 Simon Wiggins | ||
| In: | Mark Austin, Ryan Houlihan | ||
| Out: | Brad Fisher (knee), Jason Saddington (omitted) | ||
Milestones
Debut: Mark Austin100 Career Goals: Jarrad Waite
Last Game: Lance Whitnall
Last Game (Carlton): Josh Kennedy
Interesting fact: This was the 4th youngest Carlton team to ever take the field with an average age of 22 years, 91 days and an average games tally of 55.3.
Interesting fact: This was Mark Riley's last game as Coach of Melbourne before joining Carlton as an Assistant Coach.
Brownlow Votes
3. Travis Johnstone, Melbourne2. Heath Scotland, Carlton
1. Nathan Brown, Melbourne
Best and Fairest Votes
Heath Scotland 20, Eddie Betts 19, Bryce Gibbs 18, Paul Bower 12, Ryan Houlihan 6Round 21 | 2008