Goalkickers: Garlett 4, Waite 4, Henderson 3, Betts 2, Murphy 2, Scotland 2, Grigg, Hadley, Judd, Robinson, Russell & Warnock 1.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: S. Jeffery, J. Mollison, J. Schmitt

Injuries: Hampson (ankle), Henderson (hip), Joseph (ankle)

Ladder: 6th

Game Review

The main talking point in the lead up to the round 20 clash with the Tigers was whether the Blues could back up their convincing victory over the Bombers in the partial-line-in-the-sand game and win when they were heavily favoured to do so. Whilst such heavy favouritism isn't always an ally, on this occasion the Blues were able to maintain their intensity and scoring power delivering another solid 23 goal performance. The run away win virtually guaranteed a second successive finals appearance.

The match committee dipped their collective lid to the team that embarrassed Essendon in round 19 by announcing an unchanged line-up to meet Richmond. This left the likes of Andrew Walker and Setanta O’hAilpin stranded on the emergency list despite recent good performances in the VFL.

With dark skies threatening overhead and a weird swirling breeze wreaking havoc here and there around the MCG the signs didn’t look promising. When that same breeze blew a gaping hole right in the centre of the Carlton banner shortly before the Blues entered the arena I read it as a bad omen. In truth it’s easy to misread the karma from my lofty position in row S of Q49 because in hindsight I think the banner incident was more of a “Moses parting the Red Sea” kind of moment. The Blues simply gunned their way through the opening in the banner and continued in that vein when play commenced.

Eddie Betts got the Blues off to a slightly sluggish start when he slammed one into the goal post from close range when a little handball over the top would’ve done nicely. Despite this minor blunder general play was all Carlton’s in the early going, though it took Jeff Garlett some ten minutes before the Blues had their opener. When Lachie Henderson took a strong mark in front of Tiger Brett Deledio some moments later there was clearly some niggle in the air. The normally mild mannered Henderson seemed intent on informing Deledio of his clear prowess in the marking contest before emphatically slamming through Carlton’s second. In a somewhat bizarre aftermath to the goal Deledio proceeded to grab a nearby trainer’s towel and mockingly wiped Henderson’s face, and presumably some inferred tears, perhaps suggesting he thought Henderson was a big sook. To the disgust of the Tiger faithful Henderson was awarded a soft free kick and a second shot at goal on the back of Deledio’s comedy routine. This he promptly missed and duly received a chorus of Bronx cheers. A Marc Murphy goal late in the quarter added a little respectability to the scoreboard, but at 3.7 it had been a slightly wasteful effort. But for the difficult breeze at the Punt Road end the Blues could’ve seriously had the Tigers over a barrel by quarter time.

With a paltry 11 point lead to show for their first quarter efforts the Blues upped the ante during the second. A strong breeze was favouring the City end and Carlton made the most of it with a significantly improved quarter resulting in seven goals. Henderson and Garlett continued to be active up forward each snagging goals while Jarrad Waite was proving menacing. Robert Warnock was giving the Blues midfield first use more often than not and Chris Judd was dominating in typical style. You know you’re having a good day when you get a goal from the unlikely source of Richard Hadley’s boot. Hadley got on the end of one of many attacks up the corridor but instead of his more customary dish off on this occasion he leaned back on a whopping drop punt. Departing from inside the centre square, and aided by a freak thermal gust, it landed some 65 metres later behind the goal umpire. Goals continued to pour down for the Blues while the insipid Tigers added a solitary point. By the half the Blues had the game in the bag with a commanding 57 point break.

Richmond wouldn’t lie down in the third term and added a degree of respectability to the scoreboard with five goals, but in doing so only managed to reduce Carlton’s lead by a meagre three points. Waite continued to be a focal point up forward for the Blues with another two goals while Betts and Judd also got amongst the goals, but it was really just a taste of the party that was to come.

It was always going to be tough to top the 10 goal final quarter which finished the Bombers in round 19 and whilst they didn’t quite better it during the last quarter against the Tigers, they gave it a decent shake. The goals came from everywhere, nine of them to be precise. Waite and Garlett both kicked their fourth, Betts, Scotland and Murphy their second as the Blues pretty much did what they pleased. In the end the Blues had 12 goal kickers, six of them multiple.

The final margin of 89 points was more of a reflection on the Tigers than the Blues. Carlton had been solid without setting the world on fire but Richmond looked a spent force, lacking in run and execution and unable to stop the momentum when it inevitably swung the Blues’ way. Carlton’s eleventh win of the season keeps them safe in sixth spot on the ladder and a ticket into the September action appears certain.

Team

Milestones

Goals Records by Guernsey Number : When Eddie Betts kicked his second and final goal of the night, he surpassed Ron Cooper's record of 170 goals kicked in guernsey number 19 - a record that had stood for almost 70 years!

Brownlow Votes

3. Chris Judd, Carlton
2. Lachlan Henderson, Carlton
1. Jarrad Waite, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

40 Chris Judd, 33 Michael Jamison, 32 Bryce Gibbs, 32 Lachlan Henderson, 31 Jeffery Garlett, 30 Jarrad Waite, 19 Marc Murphy, 18 Robert Warnock, 12 Heath Scotland, 6 Jordan Russell, Kade Simpson

Ladder