Geelong v Carlton | Round 2 Preview
Written by Luke Cornell
In the wake of an exciting opening round of football across the league, the Carlton faithful come into this week with a renewed sense of hope and opportunity. Following a rather lacklustre Thursday night of football against the Tigers, we march into the G for our first home game of the season against the reigning premiers.
With 22 remaining games; we get to go again, what a beautiful thing that is.
Fret not, it’s the Round 2 preview.
Opposition Analysis
The Cats are nothing short of the pinnacle of what teams across the AFL can aspire to in terms of on field dominance.
Whilst the old enemy spoiled their hopes of a perfect start, Geelong’s relentless ability to keep the game on their own terms for over 89 minutes looked effortless through a short-kick brand of football that proved sustainable.
Geelong can revel in the performance of seasoned veterans Patrick Dangerfield and Issac Smith in a great display of kicks and winning the contested ball, whilst getting the most of an even distribution of goals generated from half back running and deep entries inside 50.
The Pies however took advantage of a depleted Geelong defense with the loss of All-Australian Tom Stewart, in an injury that will sideline him to 3-4 weeks. There wasn’t much to praise from the Geelong outfit towards the end of the game either, having been beaten in nearly every team-statistical category at the games end.
While their less-than-desirable performance and losses offer Blues fans a slice of relief, the Cat’s expectation to make a statement this week is all but certain having not gone 2 games without a win since 2015, let alone the first two games of an AFL season.
However, with a depleted backline and bottom four league rankings in spoils, marks and tackles inside 50 alone (-5.0, -8.0, -6.0 respectively), don’t be surprised if a signature Blues 8 goal quarter comes earlier than expected this season as we hope to seize the opportunity.
While there was no sign of the Blues reaping the rewards of a depleted Tigers defense last week, the engine room took advantage of the lack of restarts, winning the center clearance count 10-6 in what is proving to be the difference in how we utilize our dream pairing of Charlie Curnow and Harry Mckay upfront; hinting that the right start could all but decimate the Cats early if last week says anything about how they will front up this week at the G.
That’s not to say that the Blues warrant such a dominance up-forward, however, lacking the will to slow opposition transition in our forward half highlighted by a very efficient Daniel Rioli running rampant with 27 disposals @93%.
With the threat of the Cat’s own dual-coleman medalists bound to cause headaches in our own backline, backed up by the unpredictable Tyson Stengle, the story remains the same this week; with our midfield primed to be the driving force to not only limit opposition i50s, but to execute when needed the most.
Blues Expectations
“It’s not major surgery in regards to the team this week.”
Paolo Sebastiani’s take on team selection on Monday’s Blue Abroad Show (7pm) encapsulated a desire to get it right this week in terms of who best compliments the Blue’s system.
Alarm bells rang last week the decision to go all in on young Tom De Koning, at the expense of ruckman Marc Pittonet’s omission from the 23, going head to head with elite Tigers ruckman Toby Nankervis.
The decision proved costly, in what proved to be a limited contest in the center bounce, Richmond were able to get first use from their skipper winning the hitouts count convincingly, in what saw Jack Silvagni sporting his infamous shin pad to tag in as our secondary ruck option.
In what was a far cry to our ruck situation this time last year, with Pittonet’s hit-out to advantage rate (21.11) being a league high in the first 5 rounds of 2022, it should be expected the coaching staff pulls the trigger come selection in what’s bound to be a more than needed solution in allowing our midfield to win the contest.
And whilst the main query this week may fall along the lines of “why fix what’s not broken?,” we should be wondering, “why fix something that’s bound to break in the long run?”
This encompasses the contributions of now fringe players in Ed Curnow and Jack Martin, and the availability of players likely to surpass their efforts from last week in Cory Durdin and Jack Carroll. How should those in the 4-walls of the club “reward” lackluster results and contributions.
The opportunity and expectation this week should be a mix of not just availability, but of a sustainable brand of football against a team whose style of play has gone the distance.
As Paolo would put it, “all it is, is an intent, an endeavour, and decisiveness to want to move the ball better than we did Richmond”
If it ain’t broke, doesn’t mean it’s fixed.
Predictions
This is a statement game.
The Cats will be relentless if the Blues don’t make a stance early, that’s the nature of this Geelong outfit.
However, the matchup is in Carlton’s favour, if the Blues can execute early and stem the flow (having learned anything from last week), the 4 points will be in reach.
There’ll be no smooth sailing…but I’m calling it close.
