The Preview | Round 19 v North Melbourne
Written by Helena Petrou
Despite Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns across the country threatening to throw the AFL season into turmoil, round 19 will see Carlton take on the North Melbourne Kangaroos this Saturday the 24th of July at an empty Marvel Stadium. Coming off an exhilarating win over the old enemy, some level of faith has been restored into a starved Carlton fan base, whilst round 19 saw the Kangaroos continue to take steps in the right direction, but ultimately fall short against the Bombers. The ever-reliable Ed Curnow will play his 200th game in the do or die clash against the ‘Roos. Known for giving his all every time he pulls on the navy blue guernsey, Blues fans sit in the hope that Ed’s counter parts will be able to play with the same spirit this Saturday.
Ins and Outs:
Both teams have recalled some big names into their sides ahead of the clash, with Ben Cunnington and Jed Anderson returning for the Kangaroos, whilst skipper Patrick Cripps returns to the line up for the Baggers. Cunnington’s experience and leadership will be of large benefit to the Kangaroos, he has also been in incredible form this season, averaging 26 disposals and 7 clearances. The feisty Jed Anderson will play his first game of the season since round 3 where he suffered an ankle injury. The week prior to sustaining his injury Anderson laid 14 tackles against the Gold Coast Suns, his midfield pressure a welcome addition for the ‘Roos. Atu Bosenavulagi has also been upgraded into the 22 after being named as the medical sub last week. Jack Mahony, Robbie Tarrant and Charlie Lazzaro have exited the side. On the Navy-Blue side of things, Patrick Cripps is Carlton’s only inclusion for the match after missing last week’s match with soreness, small forward Matt Owies has been managed.
Last time they met:
It was Sam Docherty’s 100th game when the Blues last took on the Kangas, in round 8 of the 2020 season where we prevailed by 7 points at the Gabba. The Blues remained in front from the first bounce, getting out to a 30-point lead towards the end of the first quarter. A fight back from North Melbourne saw them scrape back the margin to just 5 points at three quarter time, although they only managed two behinds in the final term to the Blue’s 1 goal and 3 behinds. Without key forward Harry McKay who missed the game due to injury, Carlton’s midfielders stepped up and hit the scoreboard in his absence with Kennedy, Cunnigham and Newnes kicking 2 goals each. Jack Martin did a phenomenal job increasing the intensity of the game when the score line was close, whilst Ed Curnow lead the team for tackles with 10 on the day. Lachie Plowman was instrumental for the Blues when the game was there to be won or lost in the last quarter gathering 8 disposals, 6 of them intercept possessions.
On a surface level both sides look to move the ball quite similarly, both kick heavy sides. Carlton rank 4th lowest in the competition for average handballs, whilst the Kangaroos are 5th lowest. On the other side of the field, the Blues only average an extra 8 kicks per game than North who also manage an extra 3 marks and 2 tackles per game. Both sides seem to have many similarities, but what is it that’s allowing Carlton to win more games, whilst North are seemingly stuck on the bottom of the ladder? The Blues average more clearances, inside 50s and marks i50 showing how they look to attack once spreading from the stoppage. The Blues have the 4th highest efficiency inside 50 in the competition whilst North are 3rd last, showing how Carlton make the most of their chances forward of centre through playing an overall attacking game style. The emerging Tom De Koning is set to have his work cut out for him when he comes up against Tod Goldstein this week, who recently broke the record for most AFL hit outs ever.
Seeing double:
It’s a battle 6 years in the making: the McKay twins will finally match up against each other for the first time in their AFL careers this Saturday. Both brothers were drafted in 2015, Harry taken at pick 10, Ben at 21, but are yet to face off against each other in their 6 years of being in the AFL system. Ben McKay has emerged as one of the competitions best improving young full backs this season, recently signing a contract extension with the Kangaroos. Similarly, ‘Big H’ is also having a breakout season, leading the Coleman medal 10 goals clear of second place with 5 rounds of the season to go, having kicked 52 goals from 19 games. Harry also earned a contract extension with Carlton, keeping him in the navy blue till at least 2023. Despite being kept goalless to three-quarter time by Pies’ defender Jarrod Roughead in round 19, Harry was able to break the game open in the final term, slotting 4 goals to win the game for Carlton. This highlights Harry’s ability to take his chances and make the most out of them, despite how he has performed for the most part of the day. With Harry announcing that he would “sew the Coleman up” should he play on his brother, the battle of the identical twins is going to be unlike anything we’ve seen before.
