The Wrap Up | R3 V Hawthorn

Written by Ari Stamatakos

MATCH SUMMARY

From back to back prime time games to Sunday 1:10 at the G. A drastic change in scenery for the Blues but the task remains the same. Keep the undefeated streak alive and maintain the perfect start to the season. A couple of Covid protocols have forced some last changes as Jordan Boyd made his senior debut for the club. 

It was a scrappy start to the game saw Dylan Moore get the first of the afternoon. The Hawks looked to have the ascendancy early as the Blues couldn't get their feet planted in the match. However, a good, contested mark from Harry McKay sparked the Blues into life, as his first got the Blues rolling. Charlie Curnow kicked a brilliant goal minutes later before Patrick Cripps got some space to take a good mark and kick his first. Three key players kicking early goals is the perfect sign for the Blues. Jack Silvagni pinched in with his first to give the Blues a three-goal lead halfway through the first. Corey Durdin hit up Matt Owies for his first before he got in on the act kicking his first in a trice. McKay ended the first term the same way he started, kicking a goal and intern, giving the Blues a healthy 5 goal lead heading into the first change. An electrifying quarter from the Blues, piling on pressure and goal at a canter and really showing their class. It was men against boys for that opening term. 

Just like the first, Moore got the opening goal of the term before the Blues responded quickly. Silvagni kicked truly for his second before Curnow got his hands on the ball again and kicked another goal. After Boyd’s kick from 55 out that just sailed wide, Carlton led by 41 points. From there, it was a long slog to get the next goal, which, as time moved on, proved to be crucial for the second half. Over 10 minutes passed until the next goal was kicked, and it was Luke Breust who got it and changed the tide for the whole game. In a trice, he had kicked another and the seed was planted for an unbelievable second half. 

Curnow got the ball running for the Blues early in the third, but Mitch Lewis finally got involved in the game, as his goal cut the margin back to 31. Connor Macdonald kicked into an open goal and when Chad Wingard strolled into the vacant goal square to slam home their 4th of the term and to get the margin back to a very gettable 17 points, it was game on in a big way. Carlton had stopped, Hawthorn was full of running and full of energy. It was a completely different game from the first half, the Blues are being challenged once again.  

The Blues needed to shut the game down, slow things down and really tighten the game up. However, Carlton never does anything easy. As from a forward stoppage very early in the term, Tom Mitchell got a yard of space and snapped home his first, back to 11 points. A couple of minutes later, Harry Morrison got some reverse swing that Pat Cummins would be proud of, that saw his high looping banana from 45m out sail through. In a trice, the margin was cut back to under a goal and the Hawks were roaring home. Then, they hit the front. Jack Gunston took a good mark on the lead out Infront of Jacob Weitering, as he turns to go, Weitering slips over and Gunston has the length of the MCG forward 50 to give the Hawks the lead. He takes a couple of bounces, steadies, and kicks the goal. Incredibly, Hawthorn, after being 41 points down halfway through the second term, has hit the front. But from there, the Blues got the game back on their terms. They understood the momentum that was swinging in the Hawks favour, so they completed dried the game out. Made the contest fizzle out and returned to the chip mark game that they have never wavered from. And through the method, there was madness that was about to go down. Corey Durdin thought he kicked a goal to get the Blues back to within 1 point, but his goal was ruled out after a late score review. However, within a minute of Blue hearts being broken, they were repaired, thanks to their famous son. A good contest by Owies at centre half forward saw Zac Fisher have a flashpoint 50 out from goal. He wisely handballs over the top to Silvagni whose pick on the run was exceptional. He strolled into the open goal square and gave the Blues the lead back. One rushed behind a couple of minutes later and the Hawks needed 2 goals to win. They got one through Jack Gunston, who marked on the lead and snapped home his 2nd. 1 point the margin, under 5 minutes to go. 

From there on in, it was desperation act after desperation act. Weitering and Docherty were the MVPs of the final stanza of the game. As Cripps had some moments he would've liked back, and the rest of the team struggled to hit targets, Weitering and Docherty were as composed as anyone. And it was the formers mark who sealed the game for the Blues. A heart-stopping, enthralling, exhilarating, exhausting, memorable, unbelievable 1 point win. Carlton, for the first time since 2012, is 3-0.

BREAKING IT DOWN: KEY MATCH INSIGHTS

It is hard to break down a game like this. Due to the nature of the contest and the way that it panned out, Blues fand won't care too much about the performance. Because everyone knows that they got away with one. It was a coaching masterclass from Sam Mitchell after halftime, he shut down the Blue's offence and didn’t allow them to get anywhere near them. Micheal Voss will learn from this and understand where he went wrong. It was much better to learn this lesson in a win than in a loss. The Blues got away with one, but they won't care. 

The Best

Jack Silvagni, Jacob Weitering, Sam Docherty, Patrick Cripps, Matt Kennedy, Sam Walsh 

Final Scores

Carlton:                             7.1 (43), 9.5 (59), 10.6 (66), 11.8 (74) 

Hawthorn                             1.3 (9), 4.5 (29), 7.7 (49), 11.7 (73)