The Wrap Up | Round 19 v North Melbourne

Written by Helena Petrou

An insipid and heartless performance by the Carlton Football Club has seen them go down by 39 points to a spirited North Melbourne outfit. The loss makes it the fifth time in 6 years where the Blues have lost to the last placed team, having finished 18th twice themselves within that time frame. The loss diminished any remaining finals hopes, with the Blues now mathematically unable to finish the season in the top eight. 

First Quarter:

Returning to the line-up after missing last week with soreness, skipper Patrick Cripps started the match at full forward in the absence of Harry McKay, who was a late out  with a toe injury. North Melbourne had possession early, although only 3 of their first 10 kicks were effective, the Blues marking four of them. Matthew Kennedy opened the scoring for the Blues, slotting a nice goal courtesy of a pinpoint kick inside 50 from Adam Saad. North Melbourne responded promptly with youngster Nick Larkey kicking his first for the day. This goal was a result of North’s first effective coast-to-coast scoring chain for the day, having already attempted eight which didn’t result in a score. A goal to Owies then Larkey saw the score remain tight midway through the first quarter. The Blues weren’t able to make the most of their opportunities for the remainder of the term with Fisher, Newnes, Silvagni and Owies all kicking behinds. All three of the Kangaroo’s goals for the quarter were the result of defensive half chains, the ‘Roos average just 4 goals a game from defensive transition. This highlighted Carlton’s lack of pressure and ability to cover the ground. 

Second Quarter:

Patrick Cripps kicked the first goal of the second quarter with a banana from the boundary. Cripps spent more time in the midfield in the second term, having not taken a mark inside 50 in the first term despite having led all players for inside 50 kick targets for the quarter. After almost sticking mark of the year, Eddie Betts made his way to the interchange bench after landing awkwardly. Eddie would return to play, only to record 2 touches and 1 tackle for the match. Ben McKay of the Kangaroos also found himself receiving medical treatment after colliding with Jack Newnes who had taken a courageous mark. After beating Jack Ziebell one on one, Jack Martin went and kicked a set shot, giving the Blues a 7-point lead midway through the second term. The Blues were much more efficient went going inside 50, having kicked 2 goals from 5 forward 50 entries. Tarryn Thomas and Jaidyn Stephenson responded with a goal each to give the Kangaroos the lead. The milestone man Ed Curnow produced some magic to close out the first half, kicking an unreal left foot dribbler from the boundary, leaving the Blues just 2 points behind at half time. 

Third Quarter: 

In what was easily our worst quarter of football for the year, the Blues lack of pressure and defensive intent saw North Melbourne kick 7.2 goals, to Carlton’s 0.4. Early in the quarter Zac Williams was subbed off with a hamstring injury and replaced by Marc Murphy. Williams was one of Carlton’s best players for the first half, collecting 13 touches at 77% efficiency, with 5 of them being intercepts. Jaidyn Stephenson opened the goal kicking for the second half, with his major North’s 6 goal to emerge from their defensive half. The Blues were wasteful with their possession, only 4 of their first 10 kicks were effective, just 2 resulted in marks. Nick Larkey kicked 2 consecutive goals, out positioning Jacob Weitering. North Melbourne went on to record 40 kicks at 80% efficiency for the quarter, completely dominating possession. The Blues lack of forward pressure made it simple for the Kangaroos to transition out of defence. Zac Fisher was lively, although failed to convert his opportunities, kicking two behinds to end the quarter. The Blues were being out marked defensively, but were also struggling to hit targets inside 50, only recording 4 marks from 23 targeted kicks. Carlton’s complete lack of pressure and application gave North Melbourne their highest scoring quarter for the season. Carlton only recorded 9 tackles for the term, their pressure around the ground was also non-existent as shown through Carlton’s ‘poor’ ranking of 169 on the ‘Pressure Gauge’. 

The Blues now found themselves down 78-40 at three quarter time to the 18th placed North Melbourne. 

Fourth Quarter:

After receiving a chat at three quarter time by a seemingly ‘fired up’ David Teague, the Blues kicked a goal through Jack Newnes in the opening minute of the final term. In what was an unwelcomed flashback to the era under Bolton, Jacob Weitering found himself playing at full forward to provide a tall target up forward for the Blues. Weitering only had one disposal for the quarter. Jed Anderson quickly responded for North Melbourne, racking up his 9th score involvement for the day. Zac Fisher kicked a goal as a result of a great tackle from Nic Newman, but it was only a matter of time till Larkey responded, kicking his 6th for the day. Carlton went on to kick consecutive goals through Kennedy and Cripps but it was too little too late. North Melbourne kicked another 4 goals to close out the game to Carlton’s two. Jack Newnes attacked the fourth quarter with intensity and purpose, gathering 8 disposals and 2 goals. Jack Silvagni also assembled 8 touches and 13 pressure acts for the quarter. 

Despite the growth of the midfield group in past games, Carlton was smashed 9-22 at centre clearances. The Blues were also smashed in uncontested possessions, losing the count 212-271 as a result of allowing North to use the corridor. Only laying 7 tackles inside forward 50 allowed the Kangaroos an easy walk out of defence, highlighted by their 10.3 63 scored as a result of transition from defensive 50. A game where our season was on the line, this lacklustre performance has left Blues fans heartbroken and unsure what to expect from the final 4 games of the season.