Blues crush Dockers, catapult back into AFL finals mix

Blues crush Dockers, catapult back into AFL finals mix

Carlton coach Michael Voss has praised his staff’s capability to bounce again from adversity after they posted a crushing 53-point win over Fremantle at Optus Stadium.

The Blues dominated Sunday’s match from the outset, booting eight consecutive targets both aspect of half-time to run away with the 14.14 (98) to six.9 (45) win in entrance of 49,469 followers.

Carlton spearheads Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow booted three targets apiece, whereas Sam Walsh tallied 23 disposals within the first half alone earlier than ending with 32 possessions.

Blues captain Patrick Cripps was dominant with 29 disposals and a game-high 10 clearances.

Former Dockers duo Adam Cerra (27 disposals, six clearances, one aim) and Blake Acres (23 disposals, 4 clearances) each performed essential roles to rub additional salt into the wound for Fremantle.

The win lifted Carlton from fifteenth to eleventh on the ladder, with the Blues now only one win adrift of eighth spot forward of a giant problem in opposition to Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.

Carlton’s season was on the scrapheap final month on the again of a six-match shedding run, however huge wins over Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Fremantle over the previous three weeks have reignited the Blues’ finals bid.

“I believe the players need to take some credit for the way that the leaders have gone after that period of time,” Voss mentioned of the mid-season cost up the desk.

AFL Match Centre

“No one stepped away from their responsibilities. We absolutely owned where we were at.

“We needed to settle for the place we had been at first earlier than we might make any change and the leaders have actually pushed that.

“When you’re getting challenged and nobody sees it, you can still grow. And then all of a sudden when you start seeing the light, you can actually see what it looks like.

“We’ve been in a position to flip loads of that round. But we additionally know we now have loads of work forward of us.

“We’re not taking anything for granted now. We’re living in the present and taking it all in and enjoying these experiences.”

Sunday’s win got here at a value, with Matthew Kennedy carried off by two trainers within the third quarter after injuring his proper knee in a sort out.

“We’ll get that scanned. Not sure the significance of it yet,” Voss mentioned.

Defender Mitch McGovern suffered a game-ending cork to his left thigh simply earlier than three-quarter time after a collision in a marking contest.

Fremantle have misplaced 4 of their previous 5 video games to slide to 14th on the ladder with a 7-9 file.

The Dockers received the hitouts 21-4 within the opening time period, however it was the one statistic they had been in a position to dominate as Carlton took management of the match to race out to a 27-3 lead by quarter time.

The third quarter was notably brutal because the Blues slammed via six targets to nil to increase the margin to 64 factors.

Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy tallied 58 hitouts in opposition to Carlton’s second-string ruck duo.

In all, the Dockers received the hitouts 70-18.

But Carlton feasted at floor degree, profitable the clearances 42-35, which helped them dominate the within 50m depend 60-42.

The Blues additionally received the contested possession battle 156-135, showcasing their starvation for the ball.

“We got beaten up in the contest, and that was probably mainly our mids,” Dockers coach Justin Longmuir mentioned.

“And then we just couldn’t win contests ahead of the play.”

Source: www.perthnow.com.au