A GUIDE TO THE AFL ELIMINATION FINAL BETWEEN CARLTON AND SYDNEY
When: Friday, 7.50pm AEST
Where: MCG
* The kind
Carlton (Fifth, 13 wins, 9 losses, one draw). Things appeared ominous with simply 4 wins from their first 13 matches, however a surprising nine-match profitable run ensured their 10-year finals drought got here to an finish.
Sydney (Eighth, 12 wins, 10 losses, one draw). Stumbled to 5-8 on the mid-point of the season, however a 171-point shellacking of West Coast in spherical 15 helped spark them into gear.
* Head-to-head
Overall: Carlton 131 wins, Sydney/South Melbourne 96 wins, 6 attracts
In Finals: Carlton 6 wins Sydney/South Melbourne 6 wins
Last time: Round 11, 2023: Sydney 11.11 (77) bt Carlton 6.15 (51) on the SCG
* The coaches
Michael Voss was dealing with the chop as Carlton spluttered in direction of the decrease rungs of the desk greater than midway by the season. But a nine-match profitable run, which included victories over flag fancies Collingwood, Port Adelaide and Melbourne, saved Voss’s job.
Now in his thirteenth season, John Longmire stored calm amid Sydney’s poor first half of the marketing campaign, assured his gamers would quickly snap out of their rut. Longmire finally received his staff firing, and his huge September expertise goes to play an enormous position throughout the finals.
* The key gamers
Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
The Carlton spearhead received the Coleman medal with an excellent marketing campaign that yielded 78 targets, however he kicked a wayward 1.3 in his staff’s 26-point loss to the Swans earlier this yr.
Errol Gulden (Sydney)
The star midfielder loved an enormous third season within the AFL, averaging 27 disposals, 4 clearances and 5 tackles per sport to go along with 20 targets. His sizzling kind earned him a maiden All-Australian berth.
Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
The clearance bull has been ready 10 years to make his finals debut, and he is now supported by a blue-chip midfield unit that may rip opponents to shreds.
* The stats
Carlton’s 10-year finals drought means they’ve simply eight gamers on their record who’ve tasted finals motion. Sydney boast 28 gamers with finals expertise, together with a bulk who featured in final yr’s grand remaining loss to Geelong.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
