Charlie Curnow got away with murder as Carlton made a red hot start in 2023.
The superstar forward committed a cardinal sin early in the first quarter of the season-opener against Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night when his aim was a mile off when returning the Sherrin to a Richmond player.
The Blues had coughed up the ball on the centre wing when Marlion Pickett was awarded a free kick as the ball rolled to Curnow.
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The star forward tossed the ball way over Pickett’s head and the ball as a substitute landed in a Carlton teammate’s fingers.
Despite the clear violation which ought to have triggered a 50m penalty, the ball was sheepishly returned to Pickett, who despatched the ball up in the direction of Richmonds 50m arc.
“Might have been a little round one mercy rule on the no 50m (penalty) there,” Channel 7 footy professional Daisy Pearce mentioned on Channel 7.
It was removed from the one eye-catching second early within the contest as Carlton booted three consecutive targets to steer by 9 factors at quarter time. The frenetic begin simmered right into a slog with simply six targets kicked within the first half. The Blues led 4.5 (29) to 2.4 (16) on the main break.
The Tigers have been effectively forward on ahead 50m entries and contested possessions however struggled besides one other purpose after Dustin Martin kicked the primary purpose of the season inside the primary 30 seconds of the sport.
The Fox Footy panel uncovered an unimaginable stat to point out precisely how wild the opening time period was.
Richmond confirmed spectacular assault on the ball to drive the Blues right into a staggering 16 ahead half turnovers within the first quarter of soccer — one thing not seen because the 2021 season.
The Tigers’ failure to capitalise on their defensive stress left Lions icon Jonathan Brown flummoxed. The Tigers transformed simply 0.3 (3) from these turnovers.
“That didn’t happen last year,” Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley mentioned.
“16 forward half turnovers is the most in a quarter since the beginning of last year until now.
Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis said the Tigers would have been better letting Carlton occasionally getting the ball up the other end of the ground.
“There are so many numbers back. It was on repeat,” he mentioned.
“It’s great to get those forward half turnovers, but sometimes it’s nice to drag the field out so you’ve got a bit more room to move.”
Source: www.news.com.au
