By Paul Harkin
Can there be a better prelude to a game than to unfurl the premiership
flag from the previous season? I don’t think so. The ceremony was
handled tastefully. No overhype, but enough to show the football world
who is the current boss. The sight of Lou Richards and other legends of
the club was also a nice touch. Having Presti hoist the flag was also a
well received. I was worried he may have had a long speech to deliver,
but it was not to be.
Unfortunately the coverage on Channel 7 was very poor. If it had been
Channel 9, Eddie would have made it into a 2 hour extravaganza with a
red carpet, Richard Wilkins interviews and Brownlowesque fashions for
the WAGS.
The Carlton cheer squad had a sign which stated that 16 was better than
15.
As Phil Cornell noted, all ours were won legitimately.
On to the game. The Blues started quickly and Juddy had his first free
kick early on, surprise, surprise. Their first goal came from another
free in the goal square. The Pies took a while to settle, but once we
did, Jarryd Blair booted our first 2 goals. Swanny “River” had what
Louie used to describe as “a touch of the fumbles”. Clokey was prominent
early, while “open” Dawes was on the quite side. The rucks were losing,
but our clearance work made up for that deficiency. It looked like we
might breakaway in the first quarter, but Carlton just hung on.
Carlton started briskly again, but it wasn’t long before we took
control.
Quick goals to Krakouer “coldie”, Cloke “and dagger” and “holdin’ the”
Ball gave us separation. This was the quarter where we won the game.
Carlton were finding it hard to penetrate and their 1 goal 1 for the
quarter was testimony to how well the defensive unit was playing. “are
you” Shaw, Reid “and weep” and Harry “up” were blocking everything, as
well as providing great rebound. At one point the TV commentary said
Collingwood had kicked 4 goals 2 from our last 6 entries. The lead of 27
points at half time was handy without necessarily being a winning one.
Again the third quarter opened with a burst from the Blues. The triple
Brownlow medallist (he’s played 3 matches, that means 9 votes already)
and his cohorts started the third quarter with 3 out of the first 4
goals to creep within 14 points. It was our turn to hang tough. “Rolla”
Dawes and Blair “witch project” kicked goals to maintain our half time
lead.
Dawes “plus, no fuss” opened our account in the first minute of the last
with a sensation piece of second and third efforts. This quarter was a
bit of an arm wrestle, with us looking like we might break away big
time, but it was not to be. It appeared that halfway through the quarter
knew the result and were just playing out time. Clokey again imposed
himself on the contests and took some great grabs under pressure.
Although we’d take a 28 point win any day against the cheats, we can
play better.
Observations
. Hate to say it, but Carlton have improved.
. Maxie and Dids still need a few more hit outs to play at their
best.
. Jarrad Waite is a lazy player. He could be traded to St. Kilda
for
Justin Koschitzke and both clubs would be the losers.
. I think Leroy has improved his ruckwork, without being a star in
that role, although his marking seems to have gone south.
. Daisy and Sidey worked hard early.
. Juddy brought back the Adelaide handpass to set up a goal for
them.
. Good to see the umpires are still prepared to invoke the 5 metre
rule to our advantage for a Blair goal.
Votes
3 Travis
His 5 contested marks and presence on the forward line were fantastic.
He is starting to kick a little straighter and always tackles well. He
saw off 2 opponents and helped bring “sliding” Dawes into the game in
the last quarter and a bit.
2 Blair
Unlucky to only get 2 votes in some ways. His 5 goals in the first 3
quarters certainly set us on our way. His work around the stoppages was
also a feature.
1 Shaw
Yes I’m positive. His run and carry helped break up the
zone/flood/press from Carlton. He got tons of the ball and kept pumping
it into the forward line
Go Pies
Paul Harkin
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