The third round of the season is upon us and we’ve got a blockbuster Friday night game to get the weekend underway – join us for live AFL scores and blog of Carlton vs Collingwood
A crowd of close to 80,000 (or more) will descend on the MCG tonight for the clash between the traditional rivals.
There have been plenty of classic clashes between these teams before with no shortage of golden moments. Who will ever forget the tap-in from the boundary line for Carlton to kick the winning goal in the 1979 grand final?
Or the footage as Alex Jesaulenko flew to the sky to pull down a brilliant mark, the call “Jesaulenko, you beauty”.
Or Mick McGuane’s amazing run with seven bounces to kick one of the all-time best ever goals.
Will we see something amazing like that tonight?
The Blues have opened the season strongly. In the opening round, it took them some time to shake off the attentions of a determined Richmond before a one-sided final quarter blew the final margin out to 44 points.
In round two, the Blues traveled to Brisbane but the unfamiliar surrounds of the Gabba were no problem for them as they put in a dominant performance to demolish the Lions by 91 points.
Collingwood suffered a 22-point loss to Hawthorn in a high-scoring shootout in the opening round, but bounced back with a dominant burst at the start of the second half to run away from Richmond in an otherwise low-scoring Easter Saturday clash best remembered for its half-time melee.
The battle of the midfield will be one to watch and is likely to prove pivotal to the outcome of this clash.
There’ll be plenty of observers watching this one to see their Dream Team captain in action. For Carlton, dual Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd has been a ball magnet in both their games, while his midfield partner Marc Murphy has produced his best football. For the Magpies, reigning Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury will be the players to watch.
Jarrad Waite proved himself a handy target up forward for the Blues last week, to produce a five-goal return. But the highlights for the Blues were two electrifying marks by Eddie Betts that are sure to appear in discussion of the golden moments of this season.
Collingwood’s devastating burst against Richmond was inspired by Dale Thomas and Travis Cloke, and the Magpies will be looking for positive contributions from that pair again in their quest for a winning score in this match.
The Magpies have lost Chris Tarrant to injury, but will see the return of captain Nick Maxwell.
The Magpies have had the wood on the Blues in recent clashes, with Carlton having not beaten their biggest rivals since 2009. But the Blues are a side on the rise and after making the finals for the last three seasons are looking for 2012 to be the year they take the next step, joining Collingwood as genuine premiership contenders.
This is a game not to miss. Stay online with The Roar tonight as we bring you all the action from the MCG. Post your thoughts in this thread, as we live out another chapter in one of footy’s great rivalries.
Jason Cave
Guest
The real test for Carlton will come in Round 11 on Friday Night Football against Geelong. It would be a good indication of where the Blues are at, as opposed to the defending champions, Geelong.
Bludger
Guest
Who was the muppet that tossed Mick Malthouse?
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Collingwood would have expected to be at least 2-1 at this point and probably 3-0. This is a very nasty slap in the face.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
good call mds
mds1970
Roar Guru
Too early to write them off, but 1 from 3 is far from up to Collingwood's lofty standards. But of more concern than just the game scores would be their rapidly rising injury toll. On top of the likes of Didak and Tarrant, who were already out, they'll have Ben Reid and Luke Ball out of action for a while.
mds1970
Roar Guru
And they're only getting better. I've blogged all three of Carlton's games so far this season, and they've got more impressive every time. The clash against Essendon next week should be a beauty.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Carlton 18.14 (122) defeated Collingwood 9.8 (62) Goals : Carlton - E Betts 5, J Waite 3, M Murphy 2, S Hampson 2, J Garlett 2, C Judd, A Carazzo, C Yarran, J Tuohy. Collingwood - S Sidebottom 2, D Beams, D Thomas, H Shaw, A Fasolo, C Dawes, T Cloke, T Goldsack. Best : Carlton - M Murphy, B Gibbs, M Robinson, H Scotland, C Judd, J Waite. Collingwood - S Sidebottom, D Swan, D Beams, D Thomas, H O'Brien, H Shaw. Thanks for joining us tonight on The Roar. A big win for the Blues, and lots for the Magpies to work on at training this week. It's the start of a big weekend of footy, and there'll be some more live blogs here on The Roar as the weekend continues with another sensational round of footy.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Collingwood has lost its polish in midfield and backfield, its former bedrocks. Their spread from the contest was shut down, a lot of very tight defensive man-marking nullifying it. Carlton worked much better through the corridor. A lot of "through" balls or over-the-top balls for a high forward line of small, fast players to run onto helped them get past the marking dominance of Collingwood in their backline, making Harry O'Brien often look like a fool. Better running on the lead out for marks when the forward line was pushed back against the goals, better crumbing when they bring the ball to ground. Tackling pressure very strong across the ground - you could tell this match mattered a lot to Carlton and Collingwood did not have the mental preparation. Very unexpected result, will shake the premiership odds up something fierce. A whole new pressure has been placed upon Hawthorn's visit to Subiaco next week, may very well determine, even at this early stage, which teams will be in the September hunt. Carlton's next four game contains three that you would expect them to wrap up easily and only a trip to Fremantle standing out as a danger game. The Blues are up this year.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Carlton look worthy of equal premiership favouratism. Collingwood well short of its best, but question is: can they get back to it this season?
mds1970
Roar Guru
A dominant display by the Blues. They jumped away from the start, ensuring the Magpies would be forced to play catch-up. Collingwood attempted a fightback during the second term, but were unable to make too much of a dent in the deficit. And as the game wore on, the Blues turned on more and more of their power. Collingwood were unlucky with their injury toll, and to lose Ben Reid and Luke Ball in the first quarter was a blow from which they would not recover. The much-publicised battle of the midfield was easily won by Carlton, with Marc Murphy getting a whopping 39 possessions, while Chris Judd and Heath Scotland each got 35. And Eddie Betts' purple patch on the forward line continued as he finished with five goals. For the Magpies, Dane Swan worked hard for 31 touches, but his main midfield partner Scott Pendlebury was on and off in the second half and had a quiet night. The Blues, with wins in their first three games - their first 3-0 start to the season since their last premiership year in 1995. Next week they take on Essendon, who unless the Suns pull off a shock upset tomorrow will also be 3-0 - that will be a game to look forward to. But for Collingwood, it's a shock 1-2 start to the season, with Nathan Buckley having some work to do to build up the club and continue Mick Malthouse's legacy.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Either that or they are in contention for the job of Collingwood coach ;)
mds1970
Roar Guru
And it's all over. Final scores Carlton 18.14 (122) Collingwood 9.8 (62).
mds1970
Roar Guru
The clock is ticking down. Carlton leading by 60 in a dominant performance.
mds1970
Roar Guru
24 minutes - Carlton 18.14 Collingwood 9.8 Boundary throw-in. Hampson gathers the ball, dances around the minimal resistance displayed by the Magpie defenders to snap another.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Play held up - a couple of idiot pitch invaders. Security quickly have them under control, they're going home in the back of the divvy van.
mds1970
Roar Guru
20 minutes - Carlton 17.14 Collingwood 9.8 Dane Swan centres and finds Steele Sidebottom at the top of the square. Set shot, makes no mistake and kicks his second.
mds1970
Roar Guru
This will be Carlton's the first time Carlton have won 3 in a season since their last premiership year in 1995.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Great crowd, pies couldn't stay with blues after half time, will be licking their wounds.
mds1970
Roar Guru
18 minutes - Carlton 17.14 Collingwood 8.8 Jarryd Blair snaps and hits the post.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Sensational crowd of 84,529. Great to see so many at a game.