Roar Guru
Carlton won in a tight finish against a scrappy and inaccurate Hawthorn.
Final score
Hawthorn 13.19 (97)
Carlton 16.6 (102)
The Hawthorn Hawks and Carlton Blues will meet in their final JLT Community Series match on Saturday night, at the University of Tasmania Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:05pm AEDT.
Hawthorn had a positive start to their first JLT game against the Western Bulldogs, but faded in the second half where they kicked only three goals and seven behinds.
Jarman Impey, recruited from Port Adelaide, showed blistering pace last weekend in his first match in the brown and gold. However, as a forward he needs to contribute to the Hawks’ scoring.
Meanwhile, Carlton began with a very optimistic first game of the year against St Kilda, showing their young list is improving and will challenge more sides in season 2018.
Kicking 13 goals was a notable improvement by the Blues, who struggled to score big last year. They will need to continue in this fashion if they are to win games against stronger opposition.
Patrick Cripps had a damaging first quarter up forward, kicking two goals. Coach Brendon Bolton will have to decide how to best use his young midfielder in this match against Hawthorn.
It should be a tight game between these two teams, with Hawthorn beginning to gel and Carlton’s young list slowly becoming more experienced. Both will want to head into the AFL season in winning form.
Hawthorn have named a strong side for the final hit out of the pre-season. James Frawley and Conor Glass come in for Liam Shiels and David Mirra. Shiels pulled up sore from training early in the week and will not be risked, while Mirra is getting married.
Carlton’s Jacob Weitering and Sam Petrevski-Seton will play, after being late withdrawals from last week’s match. Cameron O’Shea has also been added to the squad, replacing Jarrod Garlett who got a knock to the shoulder against St Kilda.
Keep an eye on Paddy Dow. This kid was taken at pick 3 in last year’s draft and, despite losing teeth, was impressive in his first game for the Blues last week. Another strong performance through the midfield and up forward should see Dow be a shoo-in for round one.
Prediction
Carlton were impressive last week against St Kilda, but Hawthorn is a new challenge for them. I wouldn’t expect Hawthorn to have it all their way, but they should get the job done against the Blues and head into the 2018 season with a win under their belt.
Hawthorn by 19.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:05pm AEDT.