The Carlton Blues have defeated the Gold Coast Suns by 35 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, notching up their second win of the season.
Gold Coast could not back up their brilliant win against Sydney last weekend, they scored three goals in the opening term but it took them an hour to score another.
Carlton weathered the early Gold Coast storm and from there became the dominant side up at Metricon.
Skills were poor in the greasy conditions, but the effort and pressure from the Blues in the third term, allowed them to kick away with a seven goal to one quarter.
The usual suspects for Carlton – Patrick Cripps (38 disposals, one goal, 11 tackles) and Marc Murphy (36 disposals, one goal, eight clearances) – were prolific, but it was the involvement of their young players that resulted in the win.
Ten goal scorers contributed for the Blues, with Paddy Dow and Darcy Lang the only multiple goal scorers (two goals each).
Jarrod Witts was solid in the ruck for Gold Coast with 60 hit-outs, Jarryd Lyons (29 disposals, 11 clearances) found plenty of the ball in the middle and Steven May (17 disposals) went forward in the second half, scoring a goal in the final term.
David Swallow hit his head hard on the turf in a tackle by Patrick Cripps in the first quarter, he stayed off the ground with concussion for the remainder of the game.
Jacob Weitering is the only injury concern for the Blues: he bravely collided with Steven May in a marking contest and hobbled off with a knee injury. He gave the thumbs up to medical staff following assessment and returned to the ground to shake hands, not as serious as first feared.
Next up for the Suns is a game on the big stage – the MCG – against Melbourne, and Carlton host GWS at Etihad Stadium, both games are on Sunday afternoon.
Final Score
Gold Coast 5.14 (44)
Carlton 12.7 (79)
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Always nail it SportsFan. Agree with absolutely everything you said here.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Very easy to re-sign talent when you are a heartland Club with all the commercial advantages that Melbourne brings. For me the result was absolutely expected. You see it happen so often that a bottom Club flukes a win against a much more highly rated opponent and then backs it up the following week with their regular inept performance. Carlton would of earmarked this game from the start of the Season (and probably focused even more so since the Bye Rounds) as a winnable game. Beating the Suns should not be viewed as anything special and should not let Carlton off the hook for their own deplorable season, which still leaves them 2 wins behind the Suns as the ladder sits currently. Another wooden spoon coming up for the Blues making it 5 since 2000. I do agree they have more upside on their list than the Suns but they will also never deal with the same issues that the Suns will face.
true blue
Guest
Let's hope so. It was good to see us apply pressure and show some hunger for the contest. I feel the team were buoyed by Cripps re-signing. I will be just happy to see us give it a go next week against the Giants.
Andrew
Guest
Good win for the blues and very much needed. I hope they finish the season strongly and with some good trading, they can look to start pushing off the bottom. A good preseason and a kinder injury list should see them alot more competitive next year.
The Ghost
Guest
At the beginning of the season, the so-called experts were crowing about the Suns as they notched up wins against North and Carlton. Most people in the know were aware that Gold Coast are only good when the game is on their terms. They are a third rate imitation of Port Adelaide, who have made front running their trade mark. The Suns crumbled under Carlton's pressure. The Suns were complacent while the Blues actually had a desire to win, thus avoiding being a member of the one win for the season club. The future for the Suns is very dire. The Gold Coast stands for nothing but complacency. Expect to see a mass exodus from this club. Even a club that has only recorded two wins for the seasons can re-sign talent like Cripps and Curnow, whereas the same cannot be said for the Suns.