The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

Opinion

The last time Carlton were in the top eight

Roar Rookie
13th July, 2020
Advertisement
Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Rookie
13th July, 2020
45
1154 Reads

Carlton has started hub life in Queensland with a bang, beating the Western Bulldogs by 52 points at Metricon Stadium on Sunday night.

If the impressive performance wasn’t enough, the win sees the Blues sneak into top eight for the first time since Round 12, 2013.

Obviously ladder positions don’t count for much after six rounds but that won’t matter to Carlton supporters who have been starved off success for the last decade.

So how does the current team compare to that of seven years ago?

Carlton Round 12, 2013
FB: Zac Tuohy, Michael Jamison, Josh Bootsma
HB: Bryce Gibbs, Lachie Henderson, Heath Scotland
C: Jaryd Cachia, Chris Judd, Kade Simpson
HF: Mitch Robinson, Levi Casboult, Andrew Walker
FF: Eddie Betts, Jarrad Waite, Jeff Garlett
FOL: Matthew Kreuzer, Marc Murphy, Brock McLean
INT: Ed Curnow, Dennis Armfield, Sam Rowe, Kane Lucas
Bold = Played in the win over the Bulldogs

Carlton Round 6, 2020
FB: Lachie Plowman, Liam Jones, Kade Simpson
HB: Sam Docherty, Jacob Weitering, Sam Petrevski-Seton
C: Jack Newnes, Patrick Cripps, Marc Murphy
HF: Jack Martin, Levi Casboult, Michael Gibbons
FF: Eddie Betts, Harry McKay, Mitch McGovern
FOL: Marc Pittonet, Matthew Kennedy, Ed Curnow
INT: Will Setterfield, Sam Walsh, David Cuningham, Tom Williamson

The 2013 side had an abundance of running halfbacks with the likes of Tuohy, Gibbs, Scotland and Simpson rotating through those positions.

Fast-forward to 2020 and that remains a strength of the current side with Docherty, Simpson, Petrevski-Seton and Williamson using their foot skills to kick-start attacking plays.

Advertisement

Both midfields match-up similarly with Judd and Cripps as the standouts.

It’s in the forward line where the major differences lie.

Eddie Betts

Eddie Betts (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Carlton opted for a much smaller attack in 2013 with Betts, Garlett, Walker and Armfield all looking to keep the game flowing quickly once the ball hit the ground.

Their fast hands, sprint speed and tackling pressure got fans off their seats.

Even Waite was very agile for his size.

The current Blues side have a different approach.

Advertisement

Carlton back in McKay, McGovern, (Charlie Curnow when fit) and Casboult to use their height to advantage and take valuable contested marks.

Jack Martin is no slouch overhead either, having taken three contested marks against the Dogs.

It’s a different type of exciting forward play.

Slower in nature as the midfielders wait for the right opportunity to kick it to their tall forwards, but if it results in more wins, no Carlton fan will be complaining.

There may only be five players remaining from the Carlton side in 2013 (six if you include the injured Kreuzer) but some things never change.

Betts kicked seven goals across both games and Simpson continues to throw his skinny body at everything without hesitation.

close