Round 2, 2012

Carlton 5.5 35 10.9 69 16.10 106 23.16 154 Brisbane 6.1 37 7.6 48 7.7 49 9.9 63
Venue:	Gabba
Date:	Thursday April 5, 2011 (Night)
Result:	Won by 91 points
Crowd:	25,913
Goalkickers:	J Waite 5, C Judd 3, J Garlett 3, E Betts 2, K Simpson 2, M Murphy 2, C Yarran, H Scotland, K Lucas, M Kreuzer, S Hampson, Z Tuohy 1.
Reports:	Nil
Umpires:	S. Grun, T. Pannell & M. Stevic
Injuries:	Nil
Ladder:	2nd

Game Review

A beautiful, balmy Maundy Thursday evening in Brisbane greeted the Blues for their first interstate venture of season 2012. The opening game of round two offered some intrigue after both the Lions and Blues had comfortably accounted for their round one opponents with some pundits even suggesting the Lions start favourites. Carlton named an unchanged outfit dismissing rumours that both Michael Jamison and Nick Duigan would be brought back in to stiffen up the defence. Jordan Russell donned the green vest as the substitute.

With the Gabba surface appearing impeccably manicured and the temperature in the mid twenties, conditions were near perfect for football. Despite this, many players appeared a little fumbly early on, but that could have just as easily been the hint of dew on the otherwise sparkling surface. The Blues applied sustained tackling pressure during the opening minutes, setting the tone for the quarter and keeping the Lions under constant pressure when taking possession. Carlton opened their account with two goals early on in a quarter that what would become something of a shoot-out. Kane Lucas continued where he finished off the previous week for Carlton's first. Andrew Carrazzo was dominating the stoppages, and claiming first hands on the ball time and again, while Jarrad Waite was marking most balls that came his way inside forward 50. He marked strongly and kicked truly for the Blues second. At the other end of the ground Jeremy Laidler started well again, while Lachie Henderson had his hands full with Brisbane man-mountain Daniel Merrett. The Lions eventually got on the board with a scrubby goal from a ruck-contest, before the Blues answered with their third soon after. It was to and fro for much of the latter part of the term before the Lions gained the ascendency and finished the stronger of the two with six goals to the Blues' five. Waite marked on a tight angle just before the siren and lined up for his third, the subsequent miss reducing Brisbane's lead to a mere two points at the break.

Illustration: http://www.samcrook.com

The second term saw the Blues take charge of the game and Eddie Betts enter his first submission for mark of the year. Chris Judd had been quiet in the first, but all that changed in the opening minute of the second as he received from Jeff Garlett and check-sided through a lovely goal on the run. Betts' leap on the wing beggared belief. Such a small man, so high in the air, so spectacular, it simply didn't add up. But up is without question where Eddie was for his first bite and as he plummeted to earth gently juggling the ball he finally secured it on touchdown. A ripper. Zach Tuohy was rewarded for a great chase and tackle with a shot at goal. His pin-point finish gaining full points for Carlton's second of the term. The Blues really started to get on top with goals to Garlett and then Shaun Hampson, while the Lions answered with their ony goal for the term. The game was being played almost entirely in the Carlton half, shots at goal coming thick and fast. The three amigos (Betts, Garlett and Yarran) all had their chances but could only manage behinds before the class of Marc Murphy shone through for his second. Murphy tantalised the Brisbane defence, outrunning them with the ball resting calmly on his outstretched palm (as if poised for a rocket handball) before heading for the boundary at speed. Hard up against the line he calmly slotted it through on the angle from about 45m with a finish that was all class. With he and his trusty wingman Judd taking control during the second term it was starting to look ominous for the Lions, though the 21 point Carlton lead yet to confirm as much.

Murphy setup Garlett to open the third after a couple of minutes, before Garlett loaded up for Matthew Kreuzer who marked strongly and comfortably popped through his first. The procession started as goals began raining down, first to Waite (his third) then from Kade Simpson after Judd's smother made its way to Murphy for a bullet-like pass. Ferocious tackling pressure in the middle of the ground created the opportunity for Garlett to explode into space and finish wonderfully from 50m for the Blues fifth in a row. The icing was to come as Yarran casually cruised down the wing towards goal before sending one in the Betts direction. Eddie took flight once again with a stunning vertical leap skyward. Unlike his first, this was a one-grabber and the slight clip to his legs in the pack made his horizontal style landing all the more spectacular. A more than worthy second submission for Mark of the Year. All great marks seem that bit better when a goal results, and so it was, as Betts kicked the Blues sixth for the term to stretch the lead out to 57 points nearing the final break.

Though the Lions finally broke Carlton's run of eight consecutive goals with a scrubber for the opener of the final quarter, the game was over as a contest. The Blues answered with another run of six consecutive goals. Judd swooped when Murphy's deft touch to keep the ball alive near the point post allowed him a clear run along the goal line before poking it through. Judd followed with his third soon after when first Henderson then Garlett delivered long and accurate passes. Simpson, Scotland and Yarran all chimed in with goals before Waite finished out the match with two more giving him five in a very solid contribution. The final margin of 91 points a reasonably accurate reflection of Carlton's dominance on the night.

Subs: Jordan Russell, came on for Jeremy Laidler in the last quarter

Team

B:	18 Paul Bower	23 Lachlan Henderson	13 Chris Yarran
HB:	42 Zac Tuohy	15 Jeremy Laidler	4 Bryce Gibbs
C:	44 Andrew Carrazzo	5 Chris Judd (C)	6 Kade Simpson
HF:	38 Jeffery Garlett	30 Jarrad Waite	27 Dennis Armfield
F:	19 Eddie Betts	22 Shaun Hampson	32 Bret Thornton
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	12 Mitch Robinson	3 Marc Murphy
Interchange:	9 Kane Lucas	29 Heath Scotland	35 Ed Curnow
Substitute:	2 Jordan Russell
Coach:	Brett Ratten
Emg:	14 Brock McLean, 16 Andrew Collins, 17 Sam Rowe

Milestones

100 Games (As Coach): Brett Ratten
Interesting Fact: This was the first time since Round 20, 2010 that Carlton had an unchanged side in consecutive matches
Interesting Fact: It would be a further 10 more seasons before we were 2 and 0..... wowee

Brownlow Votes

3. Chris Judd, Carlton
2. Marc Murphy, Carlton
1. Jarrad Waite, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

Chris Judd 44, Marc Murphy 43, Andrew Carrazzo 38, Jarrad Waite 29, Chris Yarran 27, Eddie Betts 24, Ed Curnow 24, Zach Tuohy 22, Lachie Henderson 12, Paul Bower 11

Ladder

Pos	Team	P	W	L	D	For	Against	%	U/D	Strk	Pts
1	West Coast	2	2	0	0	302	145	208.28	+2	W 2	8
2	Carlton	2	2	0	0	279	144	193.75	+2	W 2	8
3	Adelaide	2	2	0	0	219	132	165.91	-1	W 2	8
4	Sydney	2	2	0	0	194	118	164.41	-3	W 2	8
5	Essendon	2	2	0	0	215	188	114.36	+4	W 2	8
6	North Melbourne	2	1	1	0	285	158	180.38	+4	W 1	4
7	St Kilda	2	1	1	0	224	136	164.71	+5	W 1	4
8	Hawthorn	2	1	1	0	227	207	109.66	-2	L 1	4
9	Collingwood	2	1	1	0	200	201	99.50	+4	W 1	4
10	Geelong	2	1	1	0	193	195	98.97	+1	W 1	4
11	Fremantle	2	1	1	0	186	195	95.38	-3	Lt 1	4
12	Port Adelaide	2	1	1	0	175	196	89.29	-5	L 1	4
13	Brisbane	2	1	1	0	182	232	78.45	-8	L 1	4
14	Western Bulldogs	2	0	2	0	151	218	69.27	+2	L 2	0
15	Richmond	2	0	2	0	145	210	69.05	+0	L 2	0
16	Melbourne	2	0	2	0	136	285	47.72	-2	L 2	0
17	Gold Coast	2	0	2	0	115	276	41.67	+0	L 2	0
18	GWS Giants	2	0	2	0	91	283	32.16	+0	L 2	0

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Round 1 | Round 3