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| Venue: | Docklands Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Monday, May 13, 2013 (Night) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Lost by 9 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 34,054 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | L. Henderson (3), J. Garlett (2), A. Walker, K. Simpson, B. McLean, S. Hampson (1). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Eddie Betts (striking - guilty). Penalty: 3 weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | R. Chamberlain, C. Kamolins, S. Stewart | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | David Ellard (calf), Chris Yarran (hamstring), Michael Jamison (shoulder), Andrew Carrazzo (calf) replaced in the selected side by Jaryd Cachia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 11th | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
St Kilda seized the initiative early in this pivotal Monday night game at Docklands, when Carlton’s game plan was knocked askew by a spate of early injuries. Disciplined in defence and spearheaded by their outstanding key forward Nick Riewoldt, the Saints forged to a six-goal lead part way through the final term, before withstanding a spirited fight-back by the Blues to end up victors by 9 points.
In an horrendous evening for the club, Carlton finished the game with just one fit player on the interchange bench, as well as with Eddie Betts under close scrutiny for a high hit on Saints midfielder Nathan Wright. Earlier, David Ellard and Chris Yarran both suffered leg injuries that prematurely ended their night, while Michael Jamison damaged his suspect shoulder again. ‘Jamo’ stayed on the field and stuck to his task, but neither he nor Lachie Henderson could contain Riewoldt, who took 13 marks and kicked three goals in another best on ground romp against the Blues.
Way back on the previous Thursday night, Carlton had named a 26-man squad for the match. On Saturday, the final 22 saw Jarrad Waite (suspended) and Jaryd Cachia omitted for the welcome return of Andrew Carrazzo and Matthew Kreuzer. In Waite’s absence, the Blues match committee stuck with a three ruckmen formula; Warnock and Kreuzer in the middle, with Shaun Hampson parked at full-forward. Then on Monday afternoon there was a late change when Carrazzo’s persistent calf trouble forced him out again, and Cachia was recalled as the Blues’ substitute.
In front of a raucous crowd of 34,000 on a perfect night for football, Carlton had the better of the early exchanges. Hampson was awarded a 50-metre penalty after a mark well upfield, but his shot swung wide from 35 metres out, and the Saints immediately hit back hard with a mark and goal to Riewoldt. In the aftermath of that contest, Jamison was seen bent double, holding his shoulder in obvious pain. As he was ushered off the field and down to the medical room, the Blues found their rhythm with consecutive majors to Eddie Betts and Kade Simpson.
Eleven minutes in, Andrew Walker burst off half-back and brought up an early contender for Goal of the Year - taking four bounces and steering through a big accurate bomb from just inside the 50-metre line. However, jubilation then turned to alarm when David Ellard hobbled off the ground in real trouble, followed shortly afterwards by Chris Yarran in similar distress. Cachia replaced Ellard in the midfield, but Yarran’s versatility would be sorely missed.
With their structure disrupted, the Blues lost concentration for the latter part of the term, allowing St Kilda to pepper the goals and lead by seven points at quarter time. Jamison returned to field with his shoulder re-strapped (but far from comfortable) to pick up Riewoldt, who had a hand in all three of St Kilda’s goals in the quarter. Meanwhile, in another injury concern for Carlton, Marc Murphy was also limping after an opponent landed on top of his foot in a marking contest.
St Kilda exerted their authority over the match in the second quarter, being far more confident in attack than the sloppy Blues. For the second week in a row, Hampson regularly got his hands to the ball in aerial contests – only to more often than not, spill the chance. By contrast, Riewoldt’s incessant running and sure hands provided the Saints with a reliable avenue to goal, and by half-time St Kilda was in front by 25 points. One of Carlton’s few clear winners was Warnock in the ruck. Big Robbie clearly won most of the tap-outs, although his opponent McEvoy was more effective in general play.
Clearly agitated in the coaches box, Mick Malthouse made a number of changes to his side during the long break; sending Henderson forward, and re-organising the midfield match-ups. Jamison stayed on Riewoldt purely because there was no other option, and the big blonde Saint continued to stand out, as once again St Kilda out-scored the Blues for the quarter. At the last change, Carlton had kicked a miserable 4.11 (35) and trailed by six goals.
Malthouse ripped into his team at three-quarter time, and whatever he said, worked. Warnock, Kreuzer and Chris Judd began ruling the centre square as the Blues came out with real intent, and their fans sensed a comeback. Henderson got things rolling with a neat goal from the pocket after four minutes, then a huge bronx cheer greeted Hampson’s high mark 20 metres out – cheers that turned to a roar as he slammed it through. St Kilda suddenly seemed inept, and the Blues swarmed forward again through Hampson to Henderson, who kicked his second to cut the deficit to 15 points with only half the quarter gone.
Throughout the game, Jeff Garlett had flashed into the play on occasions, and as both sides began to tire, Jeff provided a spark that almost won the game for his team. First, a neat pass from Cachia found Jeff deep in a forward pocket. He stepped out, kicked truly, and the Blues trailed by only 10 points. From the next ball-up, Carlton surged into attack once more and Garlett’s sharp pass found Henderson in the pocket. Lachie threaded the ball home, and Carlton was suddenly just 4 points adrift with nine minutes to play.
But lacking fit players on the bench and restricted in rotations, the Blues ran out of legs while St Kilda stacked their back line and did all they could to slow down the game. Attacks from both sides relied on fast breaks out of defence, and in one of these, St Kilda’s Ahmed Saad (a former Northern Blue) marked inside the arc and kicked truly to give the Saints breathing space. With 20 seconds remaining, Kade Simpson hit the post with a snapshot, before the siren heralded a deserved win to St Kilda and a week of soul searching by everyone concerned at Carlton.
On top of Betts’ report, and the worrying spate of injuries from this game, there were very few positives on offer. Warnock’s 42 effective hit-outs, Henderson’s cameo role at full-forward in the last quarter and Cachia’s 19 possessions (13 contested - in only his second senior match) were perhaps the only exceptions.
Deservedly, Carlton slipped to 11th on the ladder after this defeat with a 3-win, 4-loss record, but a reasonable percentage of 111.2. Next up - at the same venue, on a Sunday afternoon - was fourth-placed Port Adelaide, who had smashed the Blues by 54 points in the corresponding game at their home ground the last time they met.
Subs: Jaryd Cachia replaced David Ellard after 8 minutes of the first quarter.
Team
| B: | 42 Zach Tuohy | 23 Lachlan Henderson | 43 Simon White |
| HB: | 35 Ed Curnow | 40 Michael Jamison | 1 Andrew Walker |
| C: | 29 Heath Scotland | 5 Chris Judd | 9 Kane Lucas |
| HF: | 38 Jeff Garlett | 8 Matthew Kreuzer | 27 Dennis Armfield |
| F: | 13 Chris Yarran | 22 Shaun Hampson | 19 Eddie Betts |
| Ruck: | 11 Robert Warnock | 46 David Ellard | 3 Marc Murphy (C) |
| Interchange: | 6 Kade Simpson (vc) | 12 Mitch Robinson | 14 Brock McLean |
| Substitute: | 37 Jaryd Cachia | ||
| Emergencies: | 41 Levi Casboult | 44 Andrew Carrazzo | 45 Aaron Joseph |
| Coach: | Mick Malthouse | ||
-* Jaryd Cachia replaced Andrew Carrazzo in the selected side.
Milestones
Last Game (Carlton): Shaun Hampson, who was to be traded to Richmond at the end of the season.Brownlow Votes
3. Nick Riewoldt, St. Kilda2. Jack Stevens, St. Kilda
1. Ben McEvoy, St. Kilda
Best & Fairest Votes
Chris Judd 5, Dennis Armfield 4, Ed Curnow 4, Lachie Henderson 4, Andrew Walker 4, Robert Warnock 4, Jeffery Garlett 3, Brock McLean 2, Jaryd Cachia 1, Heath Scotland 1Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | D | For | Ag | U/D | Strk | % | Pts |
| 1 | Geelong | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 799 | 658 | +1 | W 7 | 121.43 | 28 |
| 2 | Essendon | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 827 | 546 | -1 | L 1 | 151.47 | 24 |
| 3 | Hawthorn | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 804 | 613 | +2 | W 6 | 131.16 | 24 |
| 4 | Port Adelaide | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 729 | 593 | -1 | L 2 | 122.93 | 20 |
| 5 | Sydney | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 730 | 602 | -1 | L 1 | 121.26 | 20 |
| 6 | Fremantle | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 638 | 555 | +0 | W 3 | 114.95 | 20 |
| 7 | Richmond | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 700 | 649 | +2 | W 1 | 107.86 | 16 |
| 8 | Collingwood | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 674 | 709 | -1 | L 1 | 95.06 | 16 |
| 9 | Adelaide | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 715 | 596 | +3 | W 1 | 119.97 | 12 |
| 10 | West Coast | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 744 | 661 | +0 | W 2 | 112.56 | 12 |
| 11 | Carlton | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 697 | 627 | -3 | L 1 | 111.16 | 12 |
| 12 | North Melbourne | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 752 | 687 | -1 | W 2 | 109.46 | 12 |
| 13 | Gold Coast | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 637 | 646 | +0 | W 1 | 98.61 | 12 |
| 14 | St Kilda | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 607 | 635 | +1 | W 1 | 95.59 | 8 |
| 15 | Brisbane | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 551 | 757 | -1 | L 2 | 72.79 | 8 |
| 16 | Western Bulldogs | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 551 | 775 | +0 | L 6 | 71.10 | 4 |
| 17 | Melbourne | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 525 | 954 | +0 | L 3 | 55.03 | 4 |
| 18 | GWS Giants | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 562 | 979 | +0 | L 7 | 57.41 | 0 |
Round 6 | Round 8