WE LOVE some stats.
Carlton recorded a victory against the Western Bulldogs last Thursday, making it two from two against highly credentialed opposition to start the 2022 campaign.
So, how did it all happen?
Another Blue blitz
The Blues put the Tigers to the sword in Round 1 with their combative final term, owning Richmond at the coalface as a +19 contested possession differential set the tone for a win.
Against the Bulldogs, it was the Blues’ second term which did the damage, but on this occasion they did it a different way.
While Carlton shaded the contested possession stat in term two, it was its ability to own the ball on the outside which saw the team rip the game away from the opposition.
With +37 uncontested possessions and +21 handball receives for the quarter, the Blues were able to dictate the play against a Bulldogs outfit which lost the disposal count just nine times for 26 games in 2021.
The Blues were also highly efficiency when going inside 50 in the second term, recording 7.2 from 15 forward entries. A big reason for that was Coleman Medallist Harry McKay, who had eight disposals, five marks (two contested) and three goals in the second quarter alone.
More midfield things
The stat line of Carlton’s midfield quartet is becoming our favourite part of these articles.
This week, Adam Cerra was out and Sam Walsh was in, but it was very much a similar result.
In Round 1, Carlton’s on-ball brigade recorded 121, 48 and 26: disposals, contested possessions and clearances respectively.
In Round 2, it read 132, 64 and 29.
Once again, that dominance was reflected in the AFLCA votes, with Cripps, Hewett and Walsh all polling. Then, there was Kennedy, whose impact in his 15-disposal final term went a long way to the Blues taking home the four points for a second straight week.
Eat, sleep, break the streak
For those at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night or watching from home, they may have got an unfortunate sense of deja vu.
When the home side were making their run, it was difficult not to cast your mind back to Round 8 of last year, where the Dogs piled on eight straight goals for a comeback win over the Blues.
However, what was crucial this time around was something AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss alluded to in pre-season when it came to answering momentum swings: taking opportunities when they presented themselves.
Last year, when the Dogs went on that eight-goal run, the Blues could only muster up 0.5 in front of goal for that period of time.
On Thursday night, the Blues had the same amount of scoring shots as the Dogs piled on seven goals. However, on this occasion, the Blues produced 4.1, with their last three goals of the game coming from the boot of Charlie Curnow.
Three’s a crowd
And speaking of Curnow.
We promise it’s a stat we’ll calm down about over the coming weeks, but it’s once again worth noting that Thursday was just the 20th time that Curnow, Harry McKay and Jack Silvagni have featured in the same side.
It also marked the first time that all three players had recorded multiple goals in the same game, and the most they’ve recorded as a collective with 11.
Curnow and McKay both received six coaches’ votes for their five-goal and four-goal games, while Silvagni produced a typically well-rounded performance which included a crucial goal in the third term.
