THE Carlton Reserves’ finals hopes will come down to the final round of the VFL season, after a 16-point loss to the Casey Demons.
In a physically draining battle, the Blues were right with the undefeated Demons until time-on in the last quarter when the game slipped away.
Paddy Dow collected 34 disposals and had nine clearances while Jack Carroll put in a workmanlike performance with 22 touches, nine tackles and seven clearances.
Quarter one
Against a side that had taken all before them this season, it was important that the Blues brought the heat from the get-go. Despite an unideal start with a Casey major in the opening minute of the game, Carlton made sure it stuck right with its host in the early stages. The Blues laid 25 tackles for the term, and the most important came just as the quarter ticked into time-on: Dow took advantage from a holding-the-ball free kick in the pocket and dished the handpass to Jesse Glass-McCasker, who made it one goal apiece. That’s the way it would stay at the first change, after a slog of an opening term. Lachie Fogarty and Carroll were red hot from the first bounce, laying four tackles each and collecting 15 touches between them in the first quarter.
Quarter two
In similar fashion to the opening quarter, Casey found the first goal after just a minute of game time. But the Blues would again turn it up a notch and make it difficult for the Demons who were averaging over 100 points a game this season. The following 13 minutes of game time went goalless with Carlton’s backs defending staunchly. Casey eventually found the breakthrough and extended their lead to 15 points at the halfway mark of the quarter. It didn’t last long, as the Blues struck back through a Fogarty set shot from 40 metres that travelled straight over the goal umpire’s hat. That got the Blues rolling, as Zavier Maher broke inside 50 and found Patrick Dozzi in the goal square who converted from point-blank range. Then, when Tom De Koning snagged his first of the day after completing a mark deep inside 50 on the second attempt, Carlton found themselves in front by a point. The half was soured by an injury to Alex Mirkov, who left the field with a cut to the knee late in the quarter and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
Quarter three
There was no early goal to the Demons this time, with Carlton still holding their one-point advantage 10 minutes into the second half. Casey gradually nudged in front through minor scores and found the first goal of the term at the 24-minute mark to extend their lead to nine. It was more of the same in this quarter, with the Blues barely giving Casey an inch and hanging tough to stay in the contest for as long as possible. With just a goal and a half in it at the last change, it was still anybody’s game. Dow and Carroll were leading the way in the middle for the Blues: they had each notched up six clearances to three-quarter time.
Quarter four
Ned Cahill used his body to perfection to take a mark just inside 50, before chipping the ball over the top to Ollie Sanders who finished truly to start the last quarter to give the Blues a sniff of a major upset. However, it was not to be as Casey pulled away again to extend the margin beyond a goal – finishing at a game-high 16 points - and Carlton couldn’t peg its opposition back. Carlton’s finals chances will most likely come down to their curtain-raiser clash with Collingwood next Sunday at the MCG.
Three things we learned:
1. The Blues are more than capable against the best. Carlton’s record against top-eight sides this season is now 3-1 after their close loss to the ladder-leading Demons: the Blues have defeated second-placed Brisbane by 42 points, fifth-placed Box Hill by 46 points and eighth-placed Gold Coast by 52 points.
2. They say defence wins premierships: if that’s the case, the Blues are on the right track. Carlton kept the high-scoring Casey to just 49 points, by far the minor premier’s lowest tally for the season. The defensive effort also continued the Blues’ streak of not conceding 100 points in a game this year.
3. Lachie Fogarty didn’t stop working until the final siren sounded, amassing a huge 13 tackles for the afternoon. The Blues registered a total of 89 tackles for the game, 25 higher than their average for the year.
CASEY DEMONS 1.4 3.7 4.12 6.13 (49)
CARLTON RESERVES 1.1 4.2 4.3 5.3 (33)
GOALS
Carlton Reserves: De Koning, Dozzi, Fogarty, Glass-McCasker, Sanders
BEST
Carlton Reserves: Dow, Trudgeon, Carroll, Fogarty, Durdin, Hayes
