CARLTON trails Collingwood by 11 points in a hard-fought first half at the MCG on Sunday.

Despite losing Levi Casboult to a broken finger in the warm-up and Lachie Plowman to a knee injury in the second term, Carlton is still very much in the match, applying defensive pressure with 26 tackles in the first half.

Passion is aplenty between the two sides, and the Blues are sure to be unrelenting in the second half.

FIRST QUARTER

In a tight first term, Carlton had more contested possessions (28) than Collingwood (23), while the enemies trumped the Blues for disposals (103-80) and inside 50s (14-11). 

Bad luck struck the Blues before the first siren, with spearhead Casboult breaking a finger during the warm-up. He was replaced by defender Cam O’Shea.

Matthew Kreuzer kicked the first goal of the match, while Aaron Mullet registered his first major in the navy blue after marking an accurate kick from a running Ed Curnow.

Acting skipper Patrick Cripps managed a towering pack mark in front of goals to kick the Blues’ third major.  

Fifty-gamer Jacob Weitering led the Blues for marks (four), while returning Blue Matthew Kennedy led both teams for contested possessions (five) at the end of the first term.

SECOND QUARTER

Injury struck Carlton again, with Plowman being stretchered off after copping a blow to the knee. He suffered bone bruising a potential medial ligament injury, but the club won't know the full extent of his injury until he has scans in the coming days.

The second term was a low-scoring affair, with Carlton only managing one major thanks to Sam Rowe, who was moved forward in the absence of Casboult.

The evergreen Kade Simpson leads his team for disposals (15), while Cripps has 13 of his own, along with a match-high five tackles and eight contested possessions.

Collingwood leads Carlton 5.8.38 to 4.3.27.

Follow Carlton on Twitter for live updates from the second half.