CARLTON has recorded a 47-point win against an undermanned Melbourne after a dour contest at the MCG on Friday night.
The Blues were made to work hard for three quarters by the defensively-minded Demons, but broke the shackles in the final term to register a 13.15 (93) to 6.10 (46) win.
Melbourne coach Dean Bailey clearly went into the game with a strategy based on getting numbers behind the ball and hitting Carlton on the counter-attack.
Regular forward Jack Watts was deployed as a loose man in defence for most of the first three quarters with the Demon forwards largely abandoning their forward 50 to clog up the ground between the arcs.
It didn't make for a pretty game, but it was effective in restricting the Blues' ability to score.
The problem for Bailey was it also inhibited his own side's scoring, with Carlton able to eke out a 14-point lead at the first break.
The poor kicking efficiency from both teams did nothing for a spectacle that laboured through a third quarter which produced just four goals. The first two of those went to the Blues, which effectively put the contest out of the Demons' reach.
Twenty-nine points separated the teams as the final term got underway and Bailey decided to turn the strategy of the first three quarters on its head.
Melbourne employed a stifling forward press that had Carlton pinned in its defensive half for the first five minutes, but then a turnover saw Jarrad Waite run clear to spring the trap and the rout was on.
CARLTON: 3.4 5.8 8.12 13.15 (93)
MELBOURNE: 1.2 3.4 4.7 6.10 (46)
GOALS
Carlton: O’hAilpin 3, Walker 2, Betts 2, Waite 2, Murphy, Yarran, Armfield, Garlett
Melbourne: Sylvia, Petterd, Jurrah, Rivers, Newton
BEST
Carlton: Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Robinson, Jamison, Simpson
Melbourne: Frawley, Rivers, Green, Macdonald, Jones
INJURIES
Carlton: Russell (hamstring), Laidler (knee)Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Jordan Russell (hamstring) replaced by Dennis Armfield in the first quarter
Melbourne: Matthew Warnock replaced by Daniel Nicholson in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
CROWD: 47, 464 at the MCG
UMPIRES: McBurney, Nicholls, Armstrong
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
