READY for battle.
When Carlton welcomes Gold Coast to Marvel Stadium, it’ll be looking for its third straight win against the opposition as well as a return to the winner’s list.
The Blues will have their work cut out for them against an in-form Suns outfit, fresh off the largest score in their history after piling on 26 goals against Geelong in Darwin last week.
Both teams enter the Round 11 contest with 6-4 records after 10 games, although the Suns sit with a healthier percentage with the Blues finding themselves in nailbiter after nailbiter this season.
It’s no surprise where this game will largely be dictated, with the competition’s two best contested possession sides going head to head.
The Blues have the slight ascendancy over the Suns, while both sides have shown they can be potent in attack this season: after 10 games, the Blues have scored 923 points, just one more than the Suns.
What the Blues will have to be conscious of is how prolific their opponents can be going forward, averaging 58.6 inside 50s per game — the most in the competition so far this season.
When it comes to one-two punches in midfield, there aren’t many better duos than Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh for Carlton or Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson for Gold Coast.
Cripps and Walsh - so often referred to as Carlton’s Batman and Robin - have picked up where they left off last year, averaging over 57 disposals between them this year, with over half of those being contested.
But they’ll know they’ll be in for quite a fight this afternoon, with Rowell and Anderson averaging 14 clearances a game in 2024: last week against the Cats, their combined stat line read 77 disposals, three goals, 14 tackles and 12 clearances.
Another key factor in that midfield battle could be Matthew Kennedy, who has enjoyed a solid run of form in Navy Blue over the past month.
A $658,000 midfielder in AFL Fantasy, the big-bodied onballer has averaged 95 points in his last five games, and he could prove to be a point of difference in your midfield this week.
