Whilst most eyes fixated upon the senior team’s battle with Fremantle on Saturday night, the shadows of the fading Friday evening sun served as a backdrop for seven Carlton players participating in the Northern Blues first intra-club.
As shadows descended upon Visy Park, the Northern Blues started their 2013 campaign with their first intra club match, which saw the Navy team ran out close victors over their Red counterparts by five points, 7.5.47 to 6.6.42.
For Carlton fans, there were heartening signs all over the ground, particularly in the middle, where Jaryd Cachia and Dylan Buckley controlled things. Cachia’s mature-age body was noticeable as he displayed both hunger and intent for the contested ball, consistently winning clearances.
His colleague in Buckley found the going tough in the first half before breaking out in the second half with multiple purple patches and slotting through an exquisite goal from the boundary line to reward his efforts.
However, the matchings of Matthew Watson and Patrick McCarthy (in the second half) directly opposed to rising forward Luke Mitchell, formed an intriguing battle for all four quarters and provided a peep forward in time of three future key position prospects for Carlton.
Speaking post-match, McCarthy noted that notwithstanding the intra club status of the game, there was still an individual point to prove.
“I guess when playing against the guys you train with there’s a care factor,” McCarthy said.
“You’re probably not going to stick the knee in under a high ball…but the basics stay the same; you still need to win the one-on-ones and earn your kicks.”
Mitchell (two goals) set about demonstrating the value of a full pre-season to date kicking truly for the opening goal of the game and cutting an imposing figure with his willingness to jump for marks and work rate all over the forward half.
Yet both Watson and McCarthy more than held their end up with a colossal number of spoils and intercept marks.
“He (Mitchell) bagged one on me, so he had me in that department. I was helped by a few things further afield, which probably evened things out over the course of the contest,” he said.
“It was a lot of boys’ first runs for the first year, with new structures in place…I’m confident those things will take care of themselves as we play more games.”
One of two debutants from the final game of season 2012, McCarthy said that his one AFL game had given him a drive throughout the pre-season to improve on his endurance as well as his versatility under new coach, Mick Malthouse.
“I’ve grown into my body a lot more (in 2013) and that’s allowed me a lot of training form and continuity since Arizona,” said the young defender.
“Personally, when I get my opportunity at senior level – be it Round 1, Round 5 or Round 15 – I want to get in and stay in and play as much of a part in Carlton going forward.”
In other news on Carlton players, Frazer Dale (one goal) and Josh Bootsma both rallied superbly after slow starts. Bootsma’s booming kick and rebounding that saw him resonate with Carlton fans in his Round 6 debut last year was noticeable, while Dale was a principal figure in the Navy forward line, bursting packs and applying intense forward 50 pressure.
The Northern Blues will play a match against Bendigo this Friday at 5pm at Visy Park, followed by VFL practise matches in the lead-up to their season opener against Werribee on April 6.
