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CARLTON looks set to head to its first finals campaign in eight years after defeating Geelong by 35 points at the MCG on Friday night.
The Blues, who ran out 14.13 (97) to 8.14 (62) winners, restricted the Cats to their lowest score of the season while handing the 2007 premiers just their third loss of the year.
Carlton led the way for most of the night against a Geelong side that struggled to move the ball up the ground and create scoring opportunities.
While Carlton's delivery into the forward line was hardly spectacular, they fought hard to keep the ball in their attacking 50 and created numerous chances.
Star forward Brendan Fevola was inaccurate in front of goal, only managing 4.6, but he was still one of Carlton's more influential players at the contests.
Chris Judd worked hard as usual, and with Cameron Ling tagging him closely, he moved well in heavy traffic to finish with 27 disposals.
Fellow midfielders Bryce Gibbs (32 touches) and Marc Murphy (24) were a more-than-capable supporting cast in the midfield.
Bret Thornton did a brilliant job on Tom Hawkins and also set up plenty of rebound from the back half, while serial pest Aaron Joseph and Andrew Carrazzo shared the job on Gary Ablett.
The talented Cat still had 24 disposals, but didn't hurt Carlton in Geelong’s attacking half.
While Joseph’s role was largely to worry about curtailing Ablett, he surged forward to kick a goal midway through the final term to put the Blues 23 points up and secure the win.
Jordan Russell was another to perform a negating role, doing a great job on the mercurial Steve Johnson. Johnson had virtually no influence on the game, with Russell following him everywhere he went.
Carlton looked their most dangerous when Kade Simpson and Judd got their run going. Crucially, the Blues booted three of the last four goals before half-time and went into the main break with a 13-point lead.
Every time the Cats got a bit of momentum, Carlton stopped them cold with a quick reply.
Carlton was also noticeably better at running out quarters. They kicked two goals late in the first term and two late in the second, all of which proved decisive in the final wash-up.
It looked to be Geelong’s night early on when Mathew Stokes and Cameron Mooney booted the first two goals, but the Blues held control of the game for the rest of the night.
It was a free-flowing third quarter as the ball zipped from end to end, with Carlton appearing to have more runners as the Cats looked sluggish.
By the time the final term rolled around, the Cats were hobbling, with Mooney, David Wojcinski and Darren Milburn were all off injured. The Cats were held goalless in the final term and the Blues ran away with four goals, including one to Fevola right on the siren.
The Blues now travel to AAMI Stadium to take on Port Adelaide next week.
Carlton 3.5 7.7 10.10 14.13 (97)
Geelong 2.4 5.6 8.11 8.14 (62)
GOALS
Carlton: Fevola 4, Simpson 3, Murphy 2, Houlihan, Joseph, Stevens, Kreuzer, Scotland
Geelong: Mooney 2, Stokes 2, Harley, Hogan, Rooke, Ling
BEST
Carlton: Gibbs, Thornton, Fevola, Joseph, Judd, Russell, Simpson, Murphy
Geelong: Corey, Selwood, Enright, Mackie, Milburn
INJURIES
Carlton: Austin (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Wiggins
Geelong: Wojcinski (ankle), Mooney (hand), Milburn (ankle)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: James, Stevic, McInerney
Official crowd: 55,057 at MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
