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CARLTON has come from behind to score a thrilling nine-point win over Fremantle at Telstra Dome on Saturday.
The Blues clung to a slender two-point lead in the tense final minutes, but Darren Pfeiffer, a late inclusion for Bret Thornton, was the hero as he gathered a loose ball deep in the pocket and snapped a spectacular goal to ensure the premiership points.
Fremantle held a 10-point lead when Matthew Pavlich kicked his fourth goal of the match four minutes into the final term, but the Blues dug deep to restrict Freo to just one major while putting on three of their own to record the 14.13 (97) to 14.4 (88) win.
Andrew Carrazzo’s long-range running goal started the fight back and Bryce Gibbs found Nick Stevens over the top to give his side a lead it would not surrender.
For the fourth match in a row, Fremantle coughed up a three-quarter time lead.
Chris Judd battled a hard tag from Ryan Crowley all day and finished with 19 possessions, while Adam Bentick (31 disposals), Nick Stevens (28) and Jarryd Waite (25) also saw plenty of the ball.
For the visitors, Rhys Palmer (20) and Garrick Ibbotson (21) were busy in the midfield.
It proved a thrilling finale to a match that was an even contest throughout the afternoon.
Setanta O’hAilpin got the job on Pavlich and the big Irishman got off to an inglorious start when he gave away a free kick and a 50m penalty that saw the Fremantle skipper goal before the opening siren.
Peter Bell and Stevens were matched up on each other, but Fremantle got the better of that duel as Bell went forward dragging the Blues’ vice-captain to the goal square.
Eddie Betts had tossed the coin toss opposite Jeff Farmer as part of Indigenous Round celebrations and the Carlton goal sneak continued his good start to the day when he marked and goaled to open is side’s account five minutes in.
But it was Fremantle that held a slight edge for much of the first quarter, with young guns Palmer and Ibbotson leading the way, before the Blues put on a late burst to go into the first break with an eight-point lead.
Despite Farmer’s goal early in the second term, it was Carlton that that did most of the attacking, with superiority around the stoppages that allowed a three-goal burst including a brilliant effort by Brendan Fevola who slung his right boot at a loose ball as he fell to the ground for his first and only goal of the day.
Stevens was the prime mover with 12 possessions for the quarter having pushed up onto the ball.
The lead blew out to 20 points, but as he has on so many occasions, Pavlich stepped in to make the difference for Fremantle.
His running goal from well inside the centre square halted the Blues’ momentum and was the first of three unanswered goals that sliced the margin to just six points at half time.
Both sides lost players in the third quarter with O’hAilpin’s shoulder taking the brunt of a Kepler Bradley bump and Steven Dodd limping off with a calf injury.
Fremantle immediately benefited from O’hAilpin’s absence as the man he was briefly matched up on, Dean Solomon, booted a goal after Jake Edwards and Betts had extended Carlton’s lead soon after the restart.
The Irishman managed to return to the field, but he could do little to halt a Fremantle charge that saw the visitors snatch back the lead.
Chris Tarrant kicked two goals and Pavlich added his third as the visitors opened up a 10-point break.
Alarm bells were ringing for the Blues, but a late goal to Steven Browne seconds before the three-quarter time siren made it a three-point ball game.
The situation looked grim for the home side when Pavlich added his fourth early in the final stanza, but that would be it for the visitors who could not halt Carlton’s late burst.
