I saw my heroes play on Sunday night for the sixth time this year. And what a great day and night I had! It was the biggest and loudest cheering I've ever done, and I really think it helped get the boys through. Let me tell you all about it......
We started our day at a hotel near the stadium, where we met up with some other Carlton supporters for a couple of drinks (and a packet of chips for me) at about 2 o'clock. The Carlton "Blue Suits" had finished their luncheon when we joined them. Stephen Scott gave me one of the chocolate truffles from his table - yummy! We also met up with Nick who invited us there, and David who gave me my own very special Carlton Blue Suits key-ring. I hung onto that key-ring all day and slept with it that night - I love collecting "treasures" like that. They were all concerned to see me with my arm in a sling - I broke my elbow at school on Monday. I had been trying to jump up onto the monkey bars. I won't do that again for a while. Having a broken elbow didn't stop me from going and seeing the Blues in action, though, even in the rain.
We walked across to the ground at about 3.30 pm and it wasn't raining too much yet. We had to line up to get in, because the stadium only opened some of their gates, but eventually we made it through to our seats which were in the Carlton cheersquad area just to the left of the left-hand point post. We were four rows from the boundary. Would you believe it that Sue, the one who gave me my flashing Captain Carlton badge at the NAB Cup game earlier in the year, was sitting right in front of Mummy's seat? I showed her my flashing badge which Mum had pinned to my sling for me. We talked about how we'd really like Carlton to win this match, not only because we were level on points with Port, but because the newspapers over here have written Carlton off completely and said that our Fev has a big mouth. They seem to overlook the fact that their own Chad Cornes has just as big a mouth! (He had said that they are now entering the easy part of their draw, starting with playing against Carlton). Juddy lost the toss and the Power chose to kick first towards the end furtherest away from us (near their cheer squad). And then the drizzly rain began, about the time the siren sounded to start the match at 4.10 pm. Lucky we all had hoods on our jackets, and the visors from our caps kept the rain off our faces. Mum had even thought to bring a rubber-backed picnic rug which we put upside down over our legs and our bag to keep us mostly dry. It was a very still night, though, and the rain was only very light, so we were okay. It wasn't even all that cold. Mum took a photo of me all ready for the game to begin, and in it you can see I'm holding my Carlton Blue Suits key-ring.
Port scored the first goal very early on, through Roden. Kreuzer was in the forward line for us, and Fev had an early chance for a mark, but the ball was already too wet and bounced out of his hands. It was very slippery out there. Both sides made lots of turnover errors, probably because of the slipping and sliding that was happening - looked like lots of fun to me, but I bet Mum wouldn't have let me do it because of my broken elbow! Uh oh - another goal to Port. Fev soon after made a great chase and bumped the Port guy, causing him to kick out on the full. Juddy takes the free and boots the ball in near our goal square - the big men fly - Cloke tries hard, but Port gets it. Soon it's back down our end, though - Fisher drops a mark, Stevo goes right in and under (that looks like fun too), trying hard, Fisher kicks the ball but it bounces over the boundary for a throw in. Jarrad Waite does a brilliant chase on a Port player and gets the free for holding the ball. He has a shot for goal - point. Simpson marks the ball from the kick in - handballs to Cloke who does a super slick handball to Murph, who runs into goals - will it be a goal? No, another point! Scores are 2-2 (14) to 0-2 (2). Did you know that I can now work out what the next score will be if we kick a goal? I know that a goal = six points and can add it up in my head. Anyway, at this stage we've had the ball seven times into our forward 50m and Port's had it down their end five times, yet we're losing. Bummer. Fisher takes some good marks - it's as if he has some invisible sticky gloves on because the ball doesn't slip out of his hands - Eddie tries but slips a lot on the grass - Kreuzer gets a free - Hampson flies up high to take the mark (should have got a free for push in the back but didn't) - Gibbs has his back to the goals and grabs the ball out of the air, hurls it onto his boot and taps it through for our first goal! Yay! The rain's heavyish now though, and our flags are still wound up, so Mum gets out my Carlton clapper for me to clap our goal with that (since one of my arms is under my jacket, I can't clap with two hands). Port gets another goal before the ball comes down our end again - Fev holds his arms up to claim the mark but he didn't have first touch - Simpson grabs the ball and tries to kick a goal around his body - missed. Stevo hurts his ankle, limping badly. Hope he's going to be okay. Fev has two or three players clambering all over him every time, but never gets a free - I don't think the umpires like him too much. Grigg has a shot at goal - misses. Rain is getting heavier. Siren sounds and Tredrea for Port takes his shot at goal - he misses. Scores at quarter time are 3-4 (22) to 1-4 (10). Dad and I go to buy some hot chips and a Powerade drink for my tea.
In the second quarter Jarrad Waite along the boundary line in front of us keeps the ball in and gives it to Carrots - gee their clothes are dirty! Carlton is wearing the 'clash' white guernseys - I bet Mum is pleased she doesn't have to wash them! Russell misses a handball and Salopek gets a goal for Port. Thornton does well on Motlop, as do our other defenders. Port gets another goal, though. The ball comes down to Port's end again. Bentick kicks it out on the full. Fev must be getting frustrated not having the ball down our end for a while so he comes zooming up to Port's end, tackles someone and gets hold of the ball and boots it back towards our end! Good on you, Fev! (we give him a clap for that). Port gets the next goal, though, and scores are 44 to 14. We'd better watch out, or we could get a thumping here! We've still only kicked one goal for the match!! Waitey takes a good mark - Simpson - Judd - Fisher - to Fev - pushed in the back (again no free). Fev later gets frustrated and gives away a free. Settle down, boy! Armfield then bobs up out of nowhere and kicks a goal! Mum frantically gets the flags untangled and she gives them a big wave for the first time. Hampson does well, getting his body in to block other players from the ball. Cloke got a free soon after and has a set shot at goal - but hits the post. ANOTHER point. Scores at half time are 6-8 (44) to 2-8 (20). Lots of points have been kicked in this slippery weather!
At half time Dad and I stand in the aisle at the fence to watch the Auskick kids. I've been playing Auskick at half time of the A Grade matches of our local footy club, Nuriootpa Tigers. One day it'd be great to play at half time of a Carlton match! But I can't play for a long while now because of my elbow. Not fair.
The third quarter starts and Port get the first goal through Justin Westhoff, whose Grandpa is a first cousin of my Gran. Gibbs kicks the ball to Fev - who marks it! That's the first time Fev's had only one player on him when trying to mark the ball. He lines up from outside 50, and kicks accurately but not quite long enough. The wet ball is probably getting heavy by now. Stevo then has a quick shot at goal and misses. Down the other end, Kane Cornes boots the ball towards their goals - looks to be a sure goal but Carrazzo lunges to just touch the ball on the line to make it a point. Well done, Carrots! Then Tredrea gets a goal - he pumps his fist in the air and then yells as if to say how good he is. Mum whispers to me it would be very nice if he would lose - little did we know then that not only he WOULD lose, but that the goal he just got would be the final goal for Port for the whole game!! [giggle giggle] Roden kicks towards goal and this time it's Bryce Gibbs who lunges to touch the ball as it goes over the line, forcing it to be a point. Well done! Bentick then laid a great tackle - Thornton - Betts - Murphy - Betts - a Port player gets in and kicks the ball from mid air - Wiggins marks it - gives it to Judd. Fev, standing just in front of us, points up high and just behind him showing Judd just where he wanted the ball kicked - Judd delivers and Fev takes a great big mark. And he kicks his first goal! The Carlton faithful all around us start to chant, just like I'd been practising this week, "CARLTON!" [clap clap clap] "CARLTON!" [clap clap clap] for the first time in the match. Lots of flags, including ours, are waved. Come on Blues!! Bentick is tackled high (no free), Fev crumbs the ball, and casual as you please, kicks beautifully off the right side of his right boot, aiming for a soccer style bounce along the ground - no one's in the way to stop it so we all hold our breath - one way, the other way, bounce, bounce - but it hits the goal post for a point. Bummer. Stevens misses out on another free for a blatant push in the back, Bentick boots the ball towards goals - point. Westhoff is spoiled by Waite - ball is near Port's end but our defenders stay calm and get the ball out of there. Fev goes up for a mark but drops the ball. Juddy gets it though, and Cloke marks near our 50m line. He should have a shot at goal - he's a big kick! But instead, he looks to kick the ball to Fev. No go - Port gets it. The umpires give Port a free - I don't reckon they like our team too much today. And then the siren sounds. Scores are 8-12 (60) to 3-12 (30).
We can't believe we've only got THREE GOALS for three quarters! Oh dear. And all those points! Port is double Carlton's score. Dad wonders whether we should think about leaving a bit earlier if Port gets the first few goals in the last quarter, but Mum says no way - she's never left a match before the final siren and said she's not about to start now! I ask Mum if she reckons we'll win. She says she doesn't think so - we've only scored three goals so far and to catch up we'd have to kick another five goals in just one quarter without letting Port get any. I tell her that we just need to cheer harder and louder. She agrees.
At the start of the last quarter, once again Port have the ball for an early scoring chance, but miss. From our kick-in, Port's Lade takes an easy one-handed mark - kicks it across the ground but Russell cuts it off - he gives a quick handball to Judd - who boots a long bomb to Wiggo who kicks it to the goal square. Kreuzer tries to mark but cant - all players scramble madly for the ball - Kreuzer's in front but is too tall to bend down that far - Eddie Betts is in there too - but we muck it up and it goes through for a point. Not long after, Kreuzer takes a fantastic mark in the goal square! He pulls up his socks and really concentrates to get a goal - and he does! Only four goals behind now which doesn't sound much - but we've only kicked four goals altogether and it's very wet and slippery out there - is it possible for us to double that? Judd gets another clearance - gee, he's good - poor Nan not having him play for her West Coast Eagles anymore - he handballs to Grigg - Cloke - kicks to our goal square - Betts flies up but can't take the mark. Ball goes towards Port's end, but Murphy and Judd do some great tackling and Waite bends down to scoop up the ball Kouta-style - he sends it down our end again. Ball's in our goal squre, Wiggo on his bottom manages to get the handball out to Stevo who has a quick snapshot at goal - point. After their kick in, Motlop kicks to Burgoyne but Waite intercepts at the centre square, bounds in towards goal, has a bounce, and boots the ball straight through the hey-diddle-diddle!! We're only THREE goals down!!! We cheer and scream louder and louder and wave our flags hard - Daddy is very pleased we didn't leave! Back around the middle Port get pinged for deliberate out of bounds. Judd takes the kick in - to Fisher who goes flying for a mark in the goal square and takes a great grab - ball is chopped out of his hands but no free is paid (again). The ball stays in our forward area with the Power players trying hard to get the ball out and our forwards trying just as hard to keep the ball there - everyone's really trying their hearts out. Port then looks set to take the ball out of our forward line but Jordan Russell does a great intercept - gets the ball to Eddie Betts - and in the blink of the eye he snaps a goal! 8-13 (61) to 6-14 (50). We're only TWO goals down now!! "Can we really do this?" we ask ourselves. Port then gets a point. On the wing Russell takes a great mark! Simpson then runs forward for the handball - should have handballed it over to Armfield who was running alongside him, but instead tries to outrun the Power players and gets tackled, then tripped by the Port player (no free). Ball is held in, Gibbs gets a free paid against so Port has the ball and sends it down their end (near us, where the ball's hardly been all this quarter). Jarrad Waite does a great spoil and both he and his player and the ball go slip-sliding into the boundary fence, knocking over a security guy who was crouched there about 15m around from us. From the throw in Browne then kicks well to Russell, who marks but gets bowled over hard by his opponent - amazingly Russell bounces back up without having let go of the ball and bounds away. The ball gets stopped by Port and players clamber to get to it - Russell and Port's Stewart go in hell for leather - poor Stewart gets hit in his head and isn't too good. The play doesn't stop and the ball goes down to Port's end for a mark to Gray. Meanwhile the stretcher comes on the field and the umpire blows the whistle to stop play. The players all have to wait around while the little stretcher 4-wheeler drives onto the ground - they have to wait for about six minutes so it's going to be a long last quarter.
The 4-wheeler eventually gets off the ground and the umpire blows the whistle for Gray to have his shot at goal. Mum and I watch Waite waving on the mark to try and put him off - the ball hits the post. Phew! Carrots takes the kick in but - oh no! Power marks it! But Russell blocks the ball and Murphy gets it! The ball's down our end - Stevo gets it out quickly by hand - it's kicked to Kreuzer who marks again! And he does a huge kick towards goal - Fev shepherds his player so the ball goes through for a goal!! COME ON, Blues, we're only SEVEN POINTS DOWN! Back in the centre, Stevo takes a mark! He kicks the ball to our goals - Mum nearly has a heart attack - can we get a score? No, the ball dribbles to hit the point post so it's a throw in. Juddy gets the ball to Kreuzer - who again lines up for a goal - please, please, please - YES! We got it! A GOAL!! We're only one point down, with scores 8-15 (63) to 8-14 (62). The Carlton crowd around us goes totally wild. The cheering is deafening and I absolutely love it! Murph is then caught too high but the umpires give Port the free because Murph fended him off too high with his arm. Gibbs soon after does a great hard tackle on Chad Cornes - gee, he's whipping Cornes today - and puts him over the boundary line. Great defence by the Blues all in front of where we're sitting - Stevo - Thornton - sends the ball back to our end. Fantastic body work by Wiggo on the boundary keeps the ball in and the Poewr player out - he gets the ball to Fisher - to Armfield - Fisher again - big kick to the goal square - Kreuzer looks out on his feet, totally pooped. Great pressure by our forwards again make Port players fight hard to get the ball out of there - ball comes down to Port's end and our defenders - Waite - Setanta - Thornton - Murphy - Simpson - all hold strong. Finally Stevo gets the ball and kicks from the boundary line around his body to Wiggins who takes a great mark in front of Chad Cornes. Come on, Carlton, we need a score - any score! Please! Murphy does a shocker kick out of bounds on the full. Tredrea takes the kick in, and is trying to delay things, wasting some time. He kicks it along the boundary to a Power player, but Murphy is determined to make up for his bad kick and gets the ball himself. He spins out of a tackle, uses the ball against the ground to steady himself, and then boots it to Gibbs who takes a mark - bounces to Russell - to Simpson - who does a fantastic running kick around his body for a goal! Yahoo!! We've hit the FRONT for the first time all match! Celebrations happen both on and off the field. Mum tells our players not to celebrate too early as there's plenty of time for Port to snatch back the lead. Someone near us who's listening on a radio tells us there's about two minutes left to play. Can we hang on for that long? Judd gets a clearance and we get the ball back to our end, Judd has a stab at the goals but his kick is smothered. Wiggo gets it to Judd again, Judd is tackled, ball dribbles through for a point. At least we're now exactly a goal in front now. An exhausted Judd pressures a Power player who has the ball over the boundary line deep in our forward pocket. The ball starts to go down Port's end, but Stevens does a great handball over to Gibbs and it comes back to us. The ball remains locked deep in our forward 50. Port look like getting the ball out again, but Stevo does a great smother to keep it in. Fantastic stuff. Simpson does a little ploppy kick (Dad's words - he's told me never to kick little floaters like that as it puts your team mates under pressure) to Russell who stands strong with Power players bearing down on him to take the mark. Siren, please blow! Soon after there's a throw in, and Waite swoops down again ala Kouta, scoops up the ball and dodges and weaves through Power players and boots the ball to Fev who marks it! He's right on 50m line and gets ready to take a shot at goal. SIREN SOUNDS! Fev is so excited he puts down the ball for a moment and waves his fist in the air and laughs! We've won! We scream for joy and cheer and jump up and down. Mum and I go straight to the boundary fence and Mum gets a quick photo of me in my happiness, while the rain continues to fall:
While our players are celebrating all around him, Fev then takes his shot at goal - and kicks a goal! So we've won by two goals! 8-15 (63) to 10-15 (75). Can you believe it? We kicked seven goals in that quarter and kept Port to NO goals! Amazing. One of the best come-backs we've ever seen, and all without two of our best defenders, Michael Jamison and Paul Bower (both injured). And then, while we're standing at the boundary fence, the players start to run over to us! Fev is leading the way, arm in the air, as they make their way over to thank all their supporters for continuing to cheer them on:
Every Carlton player runs along the boundary, giving us high fives and hugs. My head was only just over the top of the fence so I was a bit too little for them, I suppose, as no one gave me a high five, but Mum got a couple of photos in amongst all the excitement. I could still see everyone, and the joy on all their faces. Up close they were so wet from the rain and sweat, but boy, they were happy! Judd had a grin from ear to ear! And Fev's face showed his relief as well as his joy. As they say, he who laughs last, laughs loudest! In this photo, Fev's giving the high fives while Thornton's in the background also very excited.
We stayed around for a while longer with all the other Carlton supporters to sing the theme song loud and proud, and to wave our flags and soak in the big win. How great it was for us to win over here - the last time Carlton had won in Adelaide was against the Crows way back in 2004, at my very first AFL match and also the very first time I wrote on this website! I was only one year old then, and now I am five! That's a long time between drinks. As we left the ground and walked back to our car I got lots of high fives from other Carlton supporters - we were all very vocal! I fell asleep in the car on the way home, holding my flashing Captain Carlton badge and my new Blue Suits key-ring, and I dreamed of the Blues all the way, and of the next time I'll see them play.
I'll be back to share that next game with you, when they come over here again to take on the Crows in August! Until then, it's over and out from Jesse Hanel.
