CARLTON has demolished Richmond by 89 points at the MCG to virtually secure a finals berth for the second year in succession under Brett Ratten.
Barely more than a fortnight after the coach blasted his players for a limp effort against Collingwood, the Blues thrashed their second opponent - 23.18 (156) to 10.7 (67).
Chris Judd was outstanding for Carlton with 30 possessions and 12 clearances while Heath Scotland and Bryce Gibbs marshalled the defence to finish with 29 and 23 disposals respectively.
Fresh off signing a new contract, Jeff Garlett was at his opportunistic best with four goals with Jarrad Waite (four goals) and Lachie Henderson (three) providing excellent tall targets.
The Tigers struggled to find many four-quarter performers, but Daniel Connors, Shane Tuck and Ben Cousins, who played out the game with a lower leg injury, battled hard to finish with 26 possessions each.
Carlton's inefficient use of the ball inside 50 kept the Tigers in the contest in the first quarter with the Blues' 10 scoring shots yielding just 3.7 in a scrappy start.
Daniel Jackson and Jake King added a goal each to make it a nine-point game at the first break, but those were the only Richmond majors of the first half.
Carlton got the radar working in the second term and effectively put the result beyond doubt with seven unanswered goals blowing the margin out to 57 points.
The Tigers needed to lift after the dispirited effort and they did just that in the third quarter with Connors and Tuck instrumental in their side's only bright period of the match.
Jack Riewoldt struggled with a double team all day, but broke free 13 minutes into the term to spark a four-goal run.
It at least gave Richmond fans something to cheer about on an otherwise forgettable day.
Perhaps smarting, the Blues finished the game off strongly with a nine-goal final stanza.
However, the win may have come at a cost. Aaron Joseph limped off the ground favouring an ankle halfway through the third term and did not return to the field, while Richard Hadley and Shaun Hampson also finished the match injured.
Carlton 3.7 10.12 14.17 23.18 (156)
Richmond 2.2 2.3 7.5 10.7 (67)
GOALS
Carlton: Waite 4, Garlett 4, Henderson 3, Scotland 2, Betts 2, Murphy, Grigg, Hadley, Judd, Warnock, Russell, Robinson, Murphy
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Jackson, King, Collins, Cousins, Post, Graham, Martin, Nason
BEST
Carlton: Judd, Scotland, Waite, Garlett, Henderson, Simpson, Jamison
Richmond: Connors, Cousins, Tuck, Morton, Edwards, Post, Martin
INJURIES
Carlton: Joseph (ankle), Hadley (hip), Hampson (ankle)
Richmond: White (calf), Cousins (leg)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Schmitt, Jeffery, Mollison
Official crowd: 44,716 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
