Aerial Eddie lights up Gabba
Eddie Betts managed not one but two Mark of the Year contenders against the Brisbane Lions
FOR a man who expended such effort soaring into the sky, Eddie Betts was very keen to talk about ground level after Carlton's bulldozing victory over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night.
Betts set the ground alight with two absolute screamers - certain Mark of the Year contenders - in the second and third quarters, but his focus was more on the opportunities now coming his way at the feet of the tall Blues around him on Carlton's forward line.
"You know what you're going to get," Betts said of the likes of Jarrad Waite and Shaun Hampson.
"We believe our tall guys are going to mark it but if they don't mark it, they'll bring it down."
"We didn't have that last year because we didn't really have the talls."
Injuries robbed both Waite and Hampson of game time last year, denying the Blues structure and smalls like Betts the crumbing opportunites that are his bread and butter.
The benefits the duo bring to the side were on show at the Gabba. Waite kicked five goals and Hampson one but, tellingly, Betts and Jeff Garlett kicked another five between them, making Carlton's forward line a multi-faceted and very dangerous proposition.
But it was the hangers that will live longer in the memory than any of the goals kicked, though the Blue with springs in his feet seemed fairly non-plussed by his efforts.
"I didn't really watch them," he said. "I tried to have a peek but the game moved on."
There's a better than reasonable chance Betts will have the opportunity to admire his aerial acrobatics over the coming week.