A YOUTHFUL, spirited Carlton side has exited the NAB Cup after losing to Geelong by 17 points in Saturday night's semi-final at Docklands.

Even though the scoreboard didn't suggest so, the Blues' hard tackling, courage and endeavour provided an extension of a campaign that has welcomed convincing victories over North Melbourne and Hawthorn.

And there are good signs for the season proper.

The highly-fancied Cats led by just 11 points halfway through the last quarter and were made to work hard until the final siren to record the 2.9.12 (84) to 0.9.13 (67) win.

Shaun Grigg (27 disposals) was the Blues' leading possession winner and Richard Hadley showed he was well on the way to peak fitness with 23.

Cameron Cloke and Eddie Betts led the scoring with two goals each, while new defenders Chris Johnson and Greg Bentley were also among the best players.

Harry Taylor was in fine form in defence for Geelong with a game-high 29 possessions and Cameron Ling (28 touches) and Paul Chapman (26 and two goals) were also prominent.

With several first-choice players including captain Chris Judd, star forward Brendan Fevola and midfielders Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Kade Simpson watching from the stands, it was an inexperienced Carlton side that ran onto the ground without the customary banner to break through.

That was perhaps an indication of how the cheer squad thought the contest might play out and, with all due respect to the players involved, there were some worrying signs early when Matthew Scarlett lined up on Shaun Hampson, Gary Ablett on Aaron Joseph and Brad Ottens against Matthew Kreuzer.

There were similar mismatches around the ground, but to their credit the young Blues were not overawed by their more experienced opponents throughout the evening.

Ablett turned Joseph inside out to score the opening goal, but the rookie Blue – pressing his claims for elevation – stuck to his task and held the superstar Cat to 10 possessions in the first half. Ablett had 21 for the match.

Not to be outdone, Hampson out-positioned Scarlett to mark and goal from close range, but majors to Scott Simpson and Tom Lonergan saw Geelong lead by 13 points at the first break.

Steven Browne slotted a nice goal on the run to open a second quarter in which neither side was really able to find second gear.

Geelong rookie Jeremy Laidler was the unlikely provider of the spark that lifted the contest. He had seven touches for the term and a super-goal booted off just three steps that saw the margin extended to 21 points.

But again Carlton stayed within striking distance when Cloke booted his first goal after the half-time siren to make it a 15-point game.

A superb set shot goal from 50 by Chris Yarran cancelled out a Max Rooke snap after the restart, but successive majors to Steve Johnson and James Kelly threatened to break the game open.

But as they had all evening, the Blues mustered a reply with a brilliant chase and tackle by Joseph on Ablett sparking a three-goal run, including Cloke's second. That slashed the deficit to just 11 points at the last change.

Chapman's goal early in the last quarter gave the Cats some breathing space, but Betts out-marked three opponents and threaded the eye of the needle to keep his side in it.

However, Chapman stepped up for Geelong once again when he bombed through a nine-pointer to make the gap 21.

The Cats hung on for the win after some late inaccuracy from the Blues, who kicked six behinds for the term.

Carlton will play Fremantle in a NAB Challenge match in Bunbury, Western Australia next weekend.

Geelong     0.3.3   1.4.7   1.7.9   2.9.12 (84)
Carlton     0.1.2   0.3.7   0.7.7   0.9.13 (67)

GOALS
Geelong: Nine-point goals: Laidler, Chapman  Goals: Lonergan 2, Ablett, Simpson, Hawkins, Rooke, S. Johnson, Kelly, Chapman
Carlton: Nine-point goals: Nil  Goals: Cloke 2, Betts 2, Hampson, Browne, Yarran, Wiggins, Grigg

BEST
Geelong: Taylor, Chapman, Hunt, Ling, Kelly, D. Johnson, Ottens
Carlton: Johnson, Grigg, Hadley, Cloke, Bentley

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Carlton: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: McLaren, Donlon, Jennings

Crowd: 15,305 at Docklands

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.