In boggy conditions, the Northern Blues upset the Box Hill Hawks by 16 points on their way to snapping a three-game losing streak at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday afternoon.
In a day not compatible for clean, one-grab marks and precision kicking, the game’s style was set in the opening ten minutes as both sides wrestled for territory.
Despite the Hawks registering nine of the first 10 inside 50s, it was the Blues who kicked the first goal of the game, and only major for the quarter, through Northern Blues’ Tom Wilson.
Aaron Joseph exemplified the intent of his fellow defenders, with some terrific tackling and rebounding.
His job on Hawthorn-listed youngster Derick Wanganeen - keeping the half-forward to just eight ineffective disposals – was a critical aspect of the Blues’ intent.
Quarter time came amid a stampede of old-fashioned push and shove, yet, when the dust settled, it was the Blues who came out on top in a game-breaking second quarter, kicking 6 goals to 2.
Levi Casboult stood up enormously kicking both of his two goals in the second term and looked ominous in an environment not suited for tall forwards.
He had the perfect forward foil in Troy Menzel (two goals) and Nick Duigan (one goal), the latter showing fantastic versatility in being a link-up target across half forward.
The Blues’ second quarter run was in no small part thanks to the Blues’ engine room with Rob Warnock dominant in the ruck, while Nick Graham (33 disposals, 14 contested and one goal) and Mitch Robinson (31 disposals, 25 contested and 12 clearances were magnificent.
Dominating the possession count, a win in contested footy (136-110) arguably won the game for the Blues as Warnock registered a mammoth 58 hitouts.
Leading by 30 points at half time, the Blues would kick just two goals in a second half filled with rolling stoppages and genuine wet-weather, contested footy.
Despite the lead, the Blues’ win in the tackle count (60-57) was also pivotal, led again by Graham (eight) while Dylan Buckley and Rhys O’Keefe (five each) were also prominent.
Buckley showed great commitment to the cause returning the field with an injured shoulder to set up two Blues’ scoring opportunities in the final quarter. He sat out the rest of the game, yet no further injury concerns were reported.
O’Keeffe’s return to football after a five-month injury lay off was one of the many good news stories for the Blues, the South Australian finishing with 15 possessions at nearly 65 per cent game time.
Josh Bootsma was the other notable injury returning, coming back from a hamstring strain and was a significant contributor in the back line along with Jeremy Laidler.
Returning to his natural position across the half back line, Laidler looked at ease, consistently picking off wayward Box Hill forward 50 entries, and being a major influence in the Blues’ attacking transition.
Tom Temay turned in an excellent second half and despite a late flurry of goals from the Hawks, the Blues held on for a memorable win.
Speaking to carltonfc.com.au post-match, defender Simon White said the win meant a lot to the playing group after a reflective week off during the bye that followed three straight losses.
“We spoke a lot about playing for the jumper and for the club, and I thought the boys exemplified that really well today,” White said.
“It was a tough day out there in those conditions, but I thought we stuck to the message of getting yardage early, getting the ball forward, numbers to the contest and doing the basics well.
“I thought we adjusted to the conditions quickly early on and…I think that helped settle us for the rest of the day.”
Allowing just six goals for the day, White credited his fellow defensive colleagues for performing their role.
“You love seeing the rain out the window as a defender when you wake up,” he said.
“As a whole, it was about at least halving the contest in the air and making it a fight in our advantage when it hit the ground. I thought the boys played their role really well.”
Earlier in the day, Luke Mitchell kicked four goals from his nine scoring shots in driving rain, playing for the Northern Blues’ Development side.
The Development side went on to win by 27 points, with Mitchell (eight marks, five contested) playing arguably a match-winning role, kicking his first three goals in a ten-minute blitz either side of half time.
The Northern Blues return home to Preston City Oval to host cross-town rivals Coburg on Sunday afternoon.
NORTHERN BLUES 1.3 7.3 9.3 9. 5. (59)
BOX HILL HAWKS 0.1 2.3 4.5 6. 7. (43)
GOALS: Casboult 2, Menzel 2, Wilson 2, Duigan, Graham, Lincoln
BEST: Robinson, Graham, Lambert, Laidler, Bransgrove, Duigan, Warnock
Matthew Lodge covers Northern Blues games for Carltonfc.com.au. You can follow him on Twitter: @MatthewSLodge
