Carlton’s season looks consigned to the scrap heap after the Western Bulldogs overcame a serious late challenge to claim an 21-point win at Marvel Stadium.
The Blues were booed by their own fans for the second week in a row after a diabolical first half which yielded only one goal, but they piled on six consecutive majors after the main break to snatch the lead midway through the final term.
But the Bulldogs hit back with a four-goal streak of their own, with Arthur Jones snapping superbly from 40m to put his side back in front before Bailey Smith streamed forward to snuff the Blues’ hopes from outside the 50m arc.
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Luke Beveridge’s side were beaten at stoppages and denied forward entries, but used the ball cleverly in their forward half to punish the Blues for easy missed chances.
Anthony Scott (3.1) was damaging at ground level, and along with Rory Lobb (2.0) schooled the Blues in the importance of finishing off the midfielders’ work.
Carlton was left to rue dismal ball use and poor goalkicking, with star forwards Harry McKay (0.2) and Charlie Curnow (2.3) unable to hurt their opponents on the scoreboard despite marking strongly around the ground.
Even if the Blues cling on to their top eight spot at the end of the round, their torrid start to the game suggested their on-field problems are not going away any time soon.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER MATCH REPORT
There were no late changes for either side, with Ed Curnow (Carlton) and Lachie McNeill (Western Bulldogs) named the starting subs.
Despite leading the contested possession count early, the Blues struggled to settle early, but the Bulldogs kicked the first two goals of the game through long set-shots from Jason Johannisen and Aaron Naughton.
“That is absolutely horrible,” Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown said after the Blues allowed an easy Bulldogs inside 50. “Have a look at the way Carlton are exposing the centre square. It’s just a dream for the Bulldogs.
“Carlton have completely lost shape when it comes to defending. They need to sort this out ASAP.”
“I think the frustrating thing for Carlton supporters is the Bulldogs have taken the corridor away from Carlton but the Bulldogs have been able to expose Carlton in the corridor on several occasions.”
Harry McKay had Carlton’s best set-shot attempt late in the first term, but absolutely shanked his snap as it squeezed in for a behind.
“He’s just horribly out of confidence in front of the big sticks. He just doesn’t know what his routine is,” Brown said.
“He works hard throughout the week, but it’s just not happening for him.”
Despite having 15 inside 50s, the Blues failed to kick a goal in the opening quarter for the first time this season and went into quarter-time with 0.3 (3) — their lowest first quarter against the Bulldogs in 32 years.
“Carlton fans are a little disgruntled,” Fox Footy’s Anthony Hudson said.
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King added: “Carlton can’t lay a glove on them.”
It took until the 11-minute mark of the second term for the Blues to kick their first goal, with Matt Owies converting a set-shot before getting stuck into a few Dogs defenders.
But after controlling the game for 15 minutes, the Blues allowed two goals to Anthony Scott in quick succession. The second Scott goal was staggering, with the Blues defence not rushing a behind close to the goalline.
The Bulldogs held an 18-pont lead at the main break, despite the Blues having more inside 50s (+11) and contested possessions (+14).
“(Blues) supporters would be tearing their hair out,” Brown said. “Their execution has let them down going inside 50 and in front of goal.”
Rory Lobb gave the Dogs the perfect start in the third quarter, flushing two long-range set-shot goals to give the Dogs a 31-point lead.
But the Blues flicked a switch midway through the third term. A goal to Corey Durdin was followed by a second major to Owies and a long-range special from George Hewett as the Blues got within 11 points.
“They’re energised here,” Brown said of the Blues.
And when Charlie Curnow pounced on a loose ball and dribbled through a goal, the Blues were within eight points at the final change.
That lead was reduced to one point early in the fourth term when Owies flushed a set-shot to kick his third and bring Carlton fans to life, before Sam Walsh put the Blues in front for the first time.
It was like a different game from there as the goals flowed. A tough Tom Liberatore goal was followed by an awesome set-shot from Curnow.
Arty Jones then pulled off a textbook small forward goal before Bailey Smith added another on the run to give the Dogs some breathing space via an eight-point lead.
And when Jamarra Ugle-Hagan added another, the Bulldogs had kicked three goals from three inside 50s. They’d only kicked one goal from their previous 22 entries.
Scott then kicked his third to seal a wild 20-point win for the Dogs.
THE 3-2-1 …
3. DOGS ‘FIND EFFICIENCY FROM SOMEWHERE’ TO SEAL WILD WIN
The Blues had flipped the script in the fourth quarter and surged to a shock lead.
After the Blues’ midfield and forward line struggled to connect in the first half, it was the Bulldogs who had issues in this area and couldn’t put the score on the board.
Rory Lobb kicked the opening two goals of the third quarter before the Blues kicked six unanswered majors.
The Bulldogs went through a patch in the second half where they only managed one goal from 22 entries. After leading by 31 points, a Bulldogs loss seemed very real.
But the Dogs showed incredible grit and determination in the final quarter. They were able to settle late and find some connection moving forward, scoring three goals from three inside 50s.
“They’ve found the efficiency from somewhere. Winning contest out of the middle and then some smart use from some young players,” Buckley said on Fox Footy.
The Bulldogs kicked five final-quarter goals, including the last four of the game, to secure the victory.
“They found some consistency and some balance in their side and have been able to milk that,” Buckley said
“That’s really what we saw tonight in the end was a side efficient for longer than their opposition.”
2. SHREWD MOVES THAT SPARKED ‘ENERGISED’ BLUES’ SURGE
The difference between Carlton in the first and second halves on Saturday night was stark.
Carlton went inside 50 on 29 occasions in the opening half, yet only scored one goal.
Errant kicking and poor decision-making going forward continued to dog the Blues, who went at just 58 per cent by foot in the first half.
“They’re not connecting at all in the front half,” Magpies great Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy.
“To only score five times – and for only one of those to be a goal – that’s a really poor return when contested ball and clearance and their general ball use has actually worked OK to go in 29 times.”
Blues coach Michael Voss knew something had to change at half-time.
“In some ways we should be in front,” Voss told Fox Footy ahead of the third term.
“Like a lot of the process we’re running, we’ve had some good ball moment and some good flow. But when you get opportunities, you’ve got to be able to maximise and at the moment we’re not finishing off our work.”
Voss acted on his words at half-time.
The Blues also made a distinctive style change. After having 46 handball receives in the first half, the Blues had 41 alone in the third quarter.
Voss also moved his Coleman Medallist forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay higher up the ground, leaving small forwards Matt Owies and Corey Durdin close to goal. The move proved fruitful as the Blues kicked four third-quarter goals then the first two of the fourth term hit the front.
On top of that, the Blues also had seven different players take marks inside 50 in the third term.
“Full credit to Michael Voss. He said to us ‘we need to change something with the way we’re bringing the ball inside 50’, so I think they went back to handball,” Fox Footy’s David King said.
“They wanted to energise the ball, get it going at speed, and use the corridor. They turned the ball over by foot and looked a bit hesitant coming out of the backline. But once they started to run, everything fell into place.
“Full credit to Michael Voss for mixing it up a bit in the forward half and asking something different of his talls … I think he’s done a great job.”
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown said Carlton’s decision to “roll the dice” brought its best runners into the game.
“Who would’ve thought the two spearheads for Carlton would be Durdin and Owies in the second half,” Brown said. “I’ve loved how they’ve changed up the forward line.
“They’ve just had more run and energy, Carlton, in this second half and been prepared to make the most of these broken plays. They’ve flicked the ball on by hand really well and been able to execute going inside 50 much better.”
Ultimately the Blues left too little too late. Imagine if they’d brought the same energy in the first half as they did in the second.
1. ‘HARD TO WATCH’: BLUES URGED TO ‘PUT SNAPS AWAY’ AFTER HORROR MISSES
Accuracy in front of the goal. It’s the metric and statistic that matters most at the end of the day.
And inaccuracy haunted Carlton in the first half on Saturday night, with three shanked shots leaving fans gobsmacked.
The Blues had an extra 11 inside 50s in the first half. But when they did have opportunities to have a set shot inside 50, their choice of kick and execution let them down on all but one occasion.
Harry McKay’s kicking woes in front of goal continued again, shanking a round-the-corner kick from 40m out directly in front.
“He’s just horribly out of confidence in front of the big sticks. He just doesn’t know what his routine is,” former Brisbane Lions spearhead Jonathan Brown said on Fox Footy.
“He works hard throughout the week, but it’s just not happening for him.”
And it seemed McKay’s indecision to snap around the corner from a gettable position was contagious among his Carlton teammates. Jesse Motlop and Patrick Cripps both opted to kick snaps from set-shots, both kicks didn’t even register a score.
Then Sam Walsh also had an opportunity to hit the scoreboard but sprayed it out of bounds on the fool.
“It’s hard to watch for everyone. The snaps around the corner, they need to put them away,” Brown added.
The Bulldogs, though, also failed to make the most of their opportunities in the first quarter.
Aaron Naughton hit the post twice in the opening quarter, squandering opportunities to put an extra gap in the game when the Bulldogs dominance should have been further reflected.
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