The Suns were Charlie’d
For two quarters of Carlton’s win, Charlie Curnow was well beaten, firstly by Charlie Ballard in the first quarter, and then by Sam Collins in the third quarter. However, when he got off the chain for periods in the second and last quarters, he singlehandedly beat the Suns.
Some AFL players are good, some are great, and a select few, like Charlie Curnow, are in a league of their own. On a day when a lot of Blues players looked to be enjoying the Queensland sunshine, Charlie stepped up, kicked goals, delivered goals to others, and in a McKenzie Arnold-like performance in the last few minutes, saved goals.
This was one of the weirdest games of football I’ve ever witnessed.
So, what occurred at Metricon Stadium today?
The First Quarter – the very Best of the Suns
When the Suns connect as a cohesive, switched-on team, they play a style of football that can be described as ‘beautiful football’. In the first quarter, the whole team was ‘on’, and as such they dominated Carlton who were all but beaten by quarter-time.
The AFL’s most improved player in the last five weeks, Sam Flanders, cut the Blues midfield to pieces in the first quarter. Flanders, ably assisted by Touk Miller and Matt Rowell, delivered the ball with precision into a forward line who were tearing the much-vaulted Blues defence apart. The form of Sam Flanders since the departure of Stuart Dew has been a real revelation.
The Suns forward line looked vulnerable before the match without Ben King playing, but Alex Sexton and David Swallow both stepped up and bagged two first-quarter goals each to set up the early ascendency for the Suns. Also impressive in the opening stanza was the recalled Mabior Chol who hasn’t played a senior game since Round Nine. Chol showed semblances of the form he had last year as he controlled the ruck and marked everything. Mac Andrew also had a stellar first quarter in defence.
The only fault that could be labelled at the Suns at quarter time was they should have led by more as they missed some easy shots at goal.
The Second Quarter – the very Worst of the Suns
If the first quarter saw the best of the Suns, it became obvious 10 minutes into the second quarter as to why they go through so many coaches, as with no rhyme or reason they just started to suck – they truly sucked. The Suns sure ball movement of the first quarter suddenly just disappeared and within a blink of an eyelid, Carlton banged on six goals.
Charlie Curnow mesmerised the Suns defenders with four goals in a devastating display. While Curnow cut a swath through the Suns, Carlton’s underrated mosquito fleet of Jesse Motlop, Matthew Owies, and former Sun Jack Martin, came to life and helped Charlie to bring the margin back to two points at half-time.
The Suns’ cause was not helped by a complete brain fade by Jack Lukosius late in the quarter who gave away a bizarre 100-metre penalty to gift the Blues a goal. In short, Lukosius didn’t return the ball properly to Blake Acres after he was awarded a free kick and he received a 50-metre penalty, which was doubled when Lukosius ran past Nic Newman and upended him with a senseless forearm, with the final result being a Jack Martin goal. Momentum – Carlton.
Lukosius’ lack of discipline was symbolic of the entire Suns team for the last 20-minutes of the second quarter as all the good work of the first quarter unravelled. Yes, Nic Newman and Jacob Weitering started to get on top in defence, and yes, Carlton was applying more pressure through the midfield, but it was the silly and at times selfish, ill-disciplined mistakes of the Suns that allowed Carlton right back into the match by half time.
At halftime it honestly looked like the Blues would run away with this match in the second half.
The Third Quarter – the Wayward Blues and the Stoic Suns
When Jesse Motlop goaled and put Carlton in front for the first time in the match at the start of the third quarter it looked like how far the Blues, but the Suns suddenly found a way to play dour, stoic football, and applied enough defensive pressure to keep themselves in the game.
The Blues dominated possession and play in the third quarter, but the Suns defence held up well, not allowing the Carlton forwards a clear passage to goal and forcing them to snap from about 40-metres out under pressure. It was dour and ugly football by the Suns, but it was disciplined, and it kept them in the match.
After Motlop’s early goal, the Blues could only manage seven points for the rest of the quarter and when David Swallow goaled late in the term, against the flow of the game, the Suns found themselves in front again at three-quarter time by a point.
The Fourth Quarter – Weird
After Touk Miller slotted a goal and David Swallow kicked his fourth goal for the day early in the last quarter, it looked like momentum and luck had swung back in the Suns’ favour and they were going to hold on for a courageous win. Even after Jesse Motlop goaled for the Blues, the Suns showed poise and steadied with a good team goal to Mabior Chol in response, but there were still ten minutes left to play.
Enter Charlie Curnow.
In the second quarter Charlie Curnow kicked the goals to keep the Blues in touch, and in the last quarter, he had the touches to make sure Carlton won the match.
Carlton was missing the drive and class of Patrick Cripps all day, who was having a match he’d probably prefer to forget, but in his absence a host of players stepped up and filled the void. Nic Newman, Paddy Dow, George Hewett, Caleb Marchbank, Zac Fisher, Brodie Kemp and Blake Acres all performed at near their best and helped Sam Docherty and Jacob Weitering keep Carlton in the match. Up forward, Jesse Motlop, Jack Martin and Matthew Owies looked lively all day, but when the game needed to won in the last quarter it was Charlie Curnow who owned the moments.
After Charlie kicked his fifth goal of the match to bring the Blues back within one point midway through the last quarter he roamed up the ground and provided a target upfield for the Blues. With five minutes left to play, Curnow took a mark on the wing and without hesitation swung around and delivered the ball 60-metres with pinpoint accuracy to Harry McKay’s chest, who ran into an open goal and put the Blues in front.
A goal a couple of minutes later to Matthew Owies at the 25-minute mark and it looked like the Blues were home, but this match had another twist or two to play out. At the 27-minute mark, Brandon Ellis kicked a goal to bring the score back under a goal and the Suns were well and truly back in the match.
In the helter-skelter of the last few minutes, Carlton threw every player they had back, including Charlie Curnow. The Suns had the chance to steal back the lead when Noah Anderson took possession, balanced himself and missed a set shot at goal from 40-metres on a slight angle.
With a few seconds left on the clock, the Suns had one last thrust forward when the Blues couldn’t kill the ball from the kick-in. Every Carlton defender seemed to be out of position as the ball headed towards the goal square, except for Charlie Curnow, who held his ground and took the match-winning mark.
It was an entertainingly weird win by Carlton.
Carlton’s Mosquito Fleet
I look forward to seeing how well Carlton’s small brigade perform on the big stage under finals pressure. Motlop, Martin, Owies, Holland, Cottrell and company have impressed since the bye, and they all have the uncanny knack of scoring a goal or two for the Blues when it is most needed.
Harry’s Back
Harry McKay did not set the world on fire today at Metricon, but after an absence he showed enough today to suggest he will make a big difference to the Blues come September. There is a chemistry between him and Charlie and when it clicks, like it did in the last quarter, it is irrepressible.
The next question for the Blues hierarchy will be how to balance the number of the big men in the team now Harry is back. Do they go with one or both of De Koning and Pittonet? It is an interesting question, especially if they decide to bring Silvagni back as the alternative big man. They have the luxury of options.
Were the Suns Players Auditioning for Dimma?
In short – a lot of them were, and some of them won’t make the cut. The Suns need to learn to play as a team, not only when things are going good, but also when things go pear shape during the course of a match. In the second quarter today when Carlton applied a bit of pressure many Suns players looked like they were playing for their own future and the team structure fell completely away. It was interesting to note many of the players seemed to be arguing with each other as they went into halftime tunnel.
Good luck Dimma….
