Well, this game certainly won’t do Michael Voss’ career any favours.
The embattled Carlton coach has taken them to their second embarrassing loss of the season after falling to a valiant and physically superior North Melbourne by two goals. Despite the significant class difference between the two teams, many experts predicted that North Melbourne would upset Carlton, given both teams entered the game with diametrically opposed form, despite their respective ladder positions and recent results.
Carlton came into the game having won their last two games since the bye, but neither of those victories were particularly convincing. After just getting over a young Essendon team, the Blues also managed to hold off West Coast last week. Particularly telling was the fact that Carlton won both of those games after dominating one quarter before running out of steam. North Melbourne has gone 1-1 since their bye, beating West Coast by 10 points before losing to Fremantle in Perth. And they were in a position to pinch that one, as well.
Unlike the last two weeks, the Blues failed to get off to their fast start in the first quarter, mainly due to inaccuracy. Only Mitch McGovern and Orazio Fantasia kicked goals for the Blues, despite the team having a collective eight scoring shots to four. North were also not exactly setting the world on fire with their kicking, with Paul Curtis kicking two behinds from gettable shots.
It was in the second quarter that North started its charge. The Roos kicked six goals in the quarter and held Carlton goalless. Jack Darling, Nick Larkey, Cam Zurhaar, Colby McKercher, and Paul Curtis all found their kicking boots, with most of the shots coming from within 30 meters of the goal, which is a huge concern.
Deep entries, as fun as they may sound, actually hurt.
Or so I’ve heard.
North continued their dominance in the second half with Carlton gifting the Roos a rare double goal, allowing the lead to stretch out even further. Orazio Fantasia and Mitch McGovern then kicked goals to remain Carlton’s only goal scorers for the game until Zac Williams broke the drought late in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, with the game effectively dead as a contest, the Blues finally kicked into the gear that they had wheeled out in the first quarter for the past two weeks. The Blues kicked 5.5, and held the Roos goalless for the entire quarter to bring the final margin to a more respectable 11 points, even though the lead had hovered around six goals for the majority of the game.
Two things were clear, here. North had absolutely taken the foot off the pedal and were playing very conservative football, and the Blues were attempting to do the impossible.
And they call it the impossible for a very good reason.
Big names in Navy Blue fail to shine
In a dour game, the biggest problem for Carlton is the form of Brownlow Medal-winning skipper Patrick Cripps and former two-time Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow. While Cripps was held to 24 touches, he also went at 58% efficiency, which has been one of his biggest problems for the Blues this season.
Curnow, who is Carlton’s last remaining pure key forward following injuries to Harry McKay, Hudson O’Keeffe, and Brodie Kemp, was held goalless in the game. This is partially because Carlton chose to play Curnow as a high half forward and leave either Pittonet or De Koning at full forward when they weren’t in the ruck, but you simply cannot discount the work of Toby Pink, who had the Blues seeing red… and it wasn’t just flashes of his immaculate hair that did that. Pink was all over Charlie, and made him earn every touch. Remarkably, this was only Curnow’s second goalless game for the season, with his first coming against the Hawks in Round Two.
Tristan Xerri is a gun
Not enough is said about the work effort of North’s burgeoning ruckman, Tristan Xerri. He battled valiantly all day against a ruck combination of Tom De Koning and Marc Pittonet, winning 28 taps to lead all ruckmen on the day. Xerri also won multiple free kicks from the ruck contest, allowing the Roos to win the clearance and even kicked a goal during the Roos’ run of goals in the middle of the game.
Since taking the number one spot from Todd Goldstein, Xerri has been one of North’s most consistent players and has been one of the few highlights in a rough few seasons for the Kangaroos.
Many believed the ruck duel was about even, but when you factor in the Blues were effectively double-teaming Xerri, whilst resting their big blokes forward, that would have to involve goals from the resting rucks.
It didn’t happen.
Instead, it was Xerri hitting the scoreboard as he continues to make a strong case for a maiden All-Australian blazer.
More injury worries for the Blues
Blues fans would have had their heart in their mouths when they saw stalwart defender Jacob Weitering go down in the first quarter. Replays showed that Weitering suffered a rolled ankle and was assisted from the ground by medical staff. Weitering resolutely returned to the ground and played out the game, but he wasn’t the only Blue to seek medical attention.
Young star Ollie Hollands also appeared to hurt his shoulder during the second quarter, but he also returned to the game. North’s Charlie Comben also had to seek medical attention during the game. Comben had issues with his shoulder, which he had injured a few weeks earlier in North’s win against West Coast, and continually put himself in harm’s way in this game, taking a couple of hits that obviously caused him a heap of pain. It was a gutsy effort from him to get out on the park in the first place, but to play a vital role in the win exemplified the type of heart this team is now developing.
The Pressure!
One thing that became apparent from the start of the second quarter – North were bringing the heat.
The number of times a Carlton player seemed to attempt a handball or a kick, only to see it smothered or deflected by a desperate, charging, North Melbourne player, was astounding. It is these types of actions that sow the seeds of doubt in a team, and suddenly, implied pressure becomes real pressure.
As Carlton looked for options, North closed down the space and made them pay.
The best example of this came when 121 year old, Jack Darling, in his second lease on AFL life, ran down a hesitant Adam Cerra at half forward. Cerra looked like he was out for a Saturday stroll as he surveyed options inside 50, but Darling was having none of it. He charged at Cerra and won a holding the ball free kick that resulted in another North foray forward.
When you see your veterans applying themselves like that, the younger brigade is implored to follow. North have had other wins this season. I loved what they did against the Dees earlier in the year, but this was a win built on pressure and determination, and when you get those aspects right, good things follow.
Haynes continues to rise
Early in his tenure at the Blues, many Carlton fans were wondering why the team had brought in Nick Haynes from the Giants. The veteran defender looked confused, missed targets, dropped marks, and seemingly got in the way of his teammates. However, week after week, Haynes has regained some of the form that made him one of the key defenders at the Giants before losing his place in the side.
Haynes was integral in defence and probably prevented the margin from being worse with his interception work. Haynes ended the game with 10 marks, second on the ground only to Sam Docherty, and the defender went by 100% efficiency for his disposals. Despite Carlton’s poor form as a team, Haynes remains one of the best recruits of the last season.
Veterans Recruits work for Roos
North has undoubtedly had access to numerous talented players via the draft in the last few seasons. Even though they lost Jason Horne-Francis to Port, the Roos have still picked up Harry Sheezel, Colby McKercher, George Wardlaw, and Finn O’Sullivan with draft picks in the top 10 positions.
The young guns have been helped by some of the veterans that the club has brought in, who have been useful additions. Caleb Daniels has helped steady a previously shaky North Melbourne defence, providing stability and a great exit kick from defence that the Roos sorely needed. Jack Darling has also been useful, largely playing as a foil while Nick Larkey finds his feet, but also occasionally helps out in the ruck when Xerri needs a break.
However, one of the Roos’ handiest veterans is former Swan Luke Parker. Parker, who found himself on the outer of a talented Swans midfield last season, is playing the mentor role for the likes of McKercher and Wardlaw in the middle to perfection.
The Fade?
North should have won this by ten goals. That they won is a great thing for the club, but that last quarter… a better team than Carlton would have rolled over them, given the game style North adopted.
However you want to phrase it, you don’t move away from what got you to the dance, and the pressuring, free-flowing Kangaroos tore Carlton apart through the second and third quarters. To see them retreat into their shells and play ultra-conservative footy. Just one early goal would have completely broken the Blues, but instead, Carlton were able to string snags together, and genuinely started to have some belief.
You need to step on that quickly, and though they will no doubt celebrate the win, there is still a bit to work on, as but for a couple of wayward shots at goal (The Blues did kick 5.5), we may have been sitting here lamenting the Kangas blowing a substantial lead, and it would not have been Carlton winning – this would have been North losing it.
The Month Ahead
Carlton already faced an uphill battle, even before their loss to North. The Blues face a trip to Adelaide, a city where they haven’t had much success of late, to face off against Port Adelaide. The Blues then return to Melbourne to face off against Collingwood at the MCG in Round 17. They remain in Melbourne for rounds 18 and 19, hosting the Lions and Melbourne at Marvel and the MCG, respectively.
North Melbourne, with their win over Carlton, have bypassed their total wins from last season, and currently sit two points behind St. Kilda and Melbourne. North faces a tougher challenge next week, heading down to Tasmania to take on the Hawks. The Roos then return to Melbourne to face off against the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne in rounds 17 and 18. North will round off the next month with a trip to Sydney to face off against the Swans.
Overall, this felt like a changing of the guard between these clubs. North are now moving with an upward trajectory, whilst, despite the talent the Blues possess, they are, at best, in a holding pattern. And at worst, they are one loss away from free fall.
