It was the Blues’ season in a microcosm.
Out on their feet and looking spent, the Dees peppered the goals in the last quarter – posters to Gawn and Pickett leaving the door ajar. The Blues hung in there. As the Demons tried and failed, Carlton rolled the dice one last time and a mark to Sam Docherty, with Judd McVee unable to spoil, set up the long ball inside fifty, the Blake Acres mark, and the rushed kick to put Carlton up by a point and into the Preliminary Final.
Make no mistake, the Dees will be ruing their missed opportunities, but you have to give the Blues a heap of credit – they had their dual Coleman Medallist well and truly beaten, effectively cutting off their best avenue to goal. They also had their other Coleman Medallist on the sidelines, recovering from concussion.
But they found a way.
It’s what good teams do, isn’t it; they find a way?
The game was stacked with heroes – Sam Walsh, Steven May, Jack Viney, Nic Newman, hell… Marc Pittonet, Patrick Cripps, Jacob Weitering and Ollie Hollands in the dying moments. And of course, Kysaiah Pickett doing his Dan Brown impersonation and telling the story of Angels and Demons.
So much to get through. Let’s jump into our Big Statements.
Oh, what the hell? A Mongrel paywall? Yep, I believe my work is worth twenty cents per day. If you don’t, that’s fine, but these big reviews are now for members and will go into our Premiers e-book… assuming Carlton wins it, right? You’re welcome to join/rejoin to read immediately
