R22 – Carlton v Gold Coast Mongrel Review
Coming into this game, both sides had something to play for. For Carlton, the club had made an emphatic statement during the week, with the board and incoming CEO, Graeme Wright, throwing their support behind the club’s beleaguered coach, Michael Voss. With Voss receiving the backing of the board, it was now up to see what the Carlton players served up.
For the Suns, who are on the verge of their maiden finals appearance, a win was not only imperative to keeping them inside the top six, but with Brisbane and Collingwood suffering shock losses, it also meant keeping their chance to make the top four open. With a game in hand, they are now a real threat of making that a reality.
Both teams had early chances, but struggled to move the ball into their forwards. Finally, the Suns broke the deadlock through key forward Ben King. The lead didn’t last too long, as Carlton found Harry McKay standing behind Mac Andrews to kick Carlton’s first goal of the game. Both sides missed shots at goal before Francis Evans gave the Blues a six-point lead.
Evans then kicked his second goal to extend the Blues’ lead to 11 points. After a scrappy period of play, Jarrod Witts snapped Gold Coast’s second goal of the game. Witts volleyed the ball from mid-air following a stoppage in the Sun’s forward line in an effort that would have surprised even the big fella, himself. Ben Long then put the Suns back in the lead after snapping truly from about 35 metres out from goal.
Ben King then kicked goals number two and three to end the first quarter and put the Suns up by 15 points. King’s second goal came after the key forward took an absolute hanger on Blues defender Lewis Young. With seconds remaining in the term, Harry McKay appeared to take a mark close to goal, only for the mark to be overturned for a free kick to Suns key defender Sam Collins.
The ball travelled from end-to-end with both sides again struggling to make that final connecting kick. Harry McKay had the first shot at goal for the term, but the wayward forward shanked his shot to the point where the kick didn’t even make it to the goal line from roughly 35 metres out. Unfortunately for McKay and the Blues, it was Gold Coast and Ben Ainsworth who converted his uncontested mark into the first goal of the quarter.
The two sides then exchanged goals until the end of the half, with Lachie Fogarty, Ben Long, Hudson O’Keeffe, and Ben King all kicking goals. Heading into the halftime break, the Suns had extended their lead to 24 points.
Within the first minute of the second half, the Suns pushed their lead out to five goals through Brayden Fiorini. The Blues, who have struggled in third quarters so far this season, continued to get exposed with Ben King, Ben Long, and Brayden Fiorini kicking goals number five, three, and two, respectively. Frankie Evans then got Carlton’s first goal of the second half to break the Suns’ run of five goals with his third goal of the game.
Heading into the final quarter, the Suns had an almost unassailable seven-goal lead. However, given the recent heroics of St. Kilda and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milara, these leads are no longer safe, and the Blues began to make their march at the start of the fourth quarter.
Through sheer willpower, the Blues began to claw the margin back through goals to Harry McKay, Francis Evans, Jesse Motlop, and Ashton Moir, and saw the lead shrink to a manageable nine points with several minutes remaining in the game. During this run, Ashton Moir, Corey Durdin, Lachie Fogarty and Jesse Motlop also spurned gettable chances at goal, which could have seen the margin cut down even further, or even eliminated entirely.
Gold Coast were able to hold on to the lead as Ben King took a strong mark out the back, and kicked his sixth goal of the game from deep inside the pocket. This iced the result for the Gold Coast Suns as they ran out 19-point winners on the road.
Mark of the Year
With the Coleman medal essentially sown up for the year, with Jeremy Cameron now sitting 22 goals ahead of Ben King, there are very few awards left out there to be won, especially for forwards. However, there is still Mark and Goal of the year, and Ben King certainly put forward a contender for this award with his hanger over Lewis Young in the first quarter before kicking his third goal of the game.
King, who kicked six goals for the game, has now drawn to just 19 goals behind Tom Lynch to become the Suns’ all-time leading goal scorer. At 51 goals, King is also just four goals behind his personal best of 55 goals in a single season, which he should pass before the end of the home and away season given that Gold Coast have three games remaining.
First Goal for Skull
There wasn’t too much for Carlton and their fans to celebrate during the game. Once again, the Blues failed to maintain their pressure for a full game, which cost them dearly. However, there was undoubtedly a positive moment during the game, and that was when Hudson O’Keeffe, nicknamed Skull, kicked the first goal of his career.
Hudson is a promising key forward and ruckman for the Blues, and could prove crucial to Carlton’s plans going forward, especially when Tom de Koning leaves to play for the Saints at the end of this year. Are we certain this is going to happen?
Well, when contracts are not signed at this stage of the season, it is very rarely a positive for the club the players resides at.
The Suns are going to be Finalists.
For the first time in the club’s history, the Gold Coast Suns are going to be a participant in the finals. Given their long struggles, this marks a huge milestone for the team, which has never finished higher than 12th on the ladder at the end of a home-and-away season. How far they can make it in their first final season remains to be seen.
A lot of the credit for this undoubtedly goes to their coach, Damien Hardwick. Hardwick joined the Suns in 2024 after winning multiple Premierships with the Tigers. Upon joining the Suns, Hardwick remarked that the club had roughly 80 per cent of their Premiership list in place. At the time, many laughed at the former Premiership coach’s remarks, given how far off the Gold Coast was. However, Hardwick has undoubtedly turned his side into a club not to be taken lightly.
Is there a bit of the Tigers of old in the modern Suns?
It’s hard to miss it, if you genuinely watch the Suns play. Their pressure on the ball carrier is reminiscent of the way Richmond attacked the contest around eight years ago, and they are also using that trap of lulling teams into using forward handball to close down quickly on them once they do.
It is going to take a highly-skilled and composed team to beat the Suns when they are on. They may end up being THE story of September.
An almost comeback
Since the Saints pulled off their miraculous win against Melbourne a few weeks ago, it almost feels like no target is as insurmountable as it felt previously. Certainly, most Gold Coast fans would have felt comfortable with their 45-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Those same Gold Coast fans would have felt more nervous as Carlton began to peg back the margin. Luckily for Gold Coast, and unluckily for the Blues, they couldn’t find a Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in their mix to kick the final two goals of the game, which could have flipped the result in Carlton’s favour.
Even though Carlton didn’t win, the comeback in the final quarter did make the game more exciting to watch, and it was good to see a bit of fight in the Blues, particularly in some of their kids.
The Long game
Here at The Mongrel, we bang on a bit about the influence of a good pressure forward, but there are pressure forwards, and then there is Ben Long.
Long can do things that other players his size can’t. The way he puts his body on the line sets an example that Damien Hardwick would love, but the best thing about this weapon of a player is the way he has managed to channel his aggression.
When he had a Carlton player canon into his back after he took a mark, at one stage, the old Ben Long would have been up for the fight.
Not this time.
With possession and a certain goal from the ensuing fifty-metre penalty in the offing, Long did not bother remonstrating. he just quickly went forward to kick his goal before anything flared up.
That is maturity, and it is a credit to Long, who still loves to make an opponent pay if they leave themselves open, that he now knows when to exert his physical authority, and when to hold back. He has fast become one of the most potent mid-size forwards in the game, and absolutely should be in the All-Australian squad when it is released. Whether he makes the team is likely a long shot (pardon the pun) but if the selectors value the physical nature in which he plays, he should really give it a shake this season.
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The run home
Carlton now has only two games remaining in their season, a home game against Port Adelaide before ending their season against arch-rivals Essendon at the MCG on a Thursday night. After coming up against finals contenders Fremantle and Gold Coast in tight encounters, Carlton should feel more comfortable against fellow struggling teams such as Port Adelaide and Essendon. It’s certainly not a set thing, but given the wounded nature of their opponents, it wouldn’t exactly be an upset if Carlton won either of these games.
Due to an issue back in round 0, Gold Coast still have three games left in their home and away season. Next round, Gold Coast will host the Giants in another crucial game, as both sides are desperate for wins in a tight top 8. While the Suns are more set in the finals, a loss to the Giants could cost them a shot at finishing in the top 4. The Suns will then take on Port Adelaide in Adelaide before playing the last game of the home and away season against the Bombers, roughly half a week later.
While Essendon has been mathematically eliminated from finals contention, the game will still be an important one for Gold Coast and other finals teams, as it could be the difference between the Suns finishing in the top 4 or finishing in the bottom half of the top 8.
