Australian Football

Match Report

GWS's stocks continue to rise and Carlton's season has plunged deeper into the mire after the Giants thrashed the Blues by 78 points at Docklands Stadium in Saturday's twilight game. The Giants won all four quarters and recorded their highest-ever score (135) and biggest-ever win, condemning the hapless Carlton to the bottom rung of the AFL ladder. 

The early signs for Carlton weren't all bad. After the Giants' in-form forward Jeremy Cameron kicked the first goal of the match, Troy Menzel and Andrejs Everitt scored majors to give the Blues a three-point lead as the first term entered time on. But the Giants took control in the last 10 minutes of the quarter, and goals to Adam Treloar, James Stewart and Will Hoskin-Elliott saw them take a comfortable 16-point lead into the first change.

Ex-Demon Tom Scully hammered home GWS's advantage early in the second quarter, with goals at the one and six-minute marks, before Chris Judd and Cameron Wood kicked consecutive goals for the Blues, reducing the difference to 17 points and keeping them in touch. But as they had done in the first quarter, the Giants controlled the time-on period of the second term, goals to Stephen Coniglio and Stewart extended their lead t0 33 points at the half.

Any thoughts of a Carlton comeback in the second half were extinguished almost as soon as it began. Cam McCarthy kicked two goals in the first four minutes and when Adam Treloar added another a minute later, GWS led by 51 points and the question was in longer one of which side would win, but by what margin the Giants would win. Cameron joined in the fun, kicking the next three for the Giants, although Blue Levi Casboult managed one in that period, and then Toby Greene and Treloar added further majors before a last-minute goal from Zac Tuohy cut the margin to 61 points at 'orange time'.

Menzel managed a goal for the Blues in the first two minutes of the final term but the Giants dominated the last 27 minutes of the match, restricting Carlton to just a single behind. With straight kicking, GWS could have won by close to 100 points but wayward kicking for goal saw it finish the quarter with 3.6, goals to Cameron, Joel Patfull and Zac Williams taking the final margin out to 78 points to complete a record-breaking day for the Giants and a dark day for the Blues.

Coniglio (32 possessions, one goal) was outstanding for the Giants, was were Treloar (31 disposals, three goals) and Dylan Shiel (30 touches and four tackles), while the Blues' best included Judd (26 disposals, two goals), Everitt (11 marks, 19 possessions) and Tuohy (18 touches and a goal).

Fifth on the ladder with an impressive 5-2 record, the Giants will host fourth-placed Adelaide at the Sydney Showground next Saturday, while Carlton will look to get its season back on track with a win over Geelong at Docklands on Friday night.

GOALS
Carlton: Judd, Menzel 2; Everitt, Wood, Yarran, Casboult, Bell
GWS: Cameron 5; Treloar 3; Scully, Stewart, McCarthy 2; Hoskin-Elliott, Coniglio, Greene, Patfull, Williams

BEST - SMH.COM.AU
Carlton: Judd, Everitt, Tuohy, Curnow
GWS: Coniglio, Treloar, Mumford, Cameron, Shiel, Greene, Shaw

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Carlton: Judd, Tuohy, Curnow, Rowe, Everitt, Murphy
GWS: Coniglio, Shiel, Treloar, Cameron, Mumford, Bugg

INJURIES 
Carlton: Patrick Cripps (tight calf) replaced in selected side by David Ellard, Marc Murphy (nose),
GWS: Ryan Griffen (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: David Ellard replaced Matthew Watson in the third quarter
GWS: Zac Williams replaced Ryan Griffen in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Hosking, McInerney, Mitchell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Jason Dunstall, David King, Barry Hall