Australian Football

Match Report

It's been quite some time since Carlton and Collingwood were 'blockbuster' sides and, if Saturday night's match at the MCG between the two was any indication, it will be quite some time again before either reattains that status. In a scrappy and surprisingly low-scoring affair, given the fine conditions, the Magpies secured a 12-point victory over the Blues in a game that produced only 14 goals, winning 8.9 to 6.9. While Collingwood came away with the win, the Blues also had a positive come out of the match, the successful debut of Jack Silvagni, who looked very much at home on AFL level as he extended the family dynasty into a third generation, following on from grandfather Serge and dad Stephen. 

Returning from injury, Darcy Moore got the match underway with a mark in the forward pocket after a minute of play, but his shot at goal missed. Carlton was more successful at the other end of the ground with Silvagni marking and passing to Jed Lamb who kicked the first goal of the match and put the Blues ahead by five points. Brodie Grundy and Levi Greenwood added behinds for the Magpies before Moore kicked their first major to give them a three-point lead after 10 minutes. The two sides went goal for goal for the remainder of the term, Carlton kicking two through Simon White and Matthew Wright, while the Pies responded with majors to Scott Pendlebury and Greenwood to lead by two points at quarter time. 

The goals kept flowing on a fairly regular basis for the first half of the second quarter, Grundy and James Aish scoring majors for Collingwood and Bryce Gibbs for the Blues as the Magpies led by eight points midway through the quarter. Amazingly there would be no further goals for the first half and only five more for the entire match. Collingwood did not score ahead before half time and the Blues added three behinds to trail by five points at the long break. 

With goals very hard to come by, the Magpies set up what was to be a match-winning break in the first 15 minutes of the third quarter, with majors to Jarryd Blair and Grundy setting up a 17-point lead. Such a margin normally seems hardly insurmountable, but in the context of this match it was indeed mountainous. Neither side scored another major before the last break, Carlton adding a behind and Collingwood two, giving the Pies a three-goal three-quarter-time lead. 

Not only did goals dry up in the first half of the final term, the behinds did two, the first score not coming until 16 minutes, a major to Blair ending a goal drought that lasted more than a quarter. That put the Pies four goals clear. The Blues had the upper hand for the remainder of that match but squandered several opportunities near goal. They did kick the last two goals of the match, via Andrew Phillips and Gibbs but although this closed the final margin to just 12 points, there was never any feeling that Carlton would get up.

Skipper Pendlebury was predictably among Collingwood's best, gleaning 34 disposals and five marks, while veteran Kade Simpson's 28 touches and six marks made him one of the Blues' best contributors of the night.

The win leaves both sides with a 6-8 record, the two now three games and much percentage out of the eight. Only a miracle run of eight wins in a row would see either team sneak into the top eight, a highly unrealistic prospect based on their performances in this match. The Pies will face third-placed GWS away next Saturday, while the Blues will take on fifth-placed Adelaide at the MCG the following day. 

GOALS
Carlton: Gibbs 2; Lamb, White, Wright, Phillips
Collingwood: Grundy, Blair 2; Moore, Pendlebury, Greenwood, Aish

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Carlton: Simpson, Curnow, Gibbs, Cripps, Docherty, Phillips
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Grundy, Reid, Goldsack, Sidebottom, Moore

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Carlton: Simpson, Curnow, Wright, Lamb, Plowman
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Grundy, Reid, Howe, Sidebottom, Greenwood, Blair

INJURIES
Carlton: Weitering (ankle), Byrne (knee)
Collingwood: Nil

UMPIRES: Foot, Dalgleish, Pannell, Mitchell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling, Andrew Welsh