Blues crush Dockers, catapult back into AFL finals mix

Justin Chadwick | July 10, 2023

Carlton coach Michael Voss has praised his team’s ability to bounce back from adversity after they posted a crushing 53-point win over Fremantle at Optus Stadium.

The Blues dominated Sunday’s match from the outset, booting eight consecutive goals either side of half-time to run away with the 14.14 (98) to 6.9 (45) win in front of 49,469 fans.

Carlton spearheads Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow booted three goals apiece, while Sam Walsh tallied 23 disposals in the first half alone before finishing with 32 possessions.

Blues captain Patrick Cripps was dominant with 29 disposals and a game-high 10 clearances. 

Former Dockers duo Adam Cerra (27 disposals, six clearances, one goal) and Blake Acres (23 disposals, four clearances) both played important roles to rub further salt into the wound for Fremantle. 

The win lifted Carlton from 15th to 11th on the ladder, with the Blues now just one win adrift of eighth spot ahead of a big challenge against Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.

Carlton’s season was on the scrapheap last month on the back of a six-match losing run, but big wins over Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Fremantle over the past three weeks have reignited the Blues’ finals bid.

“I believe the players need to take some credit for the way that the leaders have gone after that period of time,” Voss said of the mid-season charge up the table.

“No one stepped away from their responsibilities. We absolutely owned where we were at.

“We had to accept where we were at first before we could make any change and the leaders have really driven that.

“When you’re getting challenged and nobody sees it, you can still grow. And then all of a sudden when you start seeing the light, you can actually see what it looks like.

“We’ve been able to turn a lot of that around. But we also know we have a lot of work ahead of us.

“We’re not taking anything for granted now. We’re living in the present and taking it all in and enjoying these experiences.”

Sunday’s win came at a cost, with Matthew Kennedy carried off by two trainers in the third quarter after injuring his right knee in a tackle.

“We’ll get that scanned. Not sure the significance of it yet,” Voss said.

Defender Mitch McGovern suffered a game-ending cork to his left thigh just before three-quarter time after a collision in a marking contest. 

Fremantle have lost four of their past five games to slip to 14th on the ladder with a 7-9 record.

The Dockers won the hitouts 21-4 in the opening term, but it was the only statistic they were able to dominate as Carlton took control of the match to race out to a 27-3 lead by quarter time.

The third quarter was particularly brutal as the Blues slammed through six goals to nil to extend the margin to 64 points. 

Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy tallied 58 hitouts against Carlton’s second-string ruck duo.

In all, the Dockers won the hitouts 70-18.

But Carlton feasted at ground level, winning the clearances 42-35, which helped them dominate the inside 50m count 60-42.

The Blues also won the contested possession battle 156-135, showcasing their hunger for the ball. 

“We got beaten up in the contest, and that was probably mainly our mids,” Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said. 

“And then we just couldn’t win contests ahead of the play.”