By Bruno Visentini
Carlton have taken home a big win in their Round 16 match against the Lions at Piranha Park. Coburg didn’t go down without a fight though, a valiant eight-goal final quarter saw the Lions claw the final margin to a more respectable 52 points.
The first quarter began and Carlton were right out of the blocks early getting their hands all over the footy but opened their account with two behinds. Ben Crocker kicked the first major for the Blues after a contested mark in the goal square and his fellow ex-AFL compatriot doubled it with his goal missing narrowly avoiding behind touched on the line.
Carlton’s lead pushed out to 15 points before Aaron Clarke kicked Coburg’s first, letting his kick sail with 4 defenders in his vicinity off the back of some slick play from his teammates to trim the lead to 9 points. The Lions could only stave off Carlton’s quick footy for so long when after holding them to two more behinds, the Blues broke through with goals to Josh Honey and Ned Cahill.
Late in the quarter Coburg almost found another chance to score when the ball was thrust inside the forward 50 but the siren unluckily rang before the ball could be marked, ending the first term with Coburg trailing by 23 points, 1.1 (7) to 4.6 (30).
The second quarter was one to forget for the Lions as Carlton simply had their way, holding Coburg scoreless and inflicting major damage of their own on the scoreboard. Liam McMahon and Jaxon Binns each kicked their first of the day and Ned Cahill kicked two consecutive goals as time on approached. A smattering of behinds as well as a goal to Hudson O’Keeffe had Carlton up by 57 late in the quarter.
In a similar fashion to the first quarter, the second ended with the siren cutting off a chance Coburg to kick a late goal with a vacant forward 50 ahead of the ball when a thumping kick was launched at half back off a courageous smother that stopped Jesse Motlop from hitting the scoreboard late.
Carlton’s return for the second half was 34 points, 5 goals and 4 behinds. More alarmingly for the Lions though, Carlton went on a 48-0 run following Aaron Clarke’s first quarter goal. The stats sheet read similarly bleakly for the half with the Blues doubling Coburg’s inside 50s 32 to 16, and almost doubling the total clearances 19 to 11. It was clear that a significant lift would be needed in the second half to avoid a triple digit margin by the end of the game.
The third term got underway, and things began to get more worrying when Liam McMahon kicked his second goal of the game for the Blues, but Josh D’Intinosante stepped up with a set shot soon after to break the goal drought for Coburg. McMahon would step up to kick his third in return, but Kyle Weightman made his impact on the scoreboard kicking a beautiful goal after intercepting a Carlton turnover.
Carlton weren’t done however, they found themselves kicking two more goals before three quarter time, their consistently fast footy made them prone to error at times, but when it worked for them they were able to catch Coburg outnumbered down back on many occasions.
At three quarter time Carlton led by 66 points, but the third term was a far more respectable showing, and it helped set up a massive final quarter. The margin reached a game-high 87 points after 11 minutes after Carlton kicked the first three goals of the term and it was beginning to look as if the final score could get ugly. The Lions certainly wouldn’t give up so easily though, Max Thompson atoned for his end to the third quarter when he kicked a goal shortly after the centre bounce, and a couple minutes later he would take a mark in the goal square to slot a second goal. Still not done for the day, Mitch Podhajski took a diving mark inside 50 and skilfully accounted for the wind to kick a stunning goal and Aaron Clarke got back on the scoreboard after evading Carlton’s defence and realising he was free enough to snap a ripper from 40 out.
The chain of four goals in a row almost snapped when Darcy Hogg took a snap at goal for Carlton but his kick was off and opened the door for Kyle Weightman to kick his second goal. Still not done, Weightman earned a 50 metre penalty to slot a third minutes later and Braedyn Gillard got himself on the scoreboard with his dribble kick to cap off an incredible chain of seven Coburg goals after the side had only chalked up three goals prior. Carlton’s 87-point lead was cut down to 46 points and even if it was too late for a Coburg comeback, the seven-goal chain was undoubtedly a positive to take from the game.
The goals continued on the other end of the ground for Carlton who ended Coburg’s run with two more goals of their own, but Aaron Clarke kicked the final goal of the game as consolation to end the match. With 13 goals between the two sides in the final term, the final siren rang after 36 minutes with Coburg falling 55 points short. The final scores were Coburg 11.5 (71) defeated by Carlton 18.15 (123).
The boys have a bye next week, but will return in Round 18 to host reigning premiers Casey at Piranha Park on Saturday the 22nd of July.
GOALKICKERS:
(3) A. Clarke, K. Weightman (2) M. Simpson, (1) J. D’Intinosante, B. Gillard, M. Podhajski
FINAL SCORE:
Coburg: 1.1 (7) | 1.1 (7) | 3.4 (22) | 11.5 (71)
Carlton: 4.6 (30) | 9.10 (64) | 13.10 (88) | 18.15 (123)
