The final analysis
Like their capitulation against Richmond last week, it’s remarkable to consider that the Blues actually led this game at quarter time and looked half-decent. Thereafter they looked half-conscious. Their opponents ran loose, they failed to fight and too much was left to too few.
Here’s a statistical tale of the West Coast dominance: they won the clearances 47-29, stoppages 29-18, inside-50s 48-35, contested possessions 139-117, tackles 68-56 and the hit-outs in an eye-catching 59-27. Naitanui and Lycett had free reign all night and the other on-ballers did the rest funneling it down to Kennedy for his 10 goals. It’s going to be a long and dark season for the Blues, you’d think.
That’s it from us but thanks for joining us for another Guardian goal-by-goal live blog. Look out for more live action in the coming weeks.
The siren sounds - West Coast have won it by 69 points
West Coast 20.11 (131) defeat Carlton 9.8 (62)
Well, that one fell away badly for the Blues. Josh Kennedy, Mark LeCras and a host of less statistically emphatic contributors have put them to the sword. “It was easy for us,” says Josh Kennedy of the night he and the forwards had on account of West Coast’s midfield dominance. “It went well,” he says with typical understatement. Apparently he’s won himself a watch for his efforts.
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (3:24 remaining) West Coast 20.11 (131) vs Carlton 9.8 (62)
Cripps strolls inside 50 and kicks another. Does he even have an opponent? Does any Eagle player? I’m serious, I don’t think Carlton actually have 18 players out there at the moment. They can’t have. They’re currently the football version of an upended wheelie bin in a suburban street; no-one quite knows whose responsibility it is to clean up the mess.
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (5:14 remaining) West Coast 19.11 (125) vs Carlton 9.8 (62)
Now Jamie Cripps goals, running onto a loose ball in an acre of space with no Carlton player in particular looking to stop him. Mick Malthouse has just gone silent and still now. That’s a worry.
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (6:20 remaining) West Coast 18.11 (119) vs Carlton 9.8 (62)
Liam Duggan is on now, by the way. Basil Zempilas welcomes him onto the ground with an anecdote about one of his close friends dying, which seems a little unnecessary. Duggan starts with a minor score on the run, which is a little more uplifting. Another from that column is Mark Le Cras, who pounces again to goal on the run after strolling inside 50.
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (12:28 remaining) West Coast 17.10 (112) vs Carlton 9.7 (61)
It takes some doing, but I think Sharrod Wellingham has the worst hipster top-knot of the night. He almost gets a chance to shoot at goal after he and Le Cras gang tackle Tuohy but the umpire hands the kick to Le Cras. The latter nonchalantly pops it through.
Updated
Kennedy has 10 and there's a minor brawl
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (12:58 remaining) West Coast 16.10 (106) vs Carlton 9.7 (61)
Kennedy does it again, continuing the cricket them by taking a slips-catch mark close to the ground and then snapping his goal as a brawl erupts in front of him. A few ripped jumpers seems to be the only real damage.
Eagles goal! 4th quarter (13:22 remaining) West Coast 15.10 (100) vs Carlton 9.7 (61)
Carlton are now so focused on preventing Josh Kennedy from posting a cricket score that Mark Le Cras is able to skip free on a lead, marking and then smartly converting from a 45 degree angle around 40 metres out. That’s the ton for the Eagles, now that I mention it.
Casboult drops the footy like it's been in a microwave for six years
— Jordsby (@WlTTSJW) April 10, 2015
Blues goal! 4th quarter (16:26 remaining) West Coast 14.10 (94) vs Carlton 9.7 (61)
This game is a bit absurd now. Casboult marks again near the boundary and kicking at chance with a single-figure probability reading, accidentally nails it straight through the middle with the flukiest floater you’d ever see. Might he be a Stewie Loewe style late-bloomer on the kicking front? Blues fans will hope so given the way he can haul in pack marks. That goal was pure filth.
Blues goal! 4th quarter (17:40 remaining) West Coast 14.10 (94) vs Carlton 8.7 (55)
With no mercy ruling invoked during the final break, we still have a game on our hands and a few Carlton players are throwing themselves at it in a manner that would make you suggest they might be looking to secure their spots for next week.
Casboult will get picked no matter how many times he sprays it wide of goal and after one eye-catching miss (and a sledge from Will Schofield), he marks strongly overhead and finally wobbles one through. It’s a triumph of perseverance rather than technique. He’s given it everything tonight.
9 goals in 3 quarters of footy. Josh Kennedy having a night out #AFLEaglesBlues
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) April 10, 2015
Kennedy goals on the three-quarter time siren as the Eagles go on a rampage
Eagles goal! 3 West Coast 14.10 (94) vs Carlton 7.6 (48)
Kennedy has 9 goals now - 6 of them in this quarter. His last comes after the siren when the ball is nailed straight down his throat on the lead and he turns around to convert from 35 metres out, straight in front. This game needs a white sheet right now. It’s carnage. There’s no way back for the Blues now. They’re cooked.
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (1:41 remaining) West Coast 13.10 (88) vs Carlton 7.6 (48)
Surprise, surprise, the ball ends up in the hands of Kennedy again but after marking on the boundary, even the superhuman superfreak can’t slip it through from the tightest of angles. I think he’s just trying to show us that he is human after all. He’s currently leading Carlton on the scoreboard, mind.
Andrejs Everitt makes it an even less enjoyable spectacle for Carlton supporters when he misses a gilt-edged chance running in to goal and then Bell’s huge bomb from 60 metres out is touched on the line. West Coast promptly sweep it down the other end for Shuey to run in to an open goal. Of course they do. Bonus: Kennedy laid a shepherd, possibly the only statistical column he hadn’t yet fulfilled.
Kennedy loves a bag against an associate nation.
— Nick M (@mocknickford) April 10, 2015
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (6:17 remaining) West Coast 12.9 (81) vs Carlton 7.4 (46)
I can’t say I know what it’s like to play on a rampaging full forward, but if I was Michael Jamison I’d probably avoid hiving Josh Kennedy 5 metres of space as the ball drops 20 metres from goal. Kennedy makrs and goals for his 8th. He’s playing in a dream tonight. He’s got five in this quarter alone.
Can't Carlton and West Coast both lose
— Andrew Porter (@andrew_porter) April 10, 2015
Blues goal! 3rd quarter (7:23 remaining) West Coast 11.9 (75) vs Carlton 7.4 (46)
The Blues are a bedraggled bunch now but at least Levi Casboult is throwing his body around. He marks acrobatically close to goal but the acute angle is unkind to his always-stretched kicking abilities and he misses it in almost tragicomic style. Liam Jones his his partner in slapstick but he’s able to convert on his chance, sending a high, looping set shot through the middle from 35 metres out. There’s a consolation prize for any travelling fans.
My 57 year old mother can kick a football better than Levi Casboult. #AFLEaglesBlues
— Charlotte Corday (@C_Corday) April 10, 2015
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (10:18 remaining) West Coast 11.9 (75) vs Carlton 6.3 (39)
Kennedy simply cannot be stopped at the moment. There’s a terrible moment for Eagles fans when Simon Tunbridge looks to have done a calf or achilles injury, but the ball is soon centred to Kennedy at the top of the square and he slots his 7th. How many will he end up with? Double figures is a possibility at this rate. He’s kicked the last 6 goals of the game.
Not a lick of intensity or animation from a single Navy Blue. Just accepting it #AFLEaglesBlues
— Scott (@Scottlb_) April 10, 2015
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (12:18 remaining) West Coast 10.9 (69) vs Carlton 6.3 (39)
Kennedy is on fire now, running Jamison into space and leaping high to mark above his head on the lead. His bushy beard might give him an unrefined air but his shot at goal is clinical so now he has six. He’s scored every one of the Eagles’ last six, actually.
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (13:23 remaining) West Coast 9.9 (63) vs Carlton 6.3 (39)
West Coast get a little too cute here, chipping it around half back and eventually allowing Liam Jones to pounce with an interception. He moves it in to Bell and Casboult gets on the end of his side’s first forward entry in...drum roll... 21 minutes! His opponent Hurn was a little unlucky to slip right as the ball arrived but Casboult absolutely John Butchers the set shot, barely scoring with an agricultural punt out to the right. Wayne Carey is aghast at his ball drop and well he might be.
A little better is Lachie Henderson’s running checkside, which only marginally misses and would have been a real team-lifter. Instead the Eagles swing it back into attack in the leaping zone of Scott Lycett, who has never looked less than threatening tonight. Le Cras soon blazes away on his non-preferred right boot and misses. Moments later an eye-catching leap from Naitanui gives way to a smart piece of crumbing and snapping (crumbed Snapper?) from Kennedy, who squeezes through his fifth goal at close range with a few defenders looming.
Eagles goal! 3rd quarter (19:12 remaining) West Coast 8.8 (56) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
Oh dear. West Coast win it straight out of the middle again through Naitanui and onto the chest of Kennedy, who in trademark style stutters his way in for the set shot and puts through his fourth. This might get ugly.
So in the last 30 minutes of game time in each of the A-League and AFL: Newcastle Jets 1 - Carlton 0.
— Joel Peterson (@joelbpeterson) April 10, 2015
Some stats from that first half
The Blues have actually had it 21 more times than their opponents but in that second term they were chasing tail. Carlton were absolutely crunched in the midfield in the second quarter and the clearances (28-17), stoppages (20-12), inside-50s (22-15), contested possessions (75-63) and tackles (47-35) tell a tale of West Coast dominance.
Can the Blues come back from here? I think they might actually fall away even worse than last week and again they’ve been hurt by an early injury, this time to Simon White.
Individually, Matt Priddis has had 18 touches, Andrew Gaff 14 and Chris Masten 12 for the Eagles while Josh Kennedy put away 3 goals. For Carlton, Chris Judd has played a lone hand in the middle with 17 touches while Gibbs and Tuohy - both far less impactful - both had 15.
Half-time - West Coast lead by 13 points
West Coast 7.8 (50) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
The Eagles have really dominated the midfield battle in this second term, winning the clearances 13-5 and the inside-50s 13-6. Finally there’s a chance for the Blues to go forward through Murphy but he really makes a hash of that and the siren sounds to end the first half. Chris Judd is down on his haunches and sucking in air. It mightn’t hurt if he had a few more helpers in the middle, to be fair to him.
Eagles goal! 2nd quarter (1:32 remaining) West Coast 7.7 (49) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
Carlton’s defence is copping a battering right now and you get the feeling that the levy is about to break. Shannon Hurn might have lifted the roof off the grandstand with a bomb at goal from well outside 50 but misses the target. Naitanui also fails to execute a snap from 15 metres out on an acute angle, a more culpable miss.
The Blues just cannot work it past the centre of the ground at the moment. When the ball does head down there it’s because the Eagles are chipping it around and scheming their own way forward. Le Cras almost kicks a sensational banana-goal from 50 metres out but it hangs left to register a minor score.
Now it’s West Coast’s turn to spurn chances in increasingly comical style, one notable example when Cripps stabs at it from close range but sees Kade Simpson - surely the world’s shortest goalkeeper - spring across with a save that would have made Gordon Banks proud. Shuey fails in more textbook style from a set shot and the locals are starting to groan.
Finally Josh Kennedy breaks the tension, winning a free kick when he’s held by Jamison and putting it through from 20 metres out. Phew.
Eagles goal! 2nd quarter (9:34 remaining) West Coast 6.3 (39) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
The Eagles move it forward again and look a constant scoring threat now. Chris Masten misses a set shot after Bryce Gibbs had dragged the ball in under the pack but the Blues kick-out - by Chris Yarran - is shambolic, allowing an Eagle hand to punch the ball clear to Kennedy, who promptly slots a left foot snap. Might the Blues now fall away like they did against the Tigers? You really wouldn’t bet against it.
Eagles goal! 2nd quarter (12:20 remaining) West Coast 5.2 (32) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
One stat I missed when I said they were fairly even at the break: Naitanui and Lycett are giving Cameron Wood a bath in the ruck contests. It’s 21 hit-outs to 7 at the moment. Mis-directed ones or are the Eagles midfielders just useless? Bit of both I guess.
The quarter starts a little ominously for the Eagles when the Blues win it forward with ease but Everitt’s wild spray out on the full isn’t quite the finishing they’re after. Moments later Lachie Henderson marks strongly on the edge of the 50 and then either centres it to the goal square or falls short with his shot at goal, depending on how charitable you’re feeling.
Mick Malthouse is a very frustrated man right now; up out of his chair and raving his way around the coach’s box on account of his side’s failure to capitalize on their momentum. He’s probably throwing punches when the Eagles win it forward and Andrew Gaff - one of the shortest men on the field - marks strongly overhead within range. Alas, he misses badly so we’re not gifted the sight of Mick crashing through the glass in front of his desk.
Or are we? Gaff wins it outside 50 and puts it on the head of Lycett, who marks, dusts himself off and slots through a goal from point blank range. That’s wasteful from the Blues. They had all the running in the early stages of the term.
If the Eagles are to win this, they need to shut Simpson down. He is the key.
— Daniel Harford (@HarfSerious) April 10, 2015
@rustyjacko Woke up at 5am to watch the Eagles here in Mississippi. Might go back to bed. For the season.
— Peter Honey (@petehoney) April 10, 2015
Quarter Time - Carlton lead by 2 goals
1st quarter West Coast 4.1 (25) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
It looks like it was a knee injury that forced Simon White’s early departure for the Blues and that will have implications for their structure because he was filling a key defensive role on Le Cras. Smith’s not exactly a like-for-like replacement.
The Blues look to be heading forward one final time for the quarter but Carrazzo is run down from behind by Tunbridge, emerging like a shark to swallow him up in the tackle. Priddis pumps it inside 50 one last time for the Eagles but with no mark to finish off his work, the quarter ends with the ball in the pocket.
This one changed momentum on a number of occasions but the Blues have had the best of it so far. They lead by a pair of goals in a game that’s otherwise been a statistical stalemate. Chris Judd had 12 possessions in a blistering start and Matt Priddis 9 for the Eagles. Judd’s really winding back the clock tonight.
Blues goal! 1st quarter (02:20 remaining) West Coast 4.1 (25) vs Carlton 6.1 (37)
Liam Jones has barely fired a shot so far and after marking 25 metres out on a sharp angle, his set shot cannons into the post for a minor score. The Eagles make a real hash of a series of clearances but Judd and then Clem Smith fail to capitalise with the knock-out blow in front of goal. Marc Murphy has no such problems, gathering the ball wide in the pocket and though he’s hemmed in by a would-be tackler, nails the goal with an off-balance left foot banana. As you do.
Blues goal! 1st quarter (04:30 remaining) West Coast 4.1 (25) vs Carlton 5.0 (30)
Carlton are trying to slow this game down somewhat, which isn’t the worst idea given West Coast’s ascendancy. They chip it around in zig-zagging patterns across half back but eventually the Eagles’ pressure tells when a boundary throw-in is forced and from that a forward entry loaded with possibility. Shannon Hurn is bullocking into packs to try and make things happen but the Blues eventually clear to their half-forward region through yet more Judd brilliance, his 11th possession so far.
After a couple of failed attempt by the Blues and a West Coast turnover, Andrejs Everitt streams forward in space and nails an open goal on the run. Simon White has been subbed out, by the way. Clem Smith is on for the Blues.
Blues goal! 1st quarter (08:30 remaining) West Coast 4.1 (25) vs Carlton 4.0 (24)
Now the Blues strike back and it’s through the late inclusion Ellard, who with the strength of an Ox holds off a would-be tackler and nails a team-lifting major.
Eagles goal! 1st quarter (08:55 remaining) West Coast 4.1 (25) vs Carlton 3.0 (18)
The Blues go deep into attack through a Bryce Gibbs bomb but like so often last week, it’s to no-one in particular and allows West Coast to rebound quickly, so fast in fact that Kennedy is sharking the ball of the pack and handballing to Le Cras. The latter runs in to an emphatic open goal and the Eagles are on a roll.
Eagles goal! 1st quarter (10:28 remaining) West Coast 3.1 (19) vs Carlton 3.0 (18)
The Eagles are right back in this now and even get some help from Marc Murphy when the Blues skipper mistakes Luke Shuey’s head for the ball and nearly rips it off his shoulders. From the resultant free kick 35 metres out on a marginal angle, the sharp-shooting Shuey puts it through.
Eagles goal! 1st quarter (11:34 remaining) West Coast 2.1 (13) vs Carlton 3.0 (18)
The Eagles are under siege at the moment and not quite dealing with the hunger and momentum of the Blues, whose only limitation here is their wasteful disposal of the ball. Chris Judd is playing out of his skin.
Mark Le Cras gathers the ball inside fifty for the Eagles and dinks a funny little foot-pass in the direction of Scott Lycett but the latter snaps at goal rather artlessly for a minor score. After a few minutes with the ball in dispute, Josh Kennedy marks and goals from close range to get the Eagles back within five points.
Meanwhile, Brendan Brown arrives with our first (only just) printable email of the night: “Still distraught to learn today that in heaven Essendon get belted from one end of the MCG to the other and so I’ve concluded that being nice has been in vain. I therefore feel that I may as well enjoy being bad and so was tempted to fly to Perth and catch up with the Eagles players from 2006 and REALLY enjoy the game.”
Blues goal! 1st quarter (15:39 remaining) West Coast 1.0 (6) vs Carlton 3.0 (18)
Chris Judd is doing a power of work so far, taking his usual liking to his old home ground and racking up early touches. The Eagles win it forward briefly but after Docherty marks strongly and rebounds, the ball is swung down the other end for Sam Bell to run into an eye-catching goal on the run, one that he hoofed from about 55 metres out. Wayne Carey is immediately comparing him to Kouta. Settle down, Wayne.
Blues goal! 1st quarter (17:29 remaining) West Coast 1.0 (6) vs Carlton 2.0 (12)
It’s raining goals! Now Lachie Henderson gets in on the act, marking inside 50 and making no mistake with a calm and measured set shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle. He’s happy with that, letting off a kind of air-rainmaker in celebration.
Blues goal! 1st quarter (18:42 remaining) West Coast 1.0 (6) vs Carlton 1.0 (6)
Carlton strike back immediately through Zac Tuohy, whose long shot sails straight through the middle after Chris Yarran had won the ball forward. This is a frenetic start.
Eagles goal! 1st quarter (19:42 remaining) West Coast 1.0 (6) vs Carlton o.0 (0)
Well, well well. There’s a bit of mild biff before the bounce when Simon White and Mark Le Cras engage in some spirited jumper-punching. A few others join them but it’s soon broken up and Naitanui wins the opening hit out, storming forward through the centre and then blasting a 60 metres shot over the head of the forwards. It dribbles, it turns, it dribbles a little more and then rolls through for a goal! Advantage Naitanui! Advantage West Coast!
We’re moments from the first bounce and Carlton win the toss
Marc Murphy calls “poppy” to win it. Make of that what you will. The Blues are receiving an enthusiastic rev-up from Andrew Carrazzo. Let’s get into it.
Both teams are now out on the ground
Shannon Hurn leads out the Eagles, breaking through the banner in a style quite familiar to anyone who has ever watched a game of AFL football. Did I mention that Shannon Hurn is the Eagles captain? No?
But then it gets really interesting...
They started with a hovercraft on the MCG last week but the poor old Blues have tonight suffered the rare indignity of running out without a banner to break through. I don’t think that’s happened since Roger Merrett’s 200th game, when the Brisbane cheer squad couldn’t be arsed to travel down to Melbourne. What is going on? I can’t help but feel this is a a potentially fatal ego blow for Carlton. Farcical scenes at Subiaco. Bush League.
Hope springs eternal
Things are a little bleak around the Eagles Nest at the moment but there’s something to look forward to tonight in he debut of midfielder Liam Duggan. He went at Pick 11 in the last national draft and has found some stellar form in the WAFL.
Mind you, this video of him gives a whole new spin on “highlights”. Is this some kind of stitch-up? Or did the Eagles edit a clip of his clangers so that no-one else went for him? Either way, I found it amusing.
That Shane Parker photo update you were after
I really love that the Geelong social media manager is currently sinking a beer and tweeting stuff like this.
Something gold from the #CATacombs… Back in 1996 against Freo a great legend Gary Ablett Sr. kicked his 1000th goal! pic.twitter.com/DvHH53g00q
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) April 10, 2015
Some other items of interest tonight
Jeremy McGovern did an excellent defensive job on Tom Boyd last week and I get the feeling that for at least a part of the night he will stand Levi Casboult tonight, an intriguing duel between two rising stars.
The Blues won the hard ball last week but absolutely slaughtered it, making life difficult for their forwards while the Eagles midfielders were totally outdone by the young Dogs. That’s going to be the major battle tonight.
Right as I say that, Nic Natanui is being put off his pre-game warm-up by the Seven commentary team, fumbling his way through his preparations as he’s asked inane questions via an earpiece. Exactly how you’d want to prepare for a big game, I’m guessing.
“I said to the boys, there’ll be eight other sides who lost,” says a philosophical Mick Malthouse of his side’s loss to Richmond in Round 1. He’s talking to Matthew Richardson and he’s wearing a huge grin on his face; that grin of his that’s not actually a grin. “They were just good in that one quarter,” he says of the Tigers. Just the quarter, Mick? Okay.
Our teams tonight
There’s been a late change for the Blues with Patrick Cripps going out and David Ellard coming in, leapfrogging sub Clem Smith to take a place on the bench. If the named teams are anything to go by - and let’s face it they’re usually not - Ellard will be joined on the pine by Marc Murphy.
West Coast
Elliot Yeo, Jeremy McGovern, Jackson Nelson, Shannon Hurn (he is the captain, in case you were wondering), Will Schofield, Brad Sheppard, Andrew Gaff, Matt Priddis, Matt Rosa, Chris Masten, Josh Kennedy, Dom Sheed, Jamie Cripps, Scott Lycett, Patrick McGinnity, Nic Naitanui, Mark LeCras, Luke Shuey, Sharrod Wellingham, Simon Tunbridge, Jamie Bennell
SUB: Liam Duggan
Carlton
Sam Rowe, Michael Jamison, Sam Docherty, Andrejs Everitt, Chris Yarran, Zach Tuohy, Ed Curnow, Andrew Carrazzo, David Ellard, Bryce Gibbs, Troy Menzel, Tom Bell, Liam Jones, Lachie Henderson, Levi Casboult, Cameron Wood, Simon White, Chris Judd, Marc Murphy, Kade Simpson, Jason Tutt
SUB: Clem Smith
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to the AFL season’s second installment of Friday Night Football as Carlton travel to Perth to take on the Eagles.
To start with, a grovelling apology. In the preview to this match I erroneously claimed that injured Eric McKenzie had been replaced as West Coast captain by Shannon Hurn. This is utter hogwash, of course, and I can’t for the life of me place the exact moment that it entered my head that poor Hurn was merely a fill-in. He’s not. He’s a jet. A gun. A jet with with guns? Anyway, the Shannon Hurn lobby have had their say and I bow to their judgment on the great man.
As of now, I am aboard the Hurn train and it is heading straight towards Humility Island. The worst part? He’s one of my favourite players. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve drunkenly harassed friends with my love for Shannon Hurn; those tree-trunk legs; the magnificent long bombs; the fact that despite being listed in the AFL Record as being 27 years old, he’s clearly at least 38. He was receding in his teens, for pete’s sake.
Hurn will certainly have his work cut out for him tonight because West Coast are not only short an Eric McKenzie but a Mitch Brown as well. That’s bad news. Their defense will be simultaneously stretched and rejigged to cope. Lachie Henderson should be licking his lips.
Both of these sides were flat last week but not blown away in their losses. Ruling out something extraordinary, one will get on the board tonight. Which? I haven’t got the faintest.
You can get me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or with any short and sweet quips, via Twitter: @rustyjacko
Russ will be with you shortly, but before he arrives to guide you through the evening’s action in Subiaco, have a read of his weekend preview.
Read the full article here.
