BLUES TEMPO PUZZLE
C. Zurhaar 3, T. Thomas 2, B. Brown, B. Scott, C. Taylor, J. Pittard, J. Polec, J. Ziebell, T. Goldstein
H. Himmelberg, H. Perryman, J. Finlayson 2, C. Ward, J. Cameron
J. Polec, T. Goldstein, C. Zurhaar, S. Higgins
C. Ward, S. Coniglio, Z. Williams, J. Finlayson
CARLTON coach David Teague says he is yet to put his finger on the reason for his team’s slow starts, but says it must quickly find a way to overcome the pattern.
The Blues travel to GMHBA Stadium next Saturday to face Geelong, who started against Hawthorn in superb style on Friday, kicking three goals in less than 10 minutes to set up a handy buffer.
Teague watched on in frustration as his side allowed Melbourne to kick the first seven goals of the match on Saturday, before kicking seven of the next eight to ultimately fall by one point.
Having lost 13 of 22 first quarters in 2019 and now the first two of 2020, Teague said it was crucial for Carlton to improve its starts.
“We tried hard but we didn’t turn up to start the game again and it has become a pattern,” Teague said.
“At the moment we are giving the opposition too much of a start and it is unacceptable.
“It has been a bit of a trend. Some days you are in the rooms and the energy is really good and it doesn’t translate and then other days it is really quiet and a bit off but they come out and play well.
“I can’t put my finger on it yet so I think we need to keep looking into that area. For me, to see what we did for three quarters, it is probably a mindset which is something we are working on.
“We just need to continue to get better and grow it because our good footy is good.”
The midfield battle will once again play a major role in the outcome of Saturday night’s duel with the Cats, with the home side buoyed by the performances of some of its emerging talent against the Hawks.
On-baller Sam Menegola said Geelong would study the tape to see how it could replicate its efforts against Carlton.
“They have got some really
NORTH Melbourne has upset GWS by 20 points in a scrap at Giants Stadium, where the visitors’ youngsters stood up in a thrilling final quarter.
Curtis Taylor, Bailey Scott, Tarryn Thomas, Cameron Zurhaar — boasting a combined 57 games of experience — slotted clutch goals in the fourth term to get North home.
Jared Polec also fittingly split the middle as the Kangaroos booted six goals straight to GWS’s 3.2 in the final quarter, seeing off a couple of spirited challenges and successfully stifling the Giants’ potent run through the middle.
Zurhaar finished with a game-high three goals.
Ruckman Todd Goldstein was also immense for the visitors, helping himself to 51 hitouts, nine clearances and a key goal.
North is 2-0 and next faces Sydney then Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium.
Star GWS forwards Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene were kept quiet, combining for just one goal. exciting players and some Agrade talent like Patty Cripps in there,” Menegola said.
“There are definitely no easy games in the AFL anymore and their young talent, if you are not on top of them they can be really hard to handle.
“So we will have to have a look at what we did well against Hawthorn and see what we can improve on and then turn our focus to Carlton so we can apply what we did against Hawthorn to them.” .
However, Greene was denied a third-quarter goal because of a contentious scorereview verdict that found there was insufficient evidence to overturn the on-field decision.
There was debate about whether a scrambling Jamie Macmillan made contact with the ball before it crossed the line, but the North defender’s desperation epitomised his team’s approach.
Expectations of a shootout between Cameron and North Melbourne counterpart Ben Brown, first and second on the Coleman medal leaderboard in 2019, were put to bed early.
The teams were locked at 2.6 (18) apiece at halftime, reflecting an arm-wrestle largely devoid of highlights but full of immense pressure and plenty of rust.
GWS veteran Callan Ward, who had not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in Round 4 of 2019 and had not completed a game since the 2018 finals, starred with a team-high 21 disposals.