Carlton has notched up their second win of the season after defeating Gold Coast by 35 points in a what was a fiery contest at a slippery Metricon Stadium.
The Blues finally began to showcase their potential, with their young stars in Sam Petrevski-
Seton, Lochie O’Brien and Jacob Weitering all pivotal, as well as the old heads in Marc Murphy
and Patrick Cripps putting together solid performances, in a much-needed victory over a disappointing Suns outfit.
After a cautious opening from both sides, in which the need to retain possession and dictate the tempo was exacerbated, Gold Coast behemoth, Peter Wright, opened the scoring with a set shot from 45m out, closely followed by youngster Will Powell slotting home to extend the margin to 12 points.
With the floodgates threatening to open after Wright slotted his second, Carlton finally hit back through the seasoned Marc Murphy, whose quick snap directly in front prevented an early humiliation.
As the Suns continued to find their way on top of the contested ball and clearances, Carlton considered themselves fortunate to only trail by 13 points at the first change.
After a steady opening 10 minutes to the second term, with both sides unwilling to give an inch in respect to free-flowing play, Carlton finally broke the shackles, with superstar Patrick Cripps finishing off a well-crafted attacking move.
Cripps' outstanding attack could see him come under MRO scrutiny however, after his impressive tackle on David Swallow left the returning Sun concussed.
Nevertheless - factoring in a slippery footy and a fair portion of apprehension - both sides continued at an impasse, despite Carlton seeming to take the edge on the outside, winning the inside 50s, uncontested possessions and uncontested marks convincingly for the quarter.
With half-time merely seconds away, Carlton finally saw a reward for their hard work through No. 10 pick, Lochie O’Brien, leaving the Blues trailing by just the two points at the end of the first half.
While both sides continued to employ a one-on-one strategy in the heavily contested game, the
Blues showed more desire to put the foot down, and that they did with a seven-goal third term.
Successive goals to emerging forwards Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay and Darcy Lang gave Carlton a 15-point lead - at that stage the biggest of the game - as Gold Coast stretched into an hour of footy without kicking a goal.
Despite a Jack Bowes goal ending the Blues' impressive seven-goal streak for the Blues, the real highlight of the game arrived through Paddy Dow’s enthralling run and finish from 25m out, compounded by Jack Silvagni’s opportunistic goal to give Carlton a commanding lead of 21 points.
With Gold Coast clutching onto the game for dear life, Carlton proceeded to further drive in the
screws with back-to-back goals to Matthew Wright and Jed Lamb enforcing a 34-point lead at three-quarter time.
The final quarter started off on a poor note, with Suns’ co-captain Steven May getting reported within the first 30 seconds for a high bump on Ed Curnow, leaving him looking at an early holiday.
With both sides resigned to the outcome of the contest, the match petered out as the Suns and Blues scored a combined three goals in the last, with Carlton strolling to a 35-point victory, which, despite injury scares to key men Jacob Weitering and Charlie Curnow, will stand as a key result for a young Blues outfit.
Gold Coast will head to the MCG next Sunday to take on Melbourne, while Carlton will be looking for their third win of the season when they face Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium in eight days.
GOLD COAST 3.3 3.6 4.8 5.14 (44)
CARLTON 1.2 3.4 10.6 12.7 (79)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Wright 2, May, Powell, Bowes
Carlton: Dow 2, Lang 2, Cripps, C. Curnow, Wright, Lamb, McKay, Murphy, O'Brien, Silvagni
BEST
Gold Coast: Witts, Lyons, Brodie, Lonergan, Harbrow
Carlton: Cripps, Murphy, C.Curnow, Petrevski-Seton, Lang
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Swallow (concussion)
Carlton: Weitering (knee) C. Curnow (shoulder)
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