Fremantle has defeated Carlton by 29 points in a dead rubber contest at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon, despite the Blues providing an early fright after leading at the major change.
While the Blues showed some hopeful signs early on in the contest, the likes of David Mundy (28 disposals) and Lachie Neale (34 disposals) stood strong for the Dockers to overwhelm a promising, yet disappointing Carlton outfit.
Patrick Cripps once again racked up plenty of ball for the Blues (32 disposals) to further affirm his chances of taking out the Brownlow, but was unable to quell the Dockers’ unanswered seven-goal third quarter.
The game began with some intense early pressure resulting in a couple of minor scores from the Dockers, however the Blues drew the first majors through young forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
Both sides, demonstrating a clear desire to keep control of the footy and maintain composure with ball in hand, continued at a relative impasse, with goals to Stefano Giro and Matthew Wright
the only scores of note as Carlton won their fourth first quarter of the year to lead by 13 points at the first break.
Coming out of the first interval, both sides appeared to demonstrate a desire to move the ball
quicker, yet turnovers rife in the middle prevented a free-flowing, high-scoring game.
As both teams continued goal-for-goal - with the Blues leading by 12 points halfway through the second quarter - Fremantle finally bucked the trend with a clean passage of play through the middle of the ground, resulting in Cam McCarthy’s second of the afternoon.
After Hayden Ballantyne piled on Fremantle’s third in a row to bring the game to within a point, a
moment of brilliance from maligned veteran Dale Thomas and a set shot from ruckman Matthew Lobbe gave the Blues some breathing space heading into half-time, with their lead sitting at 13 points.
But Carlton failed to muster any response in the third term, with Fremantle slotting seven unanswered majors in the third term to catapult themselves in front for the first time since the opening quarter.
All of the Dockers' majors in the quarter all came from seven different goalscorers, with Ballantyne the only player to take his tally to two majors during the destructive sequence.
With the likes of Lachie Neale and David Mundy getting to work around the clearances and giving the Dockers the ascendancy in terms of first ball use, Carlton were left hanging on for dear life trailing by 18 points halfway through the term.
With the game hanging by a thread for Carlton, costly skill errors allowed and dubious umpire
decisions allows the Dockers to slot home another two goals, to lead by five clear goals heading
into the final break.
Carlton got off to the best start possible in the final quarter, slotting home twice via former Cat
Darcy Lang and the promising McKay to reduce the margin to 17 points.
Fremantle, however, steadied the ship through Brennan Cox’s first of the afternoon to extend the margin back to 23 points.
The game began to peter out from that point on, with Michael Walters# hamstring injury the only
noteworthy event late in the game, as the Dockers kicked an additional two goals to Carlton’s one to run out 29- point victors.
FREMANTLE 1.4 5.7 12.10 15.11 (101)
CARLTON 3.6 7.8 7.10 10.12 (72)
GOALS
Fremantle: McCarthy 3, Ballantyne 2, Cox 2, Giro, Taberner, Grey, Kersten, Langdon, Mundy,
Neale, Sheridan
Carlton: Curnow 2, McKay 2, Wright 2, Lang, Lobbe, Murphy, Thomas
BEST
Fremantle: Neale, Mundy, Wilson, Langdon, Duman
Carlton: Cripps, Lobbe, C. Curnow, Thomas, Murphy
INJURIES
Fremantle: Walters (hamstring)
Carlton: Nil
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