St Kilda has inflicted even more pain on Carlton’s horror season, comfortably dispatching the Blues by 64 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Saints dominated the inside 50 count 67-36, with Tim Membrey and Jack Lonie capitalising with three majors each.
Jack Steven was just as prolific with two goals and 33 touches, while for Carlton, Patrick Cripps was sublime in defeat, finishing with 35 touches and a goal.
Although distinguished midfielder Seb Ross was a late out, an even worse disatster struck Carlton after Matthew Kreuzer left the field in unclear circumstances, and didn’t return.
It emerged that he was having difficulty breahing, and he was taken to hospital.
Carlton had plenty of different pinch hitters in the ruck from then on, but they rued the loss of Andrew Phillips, Kreuzer’s back up ruck, who injured his hamstring last week.
St Kilda were well on top through the first quarter, but lacked the avenues to goal necessary to put a sizeable lead on the scoreboard with Paddy McCartin out.
Rowan Marshall marked well, but wasted a few chances and finished the quarter with 1.2, while Membrey was deadly accurate in front of goal to open up the Carlton defence.
The Blues responded well, kicking three of the next four, but it was midfielders Cripps, Dale Thomas and Adam Kennedy who kicked them.
With Charlie Curnow working a long way up the ground and none of their other forwards threatening at all, kicking a score always looked like a problem.
Cripps played a brilliant game in the midfield, but too often Carlton made sloppy skill errors, and goals from Jack Lonie – from a contentious free kick against Thomas - and Newnes meant the Saints finished the quarter eight-point leaders.
After quarter-time St Kilda kicked away, as they just got right on top in the midfield, and plenty of players were willing to get on the end of the hard work.
Steven, Jack Steele and David Armitage ran amok, and the Saints capitalised as a result.
Membrey kicked his second, as St Klida managed to nullify Liam Jones’ intercepting with low, direct passing into the 50.
Lonie kicked another straight after, as the Saints pulled away, which was as much due to the strength of their backline as anything else.
Try as they might, Carlton just had no way forward, and couldn’t find any targets in scoring positions, or even hold the ball inside 50.
Jack Billings’ goal was St Kilda’s fourth in a row and pushed the margin to 28, before at last Zac Fisher provided a brilliant highlight with a running goal from 50.
Jack Steele, who had been on Cripps at stages, kicked a goal to go with a stack of possessions that he was developing.
Charlie Curnow kicked a late goal, but St Kilda looked by far the better side, heading into half-time with a 23-point lead.
The third quarter was a rout.
Newnes and Billings both kicked neat goals from stoppages, showing their composure and skill, while Steven kicked one and then two, including a sensational finish from long distance.
Membrey and Marshall also booted goals, as they were winning their battle with the Carlton key defensive stocks – although they had no shortage of opportunities, and Liam Jones was rucking for much of the time.
Carlton only kicked one goal for the quarter, from just their sixth mark inside 50, taken by Jarrod Pickett.
Both sides missed shots all the while, and the frustrating thing for Carlton was that a lot of senior players were making mistakes.
Kade Simpson and Dale Thomas both stepped on the goal line, and Marc Murphy and Ed Curnow led the game for clangers.
In contrast, St Kilda were being brilliantly served by all their senior players, particularly Steven.
At thr time the inside 50 count was a staggering 50–26.
The last quarter drifted, with St Kilda perhaps not putting the cue in the rack, but sensing the contest was over.
Maverick Weller hit the scoreboard, before Jack Newnes put through his third from a set shot straight in front.
Kade Simpson gave the Blues fans something to smile about with a late goal, but it was a minor highlight in yet another majorly disappointing performance.
The final margin was 64 points, and it was St Kilda’s third win in four starts, as they salvage some respectability to the season and perhaps alleviate the pressure on their coach.
If only the same could be said for Carlton.
ST KILDA 4.5 8.10 14.14 16.20 (116)
CARLTON 3.3 5.5 6.8 7.10 (52)
GOALS
St Kilda: Membrey, Newnes 3 Steven, Billings, Marshall 2, Lonie, Weller, Sinclair, Steele
Carlton:Simpson, Kennedy, Thomas, Cripps, Curnow, Fisher, Pickett
BEST
St Kilda: Steven, Steele, Armitage, Membrey, Sinclair, Dunstan, Billings
Carlton: Cripps, Fisher, Simpson, Curnow
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Carlton: Kreuzer (TBC)
TALKING POINTS
1. THE GOOD
St Kilda have turned their season around.
From 1-10-1, the Saints stormed home against Gold Coast, beat Melbourne at the MCG, and have flogged Carlton (with a gallant, if not remarkable, showing against Port Adelaide in-between).
Josh Battle, Josh Bruce and Paddy McCartin would’ve made for a more competitive forward line than certain AFL clubs – such as Carlton – currently possess, but the Saints found ways to score without them – and significantly, without any goals from Jade Gresham, a shining light so far in 2018.
Similarly, the midfield looked exceptional, even in the absence of Seb Ross.
The footy media have talked ad nauseum about St Kilda’s so called lack of "A-grade" talent, but Richmond have shown that “B-graders” can take you to a premiership if 22 players contribute meaningfully to a coherent plan, and the Saints' midfield had an abundance of contributors tonight.
Finals are obviously long gone, but perhaps St Kilda can take something out of this season yet if they can keep their form up.
2. THE BAD
Perhaps a Thursday night fixture takes some of the gloss off a Friday night game, but all the same, the public deserved better tonight.
Carlton lost to Collingwood by 24 points, the Bulldogs by 21, and Sydney by 30 in their previous three Friday night games, but all three were dour games, and Carlton never looked like winning any of them.
Now on their fourth and final Friday night of the season, they have lost to the 15th placed St Kilda by 64 points, and it may have been more given the 16.20 (116) scoreline the Saints registered.
The best teams should play on Friday night, and if Gillon McLachlan doesn’t want fans to revolt Carlton will get an extended break from this timeslot.
3. THE UGLY
Carlton have a mountain of problems right now.
The biggest one is that pumping games into kids doesn’t automatically just make them better.
Gaining experience seems like a great concept, but being in a team that loses by 11 goals doesn’t make you better; the “experience” has to be meaningful.
People talk about Sydney and Geelong’s ability to develop players, but when they come into sides that play big finals, and close matches against other ladder leaders, they have the opportunity to learn to adjust to AFL intensity, and then instigate that intensity themselves.
So a good young player will improve far quicker in a good side.
Carlton fans might want to see Harry McKay in the seniors, and it probably is the right thing to do, but he may not have got a lot out of this match, and the same goes for all his young teammates.
If the Blues continue to play so many noncompetitive matches like tonight, their youngsters’ opportunities to improve are stunted.
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