By Jon Pierik
With 20 seconds of what’s known in footy parlance as “gut running”, Sam Walsh illustrated why he is such an important figure in Carlton’s quest to break a 29-year premiership drought.
It starts in the Blues’ defensive 50 a few minutes into the match, when Charlie Curnow kicks the ball up to Matthew Cottrell on the wing. As Cottrell weighs a pass inside to Tom De Koning, Walsh is off camera but running hard from one end of the MCG to the other. He sweeps past De Koning to receive an overlap handball, kicks forward to Harry McKay in a contest, and keeps on running.
Carlton’s Sam Walsh flexes his muscles after kicking the Blues’ first goal against Melbourne on Thursday night.Credit: Getty
By the time the ball hits the ground and finds its way to Marc Pittonet, Walsh has pushed himself up inside 50 to receive the handball. From 40 metres out, heart pumping from the effort of the sprint, he snaps the goal and celebrates with a muscle flex. It’s the first in a blitz of six unanswered Blues goals, from which Melbourne could not recover despite a thrilling comeback that finished with a one-point Carlton win.
In the commentary box former Geelong champion Joel Selwood couldn’t suppress his admiration for the indefatigable Walsh, who, after all, missed the first four matches of the season with a back injury that curtailed the preparation for which is famous.
“It was contest to contest and the finish work is just elite,” Selwood said on Seven. “Not all midfielders can do that.”
Walsh’s gut-running goal was not an isolated incident. Blues skipper Patrick Cripps was also superb, combining with Walsh for 69 disposals, the latter providing 13 of them in the first term. His willingness to cover so much of the field was a pleasure to watch, and he was damaging any time he had the ball in hand.
What about the Dees?
While Thursday night’s victory reignited Carlton’s premiership credentials, Melbourne’s flag bid can be questioned after their slow start on a bleak night when the rain refused to go away.
Christian Petracca recently said he was unfazed by taggers, but Matt Kennedy may have proven otherwise, for the 2021 Norm Smith medallist was held to only four touches in the first term as his team was kept scoreless in a quarter for the first time since 2019.
Petracca ultimately delivering what Carlton coach Michael Voss said was a “pretty special” performance. He went forward and hauled his team back into the match in the second term, finishing with a career-high five goals.
Jack Billings congratulates Christian Petracca on one of his five goals against the Blues.Credit: Getty Images
However, Kennedy delivered a masterclass in the first term on how to stop the Demons’ prime mover.
But how can a team supposedly in the premiership mix concede the opening six goals of the game?
Goodwin said this had been the difference between winning and losing.
“In terms of how we started, any time you want to give a team six goals headstart … both ends of the ground were really poor, and our defence was poor,” Goodwin said. “That’s where the game was won and lost early. There was a lot of like after that, but the damage was done.
Carlton celebrates getting back on the winners’ list against Melbourne after consecutive losses to Geelong and Collingwood.Credit: Getty Images
“Obviously, Carlton was outstanding, their pressure was great early, I thought they won contests at both ends of the ground, and they put us under pressure.
“We have got some work to do to get our starts right.”
What it means
Having lost three of their past four games, including a thriller to Collingwood last week when they admitted to over-possessing the ball, the Blues did enough to hold on in this wire-to-wire victory, sparking coach Michael Voss to note a “real shift” in the Blues’ composure under pressure.
The win was crucial, for a fourth defeat so early in the season would have put their top-two aspirations in peril. Collingwood (five losses), Brisbane (six losses) and Port Adelaide (six losses) filled the top three spots after the home-and-away campaign ended last season, with Melbourne (seven losses) in fourth.
“It just instils that belief in us, and I think we have got that now. It’s just about being a consistent home-and-away side,” Blues defender Brodie Kemp told this masthead post match.
“This was a good step in the right direction.”
While Nic Newman won the free kick for a late holding-the-ball decision on Petracca with a point the difference, Cripps was alongside him hanging on to the Demons’ gun.
Jacob Weitering, arguably the Blues’ most important player, was a pillar in defence. Standing Harrison Petty, Jacob van Rooyen and Bayley Fritsch at various points – who, between them, contributed just two goals for the match – Weitering played the “goalkeeper” role to perfection, finding himself goal side to mark after a long Demons kick.
Weitering, surely, is favourite to be the All-Australian full-back.
“Weiters backs himself, backs his instincts, and you have seen the class of player he is in the contest,” Kemp said.
Importantly, with a potential September rematch in mind, Charlie Curnow had a major impact, giving nemesis Steven May plenty to think about, including pushing the defender further up the ground, where he is not as comfortable.
Curnow had two goals, and was involved in at least seven scoring chains.
The Blues won the battle of the match-ups, Demons coach Simon Goodwin later admitting intercept king Jake Lever’s impotence early hurt.
Carlton forward Harry McKay and Melbourne’s reborn defender Tom McDonald played each other to a draw, while Jack Martin’s return, in combination with De Koning, meant Lever had to be accountable for most of the night, although the Melbourne defender’s influence did grow as the night wore on.
Martin’s importance as a medium-sized forward who can play tall, but also pounce on the loose ball, cannot be underestimated.
“They [May and Lever] always seem to play really well against us, so I thought Charlie, ‘H’ (McKay), even Jack Martin coming back in, did their jobs,” Kemp said.
However, Adam Cerra became the latest Blue sidelined with a hamstring strain. He’ll have scans on Friday to determine how serious that injury is, while Newman’s high hit on Alex Neal-Bullen in the third term will be scrutinised by the match review officer, and may result in a one-game suspension.
After a rousing win over the Cats, the Demons’ rewired ball movement was seen to have been central to their rise.
McDonald suggested through the week they had been boring and predictable this season, putting a premium on retaining the ball and using angles to find their way to goal.
But that method deserted them on Thursday night.
Goodwin pointed to the inclement weather as a reason for this, and will be hoping his team gets a chance to rediscover its groove against West Coast next weekend.
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