Carlton v Melbourneat the MCG, Sunday, 2:10 pm (AEST)
B: Bryce Gibbs, Bret Thornton, AdamHartlett
HB: Shaun Grigg, Jarrad Waite, Heath Scotland
C: Paul Bower, Ryan Houlihan, Kade Simpson
HF: Marc Murphy, Anthony Koutoufides, SimonWiggins
F: Eddie Betts, Josh Kennedy, Brad Fisher
R: Setanta O’hAilpin, Andrew Walker, AndrewCarrazzo
INT (from): Cain Ackland, Jordan Bannister,Adam Bentick, Matthew Lappin, Jordan Russell, Jason Saddington, Ross Young
IN: Bower, Grigg, Kennedy, Walker
OUT: Brendan Fevola (omitted)
NEW: Shaun Grigg, Redan/North BallaratU18s; 190cm, 80kg. Taken No.19 in the 2006 NAB AFL National Draft. Shaun willbecome the 1104th player to represent the Carlton Football Club.
Whenlast we met: Carltonv Melbourne at the Telstra Dome, round 18, 2006:Carlton 12.08 (80) d Melbourne 10.13 (73)
Unlike in most of their games last year,the Blues managed to convert their strong first-quarter performance into avictory.
Carlton led the Dees by 15 points at themain interval, and after an arm wrestle in the third took a nine-point leadinto the fourth. Melbournelost goalsneak Russell Robertson early in the final quarter and were eventuallyput out of their misery when Brendan Fevola snuck in his fourth major for thegame.
The win over Melbournewas Carlton’slast for the season.
Best for Carltonwere Heath Scotland(28 disposals), Andrew Carrazzo (27 touches), Brendan Fevola (Four goals) andBrad Fisher (three goals).
Best for the Demons, James McDonald (30disposals), Matthew Bate (28 possessions) and David Neitz and Jeff White withtwo goals each.
Carlton wining percentage: against Melbourne, 55.84 per cent; at the MCG, 49.54 per cent;against Melbourneat the MCG, 48.31 per cent.
The Blues have played well at the MCG sofar this season – winning three of four matches. Carltondefeated Richmondin round one by 17 points, Essendon in round three by three points and theWestern Bulldogs by 10 points in round 10. The side’s only loss at the venuecame in round seven;, a 24-point defeat at the hands of Collingwood.
The Demons have also had some close resultsat the MCG in 2007, but, take a 2-7 win/loss record into the game.
Averagedisposals - top three:
Carlton: Heath Scotland(24), Andrew Carrazzo (24), Ryan Houlihan (22).
Melbourne: Cameron Bruce (24), James McDonald (23), Brad Green (20)
Goals- top three:
Carlton: Brendan Fevola (39), Brad Fisher (22), Jarrad Waite (20)
Melbourne: Russell Robertson (20), David Neitz (18), Aaron Davey (14)
Tackles- top two:
Carlton: Adam Bentick (85), Andrew Carrazzo (65)
Melbourne: James McDonald (76), Cameron Bruce (58)
Fromthe coaches box: Assistant coach Tony Liberatore: Ithink people forget that when we beat Port Adelaide by 39 points, three roundsago, Brendan Fevola did not have a huge bearing on the result. If we can get anequal contribution from a whole heap of players then I think it will work outreally well for us on Sunday.
Lastfive games
Carlton: Loss-(Adelaide);Win-(Bulldogs); Win-(Port); Loss-(Haw); Loss-(Frem)
Melbourne: Loss-(Kang); Win-(Ade); Win-(Coll); Loss-(Rich); Loss-(Ess)
Both teams head into the round 14 clashwith their fair share of problems.
The Blues will be missing spearhead BrendanFevola due to a club-imposed suspension. This is sure to put extra strain on Carlton’s second-tierforwards, who’ll be facing stronger opponents. Fortunately for Carlton theycome up against a side ranked number one in the unofficial stat of defensive-50“switch-offs” – the alarming ability to forget about your opponent once theball is marked inside the opposition forward line.
As for the Demons, the recent controversysurrounding the ousting of Neale Daniher could impact in either of two ways: agroup of individuals trying to prove their worth for contract extensions, or ateam playing for the club and Neale Daniher’s former assistant and friend, Mark“Bomber” Riley.
Both clubs are coming off a two-matchlosing streak – Melbourne losing to Richmond and Essendon, with Carlton suffering heavy defeats at the handsof Hawthorn and Fremantle.
There is no doubt both teams need a win,but both have struggled to play out four quarters. Taking into account bothteams’ recent history, this game is likely to be decided in either the firstquarter or the last two minutes.
Thebig question: Can the Blues forward line kickenough goals without Brendan Fevola?
