Carlton champion Chris Judd had his colours lowered last time he played against his old team at Patersons Stadium and was relatively quiet again. The star Blue averaged 27 disposals in the first three games of this season but was held to just 18 against the Eagles. Judd had just one kick and five handpasses to his name at half-time. The 2006 Eagles premiership hero was jeered every time he went near the ball by the fans who used to worship him.
2. Broken Glass
West Coast captain Darren Glass suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter and battled his way through the rest of the match. Glass went to ground under pressure from Chris Yarran and landed heavily on the shoulder. He was taped up and returned to the game after quarter-time, but looked ginger and was easily outmarked by Sam Rowe in his next contest. Glass battled on, but looked sore for the rest of the match.
3. Yarran bounces away
Chris Yarran played a key role in breaking the game open during the second quarter. The silky-skilled star kicked three goals for the term, bouncing his way to goal after collecting the ball outside the 50m arc each time. Yarran had fellow Swan Districts products Jeff Garlett and Dennis Armfield to thank for their roles in the goals. Garlett (twice) and Armfield worked hard to lay brilliant shepherds on opponents to keep them at bay and clear the path for Yarran, who had a total of 10 bounces during the three passages of play.
4. Inaccuracy proves costly
West Coast equaled its highest ever tally for behinds scored in the first half of a game, registering 3.14 in a wasteful display against Carlton. Both teams went inside 50m 24 times in the first half, but the Blues led by 20 points at the main break thanks to the Eagles’ inaccuracy. West Coast hit the post three times in the first half and the two teams hit the woodwork a combined five times during the match.
5. Mick’s first win
It took a month of football, but Mick Malthouse finally broke through for his first win as coach of Carlton. In a way it was fitting that it came against one of his old clubs. The result meant Malthouse avoided setting a new personal low of four consecutive defeats to open a season. The Blues kicked six consecutive goals during the second and third quarters to open up a 34-point lead and were never headed form there.
