In front of a partisan Blues crowd, the Cats showed great character by finishing all over the home side in the final quarter despite having come off a debilitating first round win in the heat and humidity of Cairns last week.
The Cats led by just ten points at three-quarter-time but inspired by the non-stop drive of Cameron Ling in midfield dominated the final term to win 0.13.8 (86) to 1.9.3 (66).
The victory thrusts Mark Thompson’s young side into a semi-final against Melbourne at Telstra Dome next Friday, ensuring that at least one of those success-starved clubs will reach the Wizard Cup grand final on March 13.
The Cats have never won the pre-season competition – they were losing grand finalists in 1988, 89 and 97 – with their last major trophy being their 1963 premiership win.
The Demons have not tasted the ultimate success since 1964 and their only trophies since then were the 1987 night series and the 1989 pre-season competition, when they beat Geelong in the final.
The Cats’ strong victory overshadowed the first home appearance of the new-look Carlton side for 2004, a side which featured Irish rookie Setanta O’hAilpin making his much-anticipated debut on Saturday.
O’hAilpin’s first kick was greeted with a huge roar of approval from Blues as he found himself opposed to Geelong’s young forward Matthew McCarthy for the first three quarters before the young Irishman was rested in the final term.
And although McCarthy kicked a goal in each quarter against O’hAilpin, the Irish rookie battled hard all game and showed he certainly has the size and potential to become a regular AFL player.
But if he needed any hints on how to become a top-notch AFL defender, he only needed to look up the other end of the field at Geelong’s Matthew Scarlett.
Not only did the 2003 All-Australian full-back keep Brendan Fevola goalless in the first half but he then shut Lance Whitnall out of the game after half-time after “Big Red” had threatened to run riot in the first half with four goals.
However not even Scarlett’s efforts could match those of the tireless Ling, who not only continually won the hard ball in midfield but capped off a dominant display with three goals.
While the Blues’ best players in Nick Stevens and a revitalised Daniel Harford faded in the final quarter after dominating for the first three terms, Ling just kept surging his team forward and fittingly sealed victory with a great snap goal at the 16 minute mark after keeping his feet after a marking contest against two Carlton opponents.
Geelong coach Mark Thompson was delighted with his side’s performance, saying it made for an easy day in the coaches’ box.
“I thought we were in control of the game for most of the day and that was one of the pleasing things about it,” he said.
“I never felt stressed (about his team’s performance) in the coaches’ box at any stage.”
Thompson was also thrilled with the way his side backed up from its tough trip to Cairns, after losing in the semi finals of this competition last year after also making the trip up north.
“Last year we only lasted about half a game but we played the game out great today,” he said.
Carlton coach Denis Pagan was disappointed with his side’s first and third quarters, although he was pleased with the performances of many of his newcomers including ex-Hawthorn pair Brett Johnson and Harford as well Heath Scotland and of course the classy Stevens.
“We lost it in the first quarter when their defenders outsmarted us and we lost it in the third quarter when we had as many opportunities as the Cats but we couldn’t get as many shots at goal when it mattered,” he said.
CARLTON: 1.1.0, 1.5.1, 1.7.1, 1.9.3 (66).
GEELONG: 0.4.3, 0.6.5, 0.9.8, 0.13.8 (86).
NINE POINT GOALS: Carlton: Morrell.
Geelong: Nil.
SIX POINT GOALS: Carlton: Whitnall 5, Harford 2, Fevola, Johnson.
Geelong: McCarthy 4, Ling 3, Kingsley 2, Riccardi 2, Graham, Milburn.
BEST: Carlton: Harford, Whitnall, Stevens, Scotland, Lappin, Johnson
Geelong: Ling, Spriggs, Scarlett, McCarthy, Chapman, Kelly, Byrnes
INJURIES: Carlton:. Nil.
Geelong: Nil.
REPORTS: Nil.
UMPIRES: Head, Ryan, Goldspink
CROWD: Est 15,000 at Optus Oval.
