The Blues have seemingly revived the mosquito fleet and it was Jeff Garlett, Eddie Betts and Rising Star nominee Chris Yarran who created chaos at AAMI Stadium, kicking seven goals between them in the Blues 48-point win.
Betts, who chipped in with a handy 17 disposals and a goal, believes the ability of the team’s forwards to feed off each other and create chances, makes their forward line so hard for opposition teams to match up on - even when one of them has an off day.
“It’s not about kicking goals, as long as you set goals up,” he said after the game.
“I was pretty average today I reckon, but I’m pretty hard on myself.”
Carlton's hard running and tackling through the midfield also proved to be a decisive factor in the team’s win.
Carlton’s forward pressure was highlighted late in the second quarter when Betts brought down Ben Rutten as the Crows were running the ball out of defence, creating a turnover which resulted in a Garlett goal.
“With forwards like Jeff Garlett, Chris Yarran and me, we thought that if we create a lot of pressure down there [in the forward line] and help the midfield out so they turn it over through the midfield and down back, we’d go all right.” Betts said.
“I’m probably the fittest I’ve ever been at AFL level. It’s been a hard pre-season this year, but it makes us sure we can run out a full game.”
Carlton must now prepare to meet Geelong at the MCG next Monday, but Betts is quietly confident in his team’s ability, buoyed by its first win against the Crows at AAMI Stadium in five years.
“It builds a lot of confidence in us going forward. We’re not really talking about finals at the moment, just step-by-step, week-by-week, but we’ll see where we stand next weekend when we play Geelong.”
