Carlton Blues lose to the Brisbane Lions but find some fight. Now can they play a full match?
All season long Carlton fans had been desperately hoping to see a second-half fightback from the beleaguered Blues. They’ve got plenty going against the two-time premiers at the Gabba on Friday night, and there will be a flash of light to come.
Michael Voss’s men looked destined for a blow when they fell behind by 49 points early in the third quarter, but rather than tread water, they dug in and fought back – in more ways than one – losing by just 11 points.
It was a moment emblematic of the Blues’ determination. They were 22 points behind towards the end of the final term but refused to be pushed further.
When Levi Ashcroft pointed, scored and immediately got in Ben Ainsworth’s face, Sam Walsh couldn’t; He appealed to Ashcroft and immediately awarded a free kick. Ashcroft missed and the Lions still went on to win, but Walsh had achieved his aim and his captain could not have been prouder.
“We’re not going to take that away from anyone,” Patrick Cripps told Seven after the match.
“There is spirit in this group and we will defend each other and not be ignored.
“Walshy stood up for a checkmate and then we had his back. It cost a free kick, but I’d rather give up a free kick that showed fight than nobody reacting.”
The Blues led at half-time in six matches this season before starting to drop points, going half-time on Friday night before fighting back to finish.
This was a pattern the Lions didn’t lose; including their former captain Lachie Neale, who won the Robert Walls Medal for best on field.
His post-game comments on Seven were some sort of proof that the Blues still have a long way to go to regain the respect of the competition.
“We weren’t doing it well enough in the third quarter and were allowing them to chain play. [possessions together] and then find an easy sign… a few kids told me that [that] ‘We were doing Carlton,'” Neale admitted.
“They were trying to get into our heads a little bit, but that’s part of the game.
“It was pretty close, but…we’ll get it done.”
Cripps led from the front in the second half, registering 18 of his 32 disposals, while Harry McKay (three goals), Walsh (29 disposals) and Mitch McGovern (three goals) also stepped up with him.
The Blues have received a lot of criticism for their 1-8 start to the season, and as Voss points out, they can’t win games by playing a good half.
He was in no mood for moral victories.
“You could definitely see a confidence increase in the group after half-time,” he said.
“There were little tackles that we started to win, we started to make some connections further on the ball that we were missing. “I think we finished with 20 points inside 50 and we didn’t look like that in the first half.
“We took field position and kept the ball in our own half, it was obvious that we wanted to improve our game.
“We probably used their drop in intensity to increase our own strength and that gave us the confidence to finish the game that way, but we still have to be better than just playing half the football.
“We should spend more time together than this.”
Voss noted that Cripps, Walsh and Jagga Smith spent much more time in midfield and through-balls than in previous matches. McKay, meanwhile, had one of his best second halves with 12 steals, three goals and seven points.
Unleashing his talent and confidence was as vital as any improvement the Blues could make, while McGovern and Will Hayward were also dangerous options alongside him.
The Blues have an eight-day break before facing Marcus Bontempelli’s Western Bulldogs at Marvel next Saturday night; The injury-hit Dogs bounced back in their own right with a thrilling win over Port Adelaide in Friday’s other night game.
Oliver Florent and Zac Williams appeared to suffer leg injuries in the second half, but Cripps was hopeful they could both prove their fitness in the long term.
While Voss believes the second half showed the Blues have a “pattern” that can be successful, he still won’t accept anything less than a four-quarter effort.
“We leave the game with more clarity about what we need to produce, but we also leave disappointed,” he said.
“We accept the challenge, but we cannot accept mediocrity; we must have higher standards than that.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan described the match as a “danger game” for his side, given that Carlton were in half Jekyl and Hyde form, so he was happy to accumulate the four points – even young paceman Logan Morris said on Kayo Sports after the game that Fagan had accused his side of being “shit” by allowing the Blues to come back.
Veteran defender Ryan Lester had one of the best games of his career, with eight of his 11 possessions coming in the first half as the Lions won six of their last seven games.
“It’s hard to win impressively every week and I was worried about this game as I had enough time for Carlton and the way they play football,” Fagan said.
“I don’t think the win-loss ratio reflects that.
Roy Ward is a sports writer, live blogger and breaking news journalist. He has been writing for The Age since 2010.Connect with: X or email.
