Source : the age
Shannon Neale has shown his resilience as he is back on the ground after taking a painful knee to the hip.
Kayo Sports’ Cam Mooney reported Neale has some extra padding on his hip, just in case he takes another blow but he is playing on.
Cats 28, Blues 9 with 19 mins to go in Q2.
For all of their pressure and desire, Carlton have simply been outclassed.
The Cats have been brutal on turnover and have taught the Blues are few lessons particularly through the corridor.
They also took six contested marks and the Blues took none, so they need the likes of Harry McKay and Brodie Kemp to lift ahead of the ball.
How the ARC didn’t review Ollie Dempsey’s first score – which was clearly a goal – is mind-boggling.
The Cats have earned their lead at quarter time and the Blues need to sharpen up their ball use and decision making or this match will get ugly in a hurry.
The positive for the Blues is that they are competing with the Cats in so many facets of this game, cut out the turnovers and this score could flip around.
Dempsey is causing all kind of trouble for the Blues as grabbed the ball in the forward pocket and in one motion snapped it onto his boot and it sailed through the goals.
He has a special knack for kicking goals.
“He should have had three goals,” Garry Lyon said on Kayo Sports. “But Davey Rodan didn’t see it.”
Cats 28, Blues 8 with two mins to go in Q1.
Jack Henry’s second life as a forward continues to work for the Cats as he was gifted a 50m penalty for no one standing on the mark.
He booted the easy goal – it’s not clear if he has gone forward to replace Neale but that would make sense.
Then the Blues streamed through the middle into attack, only for them to kick the ball straight to Tom Stewart who marked the ball and started a counterattack that finished with Jeremy Cameron snapping a goal.
Turnovers are killing the Blues who have otherwise been right up with the Cats.
Cats 21, Blues 8 with five mins to go in Q1.
Ollie Dempsey has marked a pass from his namesake Ollie Henry after a Blues turnover and he’s booted his first goal of the night.
The Cats wingman is a constant goal threat and that turnover should remind the Blues that they can’t afford to give these Cats turnovers as they will feast on them.
Cats 9, Blues 7 with eight mins to go in Q1.
Will Hayward has booted the first goal for the Blues and their fans are roaring.
In the lead-up, the Cats lost tall forward Shannon Neale after he took a knee to the hip during a marking contest.
Neale has hobbled off and gone down the race. He may not be able to return, either, which would be a huge loss for the Cats.
Blues 7, Cats 2 with 13 mins to go in Q1.
Former player turned goal umpire David Rodan is in the spotlight just moments into this match after Geelong’s Ollie Dempsey appealed for a goal.
Dempsey reached for a ball on the goal line and palmed it down onto his shin where it went through.
But Rodan, who was knocked over on the play, called a behind and didn’t ask for the ARC to review it.
It looks like Dempsey knocked the ball onto the top of his shin, but after the Nick Watson decision last night, there is a lot of conjecture on decisions that deny goals.
For mine, I reckon Rodan was right, but time will tell.
Cats 1, Blues 0 with 16 mins to go in Q1.
Tonight is Carlton’s annual “Carlton Respects” match, which aims to shine a light on the scourge of family violence and violence against women.
Their players will wear orange socks and the club had a moment before the game where they asked fans to “shine a light” on the 79 women who lost their lives to violence last year.
Both sides will also join fans to honour the memory of Neale Daniher, who died earlier this week.
This explanation is from Blues media:
Carlton Respects
The Carlton Football Club is proud to this week celebrate 10 years of its flagship community initiative Carlton Respects, culminating in tonight’s clash when the Blues take on the Cats at the MCG. Carlton Respects has grown into one of the AFL’s most recognised community initiatives, aiming to stop violence before it starts. Since launching in 2016, Carlton Respects has reached tens of thousands of Australians through education, awareness, and community action. The players will once again wear orange socks and a dedicated guernsey to raise awareness of the social cause.
