Cats punish Carlton errors at Docklands

Updated June 08, 2012 23:41:40

Geelong struggled early but showed more composure in front of goal to defeat Carlton by two goals at Docklands on Friday night.

The game was tight for most of the night before the Cats kicked clear in the final quarter to win 14.13 (97) to 11.19 (85).

The loss was Carlton's fourth in five matches but it could have been so different for the Blues, who missed a string of chances and hit the woodwork on no less than five occasions.

Geelong's Steve Johnson told Grandstand that the team had struggled but had kept faith in its ability to finish with a win.

"We haven't started games too well (this year)," Johnson said.

"But when you come in at half-time and you're not far behind, and the way we've been able to finish off games so far this year, we had a lot of confidence we could win."

Carlton started with greater enthusiasm and far greater speed than Geelong.

The Blues' ball movement was far superior and Eddie Betts had a day out in the first quarter alone, kicking three goals by the first break.

Geelong steadied and deployed some pace of its own, with Steven Motlop finding gaps in the Blues defence to kick three goals before half-time to bring the deficit back to five points.

The lead disappeared in the third quarter as Geelong lifted with goals to Taylor Hunt and Joel Selwood before Motlop's fourth put the Cats in front for the first time at the 23-minute mark.

Carlton did not give up but the experienced Geelong side held enough in reserve and, as the likes of Betts and Chris Yarran wasted chance after chance, there was only going to be one winner.

The play of the game was almost dead even, with Carlton winning the inside 50s by three (54-51) and having a single extra disposal for the match.

But the most telling stat was that the Cats outscored Carlton 8.6 to 5.13 in the second half, with the Blues kicking 2.9 in the last quarter alone.

Carlton could now face a struggle to make the eight - their next three matches are against West Coast in Perth, Hawthorn and Collingwood.

Geelong have the bye next week, followed by Sydney, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast.

Johnson told Grandstand there was some relief in the Cats' rooms that the team had secured the win going into the break.

"We really wanted to finish off this game, 7-4 sounds so much better than 6-5," he said.

"We had to treat this game without looking too far ahead of it, but now we've got the win into the break we can go in with a lot of confidence.

"We've got a lot to work on, but our season is up there now, we're going to be competitive in the second half of the year."

Cats: 14.13 (97) - Motlop 4, Selwood 2, Duncan 2, Chapman, Bartel, T Hunt, Hawkins, West, Stokes,

Blues: 11.19 (85) - Betts 4, Tuohy, Collins, Armfield, Gibbs, Kreuzer, Simpson, Judd,

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, melbourne-3000

First posted June 08, 2012 22:42:39

View the original article here

Kangaroos get much-needed win at Docklands

Updated May 27, 2012 17:05:23

North Melbourne returned to the winner's list with a 16-point victory over Brisbane at Docklands on Sunday.

But the Kangaroos did little to increase confidence in the team, as Chris Scott's men let the Lions back into the game after leading by as much as 58 points.

The spectre of the Kangaroos' last quarter fadeout to lose to Port Adelaide last week was fresh in the memory, and there were some worrying moments for North before the team came away with the win, 17.10 (112) to 15.6 (96).

Kieran Harper told Grandstand that there was relief in the North Melbourne rooms to have held on for the four points.

"They were pretty nerve-racking moments (for us),'' he said.

"We've got to put four quarter effort in, we seem to be able to put three quarters in, but we just can't seem to knock out four quarters straight.

"We'll get there, it might take a bit of time."

Losses to the Bulldogs and Port Adelaide had put the Kangaroos club under pressure, and Harper said his team had to kickstart its season after the win.

"The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough around the club," he said.

"Certainly now we've got the four points we can try and get a run along here, and build our season from here."

The first half was a nightmare for Brisbane, which managed only 14 forward 50 entries in the first two quarters.

At the other end North Melbourne was scoring at will, with trebles to Sam Wright and Drew Petrie and doubles to Kieran Harper and Aaron Black.

By half-time, the Kangaroos were out to a 52-point lead.

Perhaps inspired by a half-time spray from the coach Brisbane fought back, even after allowing the first goal of the third quarter to Wright.

Led by the run of Ashley McGrath, and the involvement of players like Jack Redden (25 disposals, two goals), Tom Rockliff (22 disposals, one goal) and Aaron Cornelius (four goals), Brisbane edged back into the contest.

The Lions halved the deficit to 26 points going into the last quarter.

The final term was a bitter struggle for the opening 10 minutes, and when the crucial first goal came it was a special one.

Harper wrestled the ball free in a contest, burst free of tackles and ran toward the boundary line deep in the right forward pocket before kicking truly from an impossible angle for his third of the day.

Late goals to Johnathan Brown and Cornelius closed the margin, but North Melbourne survived to register its fourth win of the year.

Brisbane's Jack Redden told Grandstand that the Lions had left themselves too big a task in the second half.

"There were good signs for us in the second half, we started slow, and I don't think we're a good enough side to start slow like that," Redden said.

"When we clear the ball and we get inside 50s we score, it's a big effort for us to get the ball out of the middle, but when we do .. it shows we can put points on the scoreboard."

The Roos would have liked the look of Aaron Black, who kicked three goals after being drafted in from VFL side North Ballarat.

Black was hard at the ball, marked strongly and had a good eye for goal in just his second game of AFL football.

Kangaroos: 17.10 (112) - Wright 4, Petrie 3, Harper 3, Black 3, Ziebell, Swallow, Harvey, Greenwood.

Lions: 15.6 (96) - Cornelius 4, Redden 2, Brown 2, Green 2, Rich, Rockliff, Zorko, Merrett, Bewick.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, north-melbourne-3051, australia, qld, vic

First posted May 27, 2012 16:16:25

View the original article here