Giant headaches: it’s the same old story for Carlton
GWS has piled the misery onto Carlton, thrashing the hapless Blues by a record 78 points in their Saturday twilight AFL match.
SCOREBOARD: CARL v GWS
9.3 (57) | Carlton v GWS | 19.21 (135) |
---|---|---|
at Docklands, May 16 2015 | ||
341 | Disposals | 418 |
39 | Clearances | 37 |
32 | Inside 50 | 78 |
38 | Tackles | 44 |
Blues: Judd, Menzel 2, Wood, Casboult, Tuohy, Yarran, EverittGiants: Cameron 5, Treloar 3, Stewart, McCarthy, Scully 2, Williams, Coniglio, Greene, Hoskin-Elliott, Patfull |
A week after upsetting Hawthorn for the best win of their short history, the Giants backed up with the 19.21 (135) to 9.3 (57) rout at Docklands Stadium.
It is the Giants’ biggest winning margin since they joined the AFL in 2012, easily beating their 64-point win over Melbourne last season.
GWS out-ran and outclassed Carlton, who had made six unforced changes in a desperate bid to kick-start its floundering season.
The Giants won the inside 50 count by a whopping 78-32.
The belting means more pressure on the Blues and their coach Mick Malthouse, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
After posting its only win so far this season on Anzac Day against St Kilda in New Zealand, Carlton gave nothing against Collingwood and was upset last weekend by Brisbane.
The Blues were never in the hunt against the league’s newest side, showing again how badly Carlton have fallen from power.
Only 16,676 fans attended the match, following last week’s Blues home crowd of 20,273.
But the one-sided game was also a stark reflection of how quickly GWS have emerged this season.
The win cements the Giants in the top eight with a 5-2 record, while the Blues are languishing at the bottom of the ladder on 1-6.
Midfielder Stephen Coniglio starred with 32 possessions and seven clearances.
After a quiet first half, key forward Jeremy Cameron kicked five goals and Shane Mumford was outstanding again in the ruck.
Cameron kicked the first goal of the match, a booming shot from outside 50m.
After Carlton hit the front with two early goals, the Giants kicked the next three for a 16-point lead at the first change and extended that to 33 at half-time.
The Giants nearly doubled their score in the third term, kicking eight goals to four and blowing the lead out to 61 points at the last change.
Their only setback involved veteran midfielder Ryan Griffen, who was subbed off in the third term with a knee injury.
They were going to have an unchanged side for the first time since they joined the AFL in 2012, but Phil Davis was a late withdrawal because of a leg injury.
A calf injury also forced Blues onballer Patrick Cripps out of the team on Saturday.
Veteran midfielder Chris Judd was clearly Carlton’s best player, picking up 25 disposals and kicking two goals.
Ed Curnow, Andrejs Everitt and Levi Casboult also could not be faulted for their workrate.