After winning just two of their five most recent games heading into Thursday night against Port Adelaide, the question marks hanging over Carlton’s head were slowly growing in size.
But a final quarter smashing of the Power handed the Blues their first ever win over a South Australian side at Adelaide Oval, and while only temporary, has shot them up inside the top four at the start of Round 12.
The often-daunting trip to Adelaide Oval is a hoodoo no more, as three quarters of tug-of-war eventually jarred the way of Carlton; predominantly down to their star-studded midfield.
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Michael Voss’ men also registered the highest ever quarter of any side against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, with their 8.1 (49) topping the 7.4 (46) Richmond scored in the third quarter against the Power in Round 21, 2022.
Speaking on Fox Footy post-game, former AFL stars Jason Dunstall, David King and Leigh Montagna gave the Blues some almighty praise for their performance in South Australia.
“It was really impressive, they just worked them over,” Dunstall said.
“Port were there and it looked like it was going to be a close game, but in the end, they just wore them down – they continued to dominate the second half; that last quarter, the stoppages battle became very one-sided.”
The stoppage battle that Dunstall alluded to was abundantly clear in the second half, when the Blues swung a -7 clearance differential in the first half to a +8 differential in the second.
And in the all-important final quarter, the Blues kicked a whopping 43 points from clearances.
“I’ve never seen a stoppage quarter like it; 7.1 in 30 minutes of footy from Carlton is just unbelievable, I think it shows the power that Carlton have,” King added.
“When (Patrick) Cripps is in this frame of mind, they go next level – and this is why we talk about them the way we do; I know the ladder position has said something different over the last few weeks, but this is them.
“On the road, it travels, it plays in wet weather, it plays Marvel Stadium, wherever you want to play them – when they’re like this, they are a genuine contender.”
The Blues now have three wins and one loss from their four games interstate this season, with two wins in Adelaide and a one-point Opening Round win up in Brisbane.
Their sole loss on the road came against Sydney a fortnight ago, where they were comfortably beaten by 52 points.
Leigh Montagna matched the comments of his colleagues, pinpointing last night’s match as one that Blues fans can now mark in the sand as a moment where they can now truly begin to believe – and ultimately rely on.
“This was a win full of substance, this is a team you can trust,” Montagna said.
“They’re not going to win every game; they’re going to have some warts like most team – but when the whips were cracking, their leaders stepped up, they rolled the sleeves up and they were dominant.
“To go away from home, a venue they haven’t had a lot of success at, a big match – that’s ticked all the boxes for me that this is a team that are genuine contenders in 2024.”
Despite a very slow start to the evening, captain Cripps stood up in the final term with nine disposals, two clearances and two goals helping push the Blues over the line with their seven-point lead from three-quarter time.
To that point, the 29-year-old had 13 disposals – a rare stat line for the Brownlow medallist to have with only a term to go.
“Cripps’ game actually reflects a lot of what happened, he was quiet for three quarters – but when they really turned it on, he was winning clearances, he was kicking goals… you can’t keep him down for four quarters, that’s what I love about him,” commented Dunstall.
Michael Voss commented on the midfielder’s efforts in his post-match press conference, endorsing his ability to not back down from the fight and continuing to attack despite the closeness of the contest.
“(Cripps) is certainly a really big believer … we weren’t going to stop, we had to keep playing the same way and take them on.
“We never say that someone ‘steps up’ in key moments, but sometimes they just show themselves – and ‘Crippa’ as the captain certainly did that in the last quarter.”
The Blues now have a nine-day break, before facing Essendon in a Sunday night blockbuster that will take Carlton into their bye.