Match

Carlton vs Port Adelaide

Commentary / 26 Jul 2024

Pre Game

00:00
Port Adelaide has won 10 of its last 11 matches at Marvel Stadium by an average margin of 27 points dating back to Round 1, 2021. The only loss came in their Round 18, 2023, clash against the Blues, in which the Blues won by 50 points.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:42
Charlie Curnow kicks the opening goal of the game. Curnow averaged 2.9 goals per game across the 2023 season. In the five games without Harry McKay he averaged 4.0 goals per game, however, this included a bag of 10 against eventual wooden spooners, West Coast.
03:16
Charlie Curnow has kicked 11.26 from outside 40m this season. He opens this game with a set-shot goal from this range.
07:12
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Lachie Fogarty)
08:21
Both teams have performed strongly in first quarters this season, each leading at quarter-time in 13 of their 18 matches. The Blues average 26.6 points in first quarters, ranked second in the league, while Port Adelaide average 24.8 points in first quarters, ranked third.
08:33
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Matthew Cottrell)
12:04
SCORE GOAL - Power (Esava Ratugolea)
12:16
Esava Ratugolea kicks the Power's first goal. He has taken the only two contested marks of this game and kicks this goal courtesy of a set shot after a contested mark against Brodie Kemp.
14:17
SCORE GOAL - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
14:36
Mitch Georgiades kicked 4.1 in his last outing against the Blues in a strong display which included eight score involvements and a game-high nine marks, including five marks inside 50.
17:34
Blues Interchange - David Cuningham off due to an injury.
18:59
Port Adelaide lead the inside 50 count early, with an eight to six lead. They have had the last six inside 50s and converted for two goals.
19:17
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Rushed)
24:26
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Esava Ratugolea)
24:58
Elijah Hollands has amassed 11 disposals in the first term, including eight uncontested possessions. He has four score involvements out of the Blues' five scores so far.
28:14
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
28:19
Port Adelaide restrict the fast-starting Blues to just one goal in the first quarter and the Blues trail at quarter time for the first time since Round 7.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:05
Since Round 16, the Power have taken 16 marks inside 50 per game – ranked No.1. They opened this game with five marks inside 50 in the first term.
01:42
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Matthew Kennedy)
02:41
Carlton rank second in the league for scores from intercepts with a plus 15.4 differential. Port Adelaide rank twelfth with a -0.4 differential. The Blues have scored 2.3 (15) from this source so far while the Power have just 0.1 (1).
03:28
SCORE GOAL - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
05:43
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Lewis Young)
07:51
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Jackson Mead)
08:43
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Nic Newman)
09:21
This season the Blues score from 10.7% of the hitouts won by Marc Pittonet, while the Power score from 10.3% of Jordan Sweet's hitouts. These rank fifth and sixth amongst all ruckmen with >150 hitouts this season. Sweet has 12 hitouts to Pittonet's seven in this game.
10:01
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
11:49
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
12:53
The Blues have kicked 3.1 (19) for the term. All three goals have come from intercepts and have started with chains in the Blues' defensive half.
13:45
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Francis Evans)
15:57
Matthew Cottrell's goal is the Blues' first from a stoppage in this game. It comes from a Lachie Fogarty assist, his first of the night. Fogarty had a career-high five score assists last week, which was also a season-high for any Blues player.
17:30
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Matthew Kennedy)
18:59
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
22:32
Port Adelaide are maintaining stoppage dominance, leading the clearances 19-10 courtesy of Ollie Wines's game-high four clearances along with three each to Zak Butters and Travis Boak. Jordan Sweet has five hitouts to advantage, while Charlie Dixon has two.
22:46
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Matthew Owies)
27:08
Carlton have kicked six goals in a row and that is their second goal from a stoppage source for the game, this coming from a Sam Walsh clearance, his fourth of the contest.
29:49
SCORE GOAL - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
30:49
Mitch Georgiadis breaks the Blues' run of goals. He has kicked 3.1 for the game. While this goal came from a free kick, Georgiadis has also taken three marks inside 50, more than any other player on the ground.
33:14
With inside 50s even at 26 each, the Blues have been able to convert their chances more often, scoring more easily from turnovers. The Blues have 6.4 (40) from turnovers, whilst the Power have only 1.3 (9).

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:01
The Blues have targeted Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay inside 50 on 177 and 142 occasions respectively. The next most targeted Blue is Matt Owies with 33. Curnow has been the target 9.8 times per game. With McKay unavailable for the first time this season, the Blues have increased their focus on Curnow, targeting him seven times in the first half. Owies has been the target on three occasions, but no other Blue has been the target more than once.
02:13
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Jason Horne-Francis)
03:43
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
06:14
Port Adelaide have kicked three behinds to begin the third quarter. Port Adelaide have the lowest scoring accuracy in the AFL this season, kicking goals from just 51.3% of their scoring shots. The Power's conversion is the worst of any side since 2021. They ranked sixteenth in this measure in each of 2022 and 2023.
08:56
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Mitch McGovern)
11:09
Entering tonight Sam Walsh had 20 or more disposals in all 14 of his matches this season. He has reached 20 again tonight, only mid-way through the third term.
12:40
Blues Interchange - Oliver Hollands off due to the blood rule.
15:52
Neither team has been able to kick a goal in this term. The Power's pressure has lifted. They have 18 tackles for the quarter so far. By comparison, they also had 18 for the whole of the first term.
16:35
SCORE GOAL - Power (Darcy Byrne-Jones)
17:41
Darcy Byrne-Jones breaks through for the first goal of the quarter, coming a Port Adelaide kick-in source, the first goal from this source tonight.
19:22
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Willie Rioli)
19:41
Willie Rioli kicks a behind, his first score this evening. He has never finished goalless against the Blues or at Marvel Stadium across his career.
20:41
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Matthew Kennedy)
21:06
Both goals in this quarter have started from a kick-in, this time Matthew Kennedy converts after taking the Blues' second contested mark inside 50 for the quarter, after recording none in the first half.
23:39
SCORE GOAL - Power (Willie Rioli)
24:01
Willie Rioli goals and continues his steak of goals against the Blues and at Marvel Stadium. He has never gone goalless against this opponent or at this venue.
25:57
SCORE GOAL - Power (Kane Farrell)
26:11
Port Adelaide have three goals to one for the quarter and lead the inside 50s 14-11 in this term. They also lead clearances 11-5 and have controlled a lot of the play throughout this quarter.
29:39
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Jason Horne-Francis)
30:57
The Blues have led at three quarter time on 11 occasions this season and have lost just once; their round 8 loss to the Magpies. The Power have momentum though, lifting their intensity with 29-20 tackles and 15-6 clearances for the quarter.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:46
The Blues are the highest fourth scoring team in the AFL this season, averaging 26.8 points in final quarters. The Blues have held their opposition to 19 points in fourth quarters. Their plus 7.8 differential is the best in the league. The Blues are coming off a five day break and used their sub early in the first quarter of this game though.
02:26
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Willie Rioli)
03:37
Patrick Cripps has accumulated 53.9% of his disposals this season in the forward half. This ranks second amongst his career, only behind the 54.5% achieved in his Brownlow Medal winning season of 2022. Cripps' 53.9% this season ranks fifth amongst the top 50 disposal winners in the competition. 10 of his 17 disposals have been in the forward half tonight, but he has had limited impact, with just three score involvements.
03:49
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Willie Rioli)
05:07
SCORE GOAL - Power (Esava Ratugolea)
06:04
The Power have kicked 3.2 (20) to 0.1 (1) from turnovers in the second half, stifling the Blues' preferred scoring method from the first half.
06:50
SCORE GOAL - Power (Jackson Mead)
08:38
Port Adelaide have generated 11 scoring shots to four from stoppages and have scored 4.7 (31) to 2.2. (14).
10:04
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (George Hewett)
14:25
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
14:48
With a tackle count of 14-12 in favour of the Blues, it has been a grueling final term, with contested possession outweighing uncontested possession for the quarter.
18:34
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Elijah Hollands)
19:05
Adam Saad averages three running bounces per game, ranked second in the AFL. He has five in this game.
19:43
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Matthew Kennedy)
21:22
SCORE GOAL - Power (Jason Horne-Francis)
22:20
Jason Horne-Francis extends the lead for the Power. His seven score involvements are a team-high for Port Adelaide.
26:20
SCORE GOAL - Power (Darcy Byrne-Jones)
27:14
After a lengthy deliberation, Darcy Byrne-Jones is credited with a goal, his second of the night. Port Adelaide extend their lead to 14 and have held the best fourth quarter team in the AFL goal-less in the final term.
31:56
The Power reversed the turnover game from the first half to the second. After being outscored by 31 points from this source in the first half, they outscored the Blues by 23 in the second half. They win the eleventh of their last twelve games at Marvel and snap a three-game losing streak against the Blues.