CARLTON has ended Melbourne's 2023 campaign, defeating the home side by two points in Friday night’s semi-final.
The Blues will play in their first preliminary final since 2000, claiming an 11.7 (73) to 9.17 (71) win in front of 96,412 people at the MCG.
Melbourne looked home into time-on before Jesse Motlop kicked a goal to reduce the margin to under a kick, then for the second straight week Blake Acres kicked the winner for Carlton, this time with just 56 seconds left after hauling in a contested mark at the top of the goal square before squeezing it home.
Simon Goodwin’s side looked almost home 10 minutes into the final quarter, but couldn't hold on to their narrow lead in a heartbreaking end for the Demon faithful.
A week after a near best-on-ground performance in his first taste of September, Sam Walsh backed it up with an even better showing in his second final. The 2018 No. 1 pick amassed 34 disposals, 11 contested possessions, eight tackles, two goals and 618 metres gained.
Steven May produced a vintage performance that showed why he was named All-Australian in 2020 and 2021, restricting two-time Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow to just one goal in a defensive masterclass, while the star defender finished with 22 disposals, 11 intercepts and seven marks.
It ended like it started. Heart in your mouth. Ferocious pressure. Exactly what you hoped for – and more.
Melbourne made the fast start, eight days after a nightmare finish to the qualifying final loss to Collingwood on the same patch of grass.
The Demons kicked the first three goals of the game and looked ominous early. It took a defensive breakdown between Adam Tomlinson and May for Tom De Koning to find some space inside 50 and then convert Carlton’s first goal, just when they needed it. And then De Koning kicked a second in the space of a minute, stepping up in the absence of Harry McKay in a sign of things to come.
Walsh put the Blues in front halfway through the second quarter with a deft snap at the Punt Road end of the ground. The All-Australian midfielder was everywhere from the start but his 16th touch was his most effective to that point. Then Curnow finally got some space away from May following a quick entry to kick Carlton’s fifth consecutive goal. It took a response from Smith to settle the nerves of anxious Melbourne supporters.
The pressure of a final afflicted both sides in the third quarter with brutal turnovers costing scoring opportunities. Youth and experience both butchered it. Finally, Bayley Fritsch mopped up a messy period of the game with a classy finish to reduce the margin to just a point, before Pickett dribbled a goal to put the Demons back in front. Marc Pittonet didn’t leave Max Gawn’s side all quarter but couldn’t stop the skipper taking a contested mark. Gawn missed, Pittonet breathed a sigh of relief.
Walsh levelled the scores 20 seconds into the fourth quarter when the Carlton star nailed a goal on the run. Just when the Blues had the momentum, Melbourne’s smaller forward line continued to create trouble. Pickett, Fritsch, Smith and Spargo all caused problems.
However, just like it resurrected its season in June, Carlton saved its season in September on a night long-suffering Blues supporters will never forget.
MELBOURNE 3.3 4.7 7.11 9.17 (71)
CARLTON 2.2 5.3 7.5 11.7 (73)
GOALS
Melbourne: Smith 3, Pickett 2, Fritsch 2, Langdon, Petracca
Carlton: De Koning 2, Walsh 2, Motlop 2, Acres 2, Kennedy, Curnow, Owies
BEST
Melbourne: May, Oliver, Viney, Smith, Petracca
Carlton: Walsh, Cripps, Newman, De Koning, Weitering, Saad
INJURIES
Melbourne:
Carlton: Cripps (nose), Docherty (shoulder)
SUBSTITUTES
Melbourne: Josh Schache
Carlton: Ollie Hollands replaced David Cuningham in the fourth quarter
Crowd: 96,412 at the MCG
