Daniel Turner has cut the lead back to 31 points with two minutes left until half-time.
Can Melbourne get one more before the long break?
Matt Owies has kicked his second of the quarter to become the Blues only multiple goalkicker.
This game has become a massive problem for the Demons. They can’t pull back this lead.
Their defence has not been able to clamp the Blues down. But the fault might be coming from further afield, as Carlton’s midfield has been able to move the ball forward with pace.
Carlton leads by 37 points.
Patrick Cripps is on the board. Carlton now has seven different goalkickers, and Charlie Curnow is not one of them.
Before Cripps phad pounced on a loose ball and slotted one home from 20m, Curnow had lifted the Blues fans from their seats with a big run and jump mark. He soared over a pack and took the ball on his chest.
It was 35m from goal on a slight angle, giving the big forward the sort of set shot that he normally kicks in his sleep.
But Curnow pulled the ball to the left and let those excited Blues fans down.
The Blues lead by 31 points.
Christian Petracca has kicked Melbourne’s second.
You can’t keep a superstar down. He has moved deep forward and is proving a headache for Carlton’s defence.
But worryingly for the Demons, Harrison Petty and Kysaiah Pickett are struggling to get their hands on the ball.
Melbourne have wrested back momentum and if those two can fire, the Demons will quickly close the gap.
Carlton leads by 23 points.
Christian Petracca has kicked Melbourne’s first goal.
After struggling under a hard Matthew Kennedy tag in the first term, Petracca drifted forward and was able to pull down a mark in front of Mitch McGovern.
He was then able to boot a much-needed goal.
The Demons are starting to look a little more threatening. But they will need to keep firing.
Carlton leads by 29 points.
Simon Goodwin will be starting to stress. Carlton small forward Matthew Owies has kicked Carlton’s sixth straight major.
The goal came after the Demons slowed the game and turned the first five minutes of the second term into an arm wrestle.
The Blues by 36 points.
QT: Few would have seen this coming, the Blues dominating the first term so emphatically the Demons were scoreless come the first change. Yes, that’s right, scoreless, a week after toppling a then unbeaten Geelong.
To put that in perspective, the last time the Demons were scoreless in a quarter was in round one, 2019.
Midfielder Christian Petracca was the biggest worry, finishing with just four touches for the term. The Blues sent Matt Kennedy to complete a hard tag on Petracca, and he thrived – by the 17-minute mark Kennedy had seven touches, including two clearances, while Petracca had the one handball.
Demon Kysaiah Pickett battles Carlton’s Sam Walsh.Credit: Getty Images
Conversely, Sam Walsh, averaging a career-high 33 disposals per game, was brilliant with 13 disposals, the Blues dominating clearances. They also had their match-ups right in persistent rain which made conditions slippery.
Much was made of the key match-ups heading into this contest, in particular whether Steven May would again head to Charlie Curnow, and how the Blues would handle intercept king Jake Lever.
May did go to Curnow, and was one of the few good Demons in the first term, while reborn defender Tom McDonald had the job on Harry McKay, the latter booting a goal.
Jake Lever has benefitted in the past from spending time on the Blues’ small forwards, but this time he had his hands full with Jack Martin and Tom De Koning. Martin, the returning mid-sized forward in his first senior game of the season, completed a strong grab ahead of Lever to deliver the Blues’ third goal.
Lever again found himself in trouble against a leading forward, this time De Koning, who converted from just inside 50 to compound the Demons’ misery.
The Demons need to find way to change their angles when heading inside 50.
No one scripted this: the Blues kicking five straight, and Melbourne failing to score.
Come on, that wasn’t in the playbook. This was meant to be a dour, goal-for-goal struggle.
Jack Martin celebrates his first goal back against the Demons.Credit: Getty Images
Melbourne will need to reboot after allowing Carlton to gain significant ascendancy.
The Blues have moved the ball forward quickly to avoid Jake Lever and Steven May.
But the game is far from over.
Carlton have kicked the first five goals of the game.
Tom De Koning added to the ledger with a strong pack mark in front of Jake Lever.
The accuracy has been infectious, as he did not look like missing the shot on goal either.
The Blues lead by 30 points.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
SMH
