AFL round 15 LIVE updates: Blues dine out on Geelong, Cats won’t ‘jump to conclusions’ on Hawkins

How the Cats’ season has changed

Geelong’s 13-point victory over Carlton in late April left them unbeaten through seven rounds and with lots of ammunition for the critics who wrote them off on season eve.

Two months later, they are clinging to a top-eight berth after losing six of their past seven matches, including the Blues delivering a cold dose of revenge in a 63-point hiding at the MCG on Friday night. There are problems and questions everywhere for a side that is finally showing its age.

The biggest centres on champion key forward Tom Hawkins, who was having another underwhelming night before hobbling off in the third term with a foot injury.

Hawkins finished with three scoreless touches – his fifth goalless match this season and second against Carlton star Jacob Weitering – and his career is suddenly winding down quickly.

He is stuck on 796 goals, and there will be a nervous wait ahead to discover the severity of his foot setback.

Double dose of De Konings

After the football world fawned over the McKay twins finally facing off, there was a worthy sequel in the De Konings on Friday night.

Rhys Stanley’s knee injury cost him playing against Carlton, with coach Chris Scott instead sending Sam De Koning to take on his in-form brother Tom in an engrossing ruck battle.

Tom took the honours, particularly in the first half, but of most interest was how hard they went at each other.

Tom bullied his younger sibling at a forward-50 stoppage barely a minute into the match – drawing a big reaction from their mum in the stands – and blasted through a goal.

He was similarly aggressive against his brother at a ruck contest on the tick of quarter-time, which Sam took exception to.

Those two clashes set the tone for a fascinating clash, with both having their moments, including Sam kicking a goal from a free kick against Tom at the other end.

Blues’ one-two punch

There are lots of reasons Carlton have stormed into premiership contention, but a major one is the form of midfielders Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh.

They are the Blues’ main men in the middle, and they made a mess of their Geelong counterparts in a dominant showing.

Cripps finished with 41 disposals and 13 clearances, while Walsh proved the ultimate sidekick with 33 touches of his own and nine clearances.

The star duo were the chief destroyers in Carlton’s 50-39 clearance triumph, which played a key role in their 63-point win.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the space around, you know, winning is one thing but also what do we want to become,” Blues coach Michael Voss said post-win.

“It’s one thing to have these really important occasions that as a club that we take on, it’s very important that we have that strong community presence.”

Voss started his press conference speaking to the importance of Carlton Respects round, which the club has done since 2016, a community initiative to promote gender equality in the prevention of violence against women.

“So to be able to come in tonight and be able to win and to also be able to have that as a purpose to play for [that] was really important,” said Voss.

“And you know, we win games as a team but you want to win games as clubs and you know, so for us, I felt like we had a win as a club today.”

On the actual footy, Voss said that was one of the most balanced performances the Blues have had under his coaching.

Chris Scott was frank in his post-game press conference.

“I thought they jumped us right from the start… We were just outplayed,” he said, noting problem areas they had, including execution going forward.

On the flip side, he gave a glowing review to Carlton, noting: “That’s as good as I’ve seen a team play against us in a long time”.

“We weren’t able to tackle them. You know, obviously they’ve got some class players in there. [Patrick] Cripps was dominant, [Sam] Walsh was really good, but just, you know, their ability to be strong in the tackle.

“But then [also] really tackle us. We couldn’t get any clear ball. So, you know, our skill execution was off, but obviously a lot has to do with them.

“Yeah, I think through the game and they did everything well”.

Well, an update of sorts. Geelong coach Chris Scott has urged the media not to speculate on star forward Tom Hawkins’ foot injury before they have any answers.

Hawkins came off late in the game, unable to put any weight on his foot and ended the day in crutches and visibly very frustrated.

Scott said he has battled with a foot issue this season, including an issue with one of his toes, but this concern is “mid-foot”.

When asked if surgery would be on the cards, Scott told reporters: “I would encourage you not to make that leap”.

“We’re concerned, I don’t want to appear that we’re not concerned, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions either”.

While Blues skipper Patrick Cripps was all smiles in the rooms after the demolition job on the Cats, he was measured in saying the enjoyment that comes from wins like that take time.

“It’s been a work in progress and as you know, culture sort of takes time and we feel like when you value the right staff and you work hard, first and foremost, you feel good energy at the club,” said Cripps.

“And that translates out on the field and one thing we really want to do is really enjoy it.

“We enjoy the hard stuff. We also enjoy the little things as well. Like you said a lot of smiling but you’re only smiling when you value the right stuff first and that’s what the boys are doing.”

How the Cats’ season has changed

Geelong’s 13-point victory over Carlton in late April left them unbeaten through seven rounds and with lots of ammunition for the critics who wrote them off on season eve.

Two months later, they are clinging to a top-eight berth after losing six of their past seven matches, including the Blues delivering a cold dose of revenge in a 63-point hiding at the MCG on Friday night. There are problems and questions everywhere for a side that is finally showing its age.

The biggest centres on champion key forward Tom Hawkins, who was having another underwhelming night before hobbling off in the third term with a foot injury.

Hawkins finished with three scoreless touches – his fifth goalless match this season and second against Carlton star Jacob Weitering – and his career is suddenly winding down quickly.

He is stuck on 796 goals, and there will be a nervous wait ahead to discover the severity of his foot setback.

Double dose of De Konings

After the football world fawned over the McKay twins finally facing off, there was a worthy sequel in the De Konings on Friday night.

Rhys Stanley’s knee injury cost him playing against Carlton, with coach Chris Scott instead sending Sam De Koning to take on his in-form brother Tom in an engrossing ruck battle.

Tom took the honours, particularly in the first half, but of most interest was how hard they went at each other.

Tom bullied his younger sibling at a forward-50 stoppage barely a minute into the match – drawing a big reaction from their mum in the stands – and blasted through a goal.

He was similarly aggressive against his brother at a ruck contest on the tick of quarter-time, which Sam took exception to.

Those two clashes set the tone for a fascinating clash, with both having their moments, including Sam kicking a goal from a free kick against Tom at the other end.

Blues’ one-two punch

There are lots of reasons Carlton have stormed into premiership contention, but a major one is the form of midfielders Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh.

They are the Blues’ main men in the middle, and they made a mess of their Geelong counterparts in a dominant showing.

Cripps finished with 41 disposals and 13 clearances, while Walsh proved the ultimate sidekick with 33 touches of his own and nine clearances.

The star duo were the chief destroyers in Carlton’s 50-39 clearance triumph, which played a key role in their 63-point win.

Carlton have proved they’re a premiership contender with an emphatic 63-point win over Geelong at the MCG.

It’s Carlton’s highest score v Geelong since the 1995 grand final. And with it, they have consolidated their spot at second on the ladder.

And what a way to cap off the night for Blues fans than with Charlie Curnow kicking his fifth goal of the night as he eyes his third straight Coleman medal (or is that getting ahead of things?).

All in front of 75,218 fans.

Carlton defeat Geelong 21.12 (138) to 11.9 (75).

I take back that previous comment. Sam Walsh is now on the board.

And it all started with him at the centre bounce. Gosh, he’s a classy player.

He’s also Carlton’s 12th individual goalscorer of the night. Not too shabby, Blues.

Blues by 57

Every Blue gets a goal! Well, not Sam Walsh, who registered a behind, but Nic Newman and Charlie Curnow with his fourth!

They are just having a blast out there now, running an absolute muck as they enjoy the final five minutes, being up by 50+ points.

That second place on the ladder looks very secure for them at this stage of the season.

Blues by 51

Geelong may have just kicked two goals, but they look defeated.

Both Jeremy Cameron and Gryan Miers barely cracked a smile upon seeing their kicks go through for major scores. It was Cameron’s third of the night, Miers’ first.

Not making things any easier for them, Blue Oliver Hollands answered with his first major of the evening just a minute later.

Blues by 44