Carlton Beat Lackluster Eagles

Carlton’s class shone through on Saturday afternoon as the Blues carved up West Coast at the Adelaide Oval.

George Hewett, (39 disposals) Sam Walsh, (37 disposals), Adam Cerra, (27 disposals) and Patrick Cripps, (23 disposals and 11 clearances) were all vital for the Blues, while hometown hero Corey Durdin kicked four goals.

For the Eagles, Jack Hutchinson, (five clearances) worked hard, while Liam Baker, (23 disposals) could hold his head high in defeat.

Heading into the game, both teams were winless in 2025, and did it show. An array of errors were present in the first, as the quarter time scoreboard saw a combined 4.9 for both teams. The game quickly turned into a messy, untidy, scrappy affair during the opening play.

It was West Coast who held a lead for a majority of the quarter, courtesy of a goal from under fire Eagles captain, Oscar Allen. The forward has met with Hawthorn in previous weeks, before recent reports linked him the Brisbane Lions, all this while his football club hasn’t won a game across the opening month of 2025. 

Injury blues continued to plague Harry McKay, who ran straight into Tom Gross.  Gross and McKay didn’t see each other, and clashed heads in the centre of the Adelaide Oval.   Gross was quickly back to his feet, but McKay was escorted from the ground, and later withdrawn from the contest. 

In a quarter where no one could buy a goal, South Australian Corey Durdin kicked two goals as the Blues opened up a 15 point quarter time lead.

Carlton’s midfielders were dominant all game, winning the ball at stoppage. Experienced pair Sam Walsh and George Hewett were doing a bulk of the work in the engine room for the Blues in the first stanza. 

A relatively even second term saw the Eagles hang in the game. Carlton’s wasted chances continued to hurt them in them in the second as they paired 4.5 to go with 3.6 in the first term. They’d had 18 shots to nine at the main break, but only had a 29 point lead.

Late in Cooper Lord kicked his first goal in AFL footy during the second quarter.  Originally not selected in the 23, Lord came into the game as the sub for Blake Acres, and found his way into the game when McKay was withdrawn. 

Elsewhere, Walsh took his game to another level as he finished the half with three goals.

In the third quarter, Carlton finally shut the door on the Eagles. Patrick Cripps led from the front, as did Sam Walsh. Durdin kept his party going up forward as Carlton closed the game down, kicking four goals to one and annihilating the Eagles in all facets of the game.

Carlton did as they pleased, winning the ball from the stoppage, as inside 50 after inside 50 finally broke the determined Eagles back six.

A 45 point three quarter time margin had all but secured the four points for Carlton, but the Blues still won the last quarter as they ran out 71 point winners. This was including a goal for Will White, who kicked his first goal in AFL footy.

In a negative for the Blues in the last quarter, Brodie Kemp went down in the forward pocket for the Blues. Grasping at his shin, he left the ground and didn’t return.

Blues: 3.6 7.11 12.16 17.19.121

Eagles: 1.3 3.6 4.12 6.14.50

Goalkickers:

Blues:

Durdin, (4), Cripps, (3), Walsh, (3), Curnow, (2), Docherty, Fogarty, Lord, McGovern, White

Eagles:

Ryan, (2), Allen, Cripps, Owies, Reid

Best:

Blues:

P. Cripps, G. Hewett, S. Walsh

Eagles:

L. Baker, J. Graham, L. Ryan