Carlton cleaned up their turnover game impressively after Round 2 with a dominant 45-point win over the Dockers at Marvel Stadium last Sunday. It was one of the most dominant performances of the Round, in a Round there were more than enough blowouts.
The rise of Harry McKay is not a one-game wonder, expect this man to become a force as this season, and his career progresses. Patrick Cripps, among other leaders, clearly took the criticism leading into Round 3 personally and led from the front in a performance that kicks the Blues' season off in the right direction after an over-criticised start on just 2 games. In the midfield, coach David Teague went to the big bodies of Cripps and Ed Curnow for most of the day, and they were assisted by the leg speed of Sam Walsh proving effective in winning the clearances 43-29. They face another team that will struggle in that area this weekend.
The Round 2 demolition of a lacklustre Kangaroos outfit has masked some problems for the Suns in a hopeful breakout season for the club, they rank just 13th in scoring despite playing the Roos and Crows. Granted their fortune hasn't been a storybook to start 2021, they showed they are a team with a long way to go on the weekend. The Suns lacked the composure at times when the heat was on against the Crows. The fact is, despite being well coached by Stuart Dew, there are holes in the Suns' lineup and the cattle still aren't quite at the level to be finals calibre. The Suns now lose captain and ruckman Jarrod Witts for the season who had his team ranked fifth in hitouts and sixth in clearances - tough to replace with big man Sam Day also missing. This causes a problem around the stoppages where they will be outmatched (the Blues rank #1 in clearances in 2021), and with the Blues ability to put points on quickly... it spells trouble.
While the Suns are crippled in areas by injury - the Blues are getting healthier, and clearly playing the better football of the two sides - the health & true form lines can't be ignored here.
Our members got Carlton as underdogs earlier in the week, but the value still stacks up here as slight favourites...
Take the Blues to bag out on the Suns at Metricon, and secure an important 2-2 start.
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