Carlton’s triumph over Fremantle was nothing short of a statement victory as the team stood up under the direst of circumstances.
Their injury woes to key defenders need no explaining, but Michael Voss was able to engineer a game plan that kept Fremantle to their third-lowest score of the year.
Firstly, after being beaten against Richmond the week earlier, Carlton got back on top around the ball. Despite Fremantle’s Sean Darcy dominating the hitouts, Carlton won the clearances count (44-30) and dominated centre clearances 14-5.
With the midfield on top, Carlton found offence was the best defence to protect the undersized backline. They kept the ball off Fremantle with uncontested possessions reading (274-210), which contributed to their 83 per cent disposal efficiency, one of the best numbers of 2022.
While it didn’t translate into a better efficiency inside 50, the Blues' forwards did their job in protecting the backline with 17 tackles inside 50.
It’s six more than their season average and 11 more than Fremantle on Saturday afternoon.
With plenty of pressure up forward, Carlton found it easier to rebound back inside 50, ultimately sealing the game with a massive discrepancy in inside 50s (64-40).
Despite numerous scalps before Fremantle, the Round 15 win announces the Blues as genuine premiership contenders.
The troops will return in the coming weeks, and it looks like Voss's side has got through a potentially precarious injury position with a perfectly executed gameplan.
Thanks to TopSport.
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