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Sport Nation
Whateley: The Blues are a team restored, now let’s see them charge
Gerard Whateley • April 28th, 2025 1:22 pm
I had a sneaky feeling that the guilty pleasure was back. And so it proved.
For the first time since June last year, Carlton has a scalp.
It was Geelong then… it’s Geelong now. The Blues were second on the ladder when they beat the Cats in Round 15 last year, with the best footy they played all season.
From that peak performance, it was a steady deterioration thereafter.
Their painful entry into 2025 has now just about been set right.
From 0-4, the luck of the fixture presented two easy beats and Michael Voss’ men took toll.
By the end of Good Friday, they looked in form but that needed validation against capable opposition… and that validation came yesterday.
The one rider to Carlton’s poor start - when they frankly looked not very good - was the ultimate judgment had to be held until Sam Walsh came through the doldrums of an interrupted summer, and Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay were together up front.
Fully armed and operational, Carlton looked like the team forecast, and frankly, the team they should be.
The Blues dominated clearance which set up field position. They played the game on their terms. They ran in waves off half back when the opportunity presented but also picked their way through the Cats with precision in their kick-mark game.
They have the competition’s dominant ruckman in Tom De Koning. Charlie Curnow loomed early and Harry McKay was commanding late. There was nothing more joyous than seeing Harry romp around the ‘G taking his marks and booting three goals.
His home crowd rode with him every step of the way urging him on and celebrating his triumphs. It was a beautiful synergy between player and fan base.
The small forwards swarmed, and in Corey Durdin’s case, soared.
The defensive trio of Weitering, McGovern and Silvagni was formidable, and no one personified the change of fortunes better than Nick Haynes. He started his life as a Blue woefully. Yesterday he was impregnable.
Carlton played brilliantly through phases of the game and then held their nerve under challenge late.
It was fitting that the sealer was kicked by George Hewitt, the man who held the standard while others struggled to join the cause.
This is the Carlton that was anticipated, and this is the Carlton that should be expected.
Their first scalp since June should spark the run they enjoyed up to that point last year - the one that had them at the forefront of premiership contention.
Whatever the cause of the early season lethargy - whether it was form or fitness - the Blues are a team restored.
Now let’s see if they charge.
