Key posts
Latest posts
That’s all for tonight
Thanks so much for joining us this evening everyone as Carlton has claimed a long-awaited finals victory beating the Swans by six points.
The Blues have already ruled out Harry McKay for next weekend’s sudden-death semi-final due to a concussion in the second half while Jack Martin will face scrutiny over a high shot on Nick Blakey in the first half.
The Swans will aim to come back older and wiser next season, they have a young side with a lot of promise.
But the Blues have won and will draw another huge crowd to the MCG next weekend.
We will be back tomorrow afternoon with another live blog on the two remaining AFL finals.
Please join us then.
Voss rules McKay out of next final
Blues coach Michael Voss spoke to the media post game.
How is the heart after that one?
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, last minute and a bit interesting, wasn’t it? It had everything. Had big moments, had plenty of mistakes, but somehow we found a hang on. I guess that’s what finals footy is all about, isn’t it? You never know when the moment’s going to turn up, but you’ve got to be ready for it. We had a couple of really big efforts late to be able to help us get over the line.
Blues coach Michael Voss.Credit: Getty Images
If you were to sum up the difference between your side say this year and last, is it that? Being able to survive those moments where, you know, the ship might go down?
Yeah.Just hang on.I think there’s a defensive resilience to us now. We’ve spoken about it all year. It had to be a characteristic we built within the team. We won on really defence at the end of the game. We didn’t have momentum at all. It was completely against us. We certainly weren’t winning it through ball use. So we would like to have a few moments back going inside 50 and maybe change angles a couple more times rather than let them intercept and get fast off it. So we’ll go to work on that. In behind that was a desperate team with will to win, and probably in the end won on a bit of heart, which probably pleased with.
Will Harry McKay be available in the semi-final?
No, concussion protocols. He won’t be right for next week.
I don’t know if you got the exact details. Almost looked like his head wasn’t hit at all, sort of almost like got the chest area and the sort of force went up. Seemed a bit like a unique one.
I haven’t looked at it in — actually looked at it in detail yet. Yeah, he wasn’t in a great way at the end of the game. Yeah, concussion protocols, that makes him unavailable for next week. We will have to look at what our forward line mix looks like.
Longmire supports temporary sub during concussion tests
By Roy Ward
Swans coach John Longmire says it would be a “common sense” change to the rules if clubs could bring on their substitute player, temporarily, while a player had a concussion test.
The Swans lost Nick Blakey for 20 minutes in the first half while he was assessed following a knock to the head, he later returned and played out the game.
Nick Blakey on the ground after the incident.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
When asked if he would like to have use of his substitute during that time, Longmire said yes.
The Swans didn’t use sub Robbie Fox until three-quarter-time when he was brought into the game.
“That would be a common-sense way of dealing with it,” Longmire said.
“That’s part of the evolution of the game and I understand why that’s not available now but I think that is something that can be brought in over summer.
“That and [improvements to] goal review.”
‘They are learning tough lessons in finals’: Longmire
By Roy Ward
Swans coach John Longmire has urged his young side to learn their lessons and come back strong next season after their six-point loss to Carlton in tonight’s elimination final.
Longmire said his side’s poor goal-kicking hurt them but they played well enough to win.
Chad Warner.Credit: Getty Images
“We had 12 players 24 and under. We had five or six under 22. We are still a young team. It’s still a building group,” Longmire said.
“They are young and they are learning tough lessons and, at least, they are learning them in finals.
“But it doesn’t just come with age only, it comes with learning some tough lessons. As a player, I learned some tough lessons in the early 1990s, had some real heartache and you can talk about it but the lived experiences are the ones you learn the most from.
“If we don’t succeed, we get up and have another crack at it. I’d rather do that than not try to do it.”
Your view: Can the Blues keep this going?
Weitering says Blues style of football stood up in finals classic
Blues defender Jacob Weitering believes this win shows his side’s style of football can win the big finals games.
“You have to play to your brand and there has probably been a bit of noise about the way we play our football and whether it stands up,” Weitering told Fox Footy.
“The last 10 weeks have shown that it does and, again tonight, we play in the contest, our identity is contest and pressure.”
Jacob Weitering.Credit: Getty Images
FT stats
Biggest total crowd on consecutive days in AFL/VFL history
‘Good tackle’: Martin on Blakey clash
Carlton’s Jack Martin spoke to Channel Seven post game.
You had some incredible moments particularly late in that final term. What was it like, the atmosphere?
The atmosphere was electric. Every time I took a bloody mark, I didn’t know what to do with it, it was that loud. Happy to get away with a win.
We’ve got to touch on that moment in the early stages with Nick Blakey. What did you think?
Came off the bench, good tackle. Seemed to be OK. I’ll have a look at it.
‘It’s going to be one to remember’: Cripps
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps spoke to Channel Seven post game.
Patty Cripps, this has been a long time coming, a decade, in fact. 180 games for you. Your first win in finals footy.
It’s bloody loud out here. The Baggers come out in voice. It’s what you play footy for, big games. A lot of us haven’t played finals. 12 years, a lot of the boys are eight years. I just love the way we attacked it. Going really well. We know our game styles. Yeah, they threw everything at us. I love the way they go about it. They kept us on our toes right to the end.
Patrick Cripps.Credit: Getty Images
In front of 92,000 here at the MCG, when you kicked that goal, have you heard anything as loud as that noise?
No, it was pretty cool. A bit of carry on, but, you know, you want to try and stand up for big moments. The Carlton Army, they’re passionate, there’s a lot of them. We love them. The boys were huge tonight. It’s going to be one to remember.
Some stressful moments in the final minutes for Jack Martin going behind the ball. He was critical in that last point.
He’s been huge. He’s had a tough run with his body. If you look at the form line, once he’s come into the side, he’s been a huge difference maker. Kicks goals. What I love about him, he’s bloody hard. He hits hard. When he hits players, they feel it. That’s the style we want to play. He’s the man that leads the way in that.
How much pride do you have in this group, not just for the win tonight, but the entire season? Your ability to turn it around after round 13, when everybody was jumping off the Blues?
Yeah, just, you know, I suppose on and off it’s been 18 months at that time. We’ve grown a lot, probably just lacked a bit of confidence for a bit. Probably got drowned by the external expectations.
We found what works for us and to turn around, it’s pretty special. Good win tonight. On to the Dees next week. It will be a great challenge. They’re good in the contest. We’re going at it. Still a lot of work to do.
Has it been worth the wait?
Definitely. I wouldn’t change it. It’s been a grind, but we’ve got a great bunch of lads there, really close. They’ve been through the tough times together. Now it’s time to enjoy some good ones.
Most Viewed in Sport