Geelong blasted after poor first half vs Carlton with AFL premiers labelled ‘SLOW’
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Fox Sports pundits were scathing in their assessment of Geelong’s first half display against Carlton with Jason Dunstall expressing concern for the ‘vulnerable’ premiers.
A second quarter surge from the Blues put Michael Voss’s side eight points in front heading into the interval, with a late Jeremy Cameron goal keeping the Cats in the contest.
Having lost their first round clash with Collingwood last week, alarm bells could soon be sounding at Geelong and Dunstall claimed that Chris Scott’s side already look shot.
‘Vulnerable is an understatement,’ he said at half time. ‘They look like a team at the end of a long, hard campaign and the Blues should be further in front at half time.’
David King added: ‘They look a little bit slow tonight for the first time.
Geelong’s first half performance against Carlton has been blasted by Fox Footy pundits
The Blues put in a superb performance and made Geelong look second best on Thursday
David King and Jason Dunstall fear that Geelong look a shadow of their former selves
‘We’ve been quick to write off Geelong so let’s not get too hasty, but they look short of a gallop don’t they.’
St Kilda legend Joey Montagna said: ‘The Blues were all over them and should be further in front. Carlton will be mighty pleased with how they’ve gone in the first half.’
In the end, Carlton resisted a Jeremy Cameron-inspired Geelong comeback to end a horror run in tight contests with an eight-point victory, leaving the reigning AFL premiers winless after two rounds.
Star forward Charlie Curnow kicked five goals as the Blues surged clear during the third quarter before hanging on for a nervy 13.12 (90) to 12.10 (82) triumph at the MCG.
The Cats trailed by 28 points late in the third term but cut it back to a single-figure margin with plenty of time left as Cameron booted three final-quarter goals.
Cameron finished with 6.1 from 25 disposals and eight marks in a superb performance, despite being banged up after a series of big collisions, but couldn’t drag Geelong over the line.
The Cats were left licking their wounds, nursing a 0-2 record for the first time since 2015.
Curnow caused headaches for Geelong for most of the night, kicking goals in each of the first three terms.
Last year’s Coleman Medal winner booted majors with five of his first six kicks as he made life difficult for remodelled Cats defender Esava Ratugolea.
At the other end, Cameron fired but was one of several Geelong players in the wars.
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