Round 4, 2014
Carlton vs Melbourne
Saturday 12 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 37,323
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Carlton | 3.4 | 5.9 | 6.11 | 7.16.58 |
| Melbourne | 3.2 | 6.7 | 10.8 | 12.9.81 |
Melbourne win by 23 points
Goalkickers: Rohan Bail 2, Chris Dawes 2, James Frawley 2, Jack Watts 2, Lynden Dunn 1, Nathan Jones 1, Jay Kennedy Harris 1, Cameron Pedersen 1
Brownlow votes
3 - James Frawley
2 - Nathan Jones
Milestones:
First goal
Jay Kennedy Harris (4th game)
After 12 consecutive losses, Melbourne broke their equal seventh longest club losing streak to keep the Blues winless for 2014.
Carlton started well with two goals in the first three minutes, the first coming from the centre bounce when Melbourne gave away a free kick and a 50 metre penalty, but managed just four more for the rest of the game.
In a game containing all the skill errors that you'd expect between two teams who entered the game 0-3, Melbourne lost most of the statistical categories but successfully chased and tackled enough to rattle the Blues. It didn't hurt that Carlton were terribly inaccurate in front of goal, with nine straight behinds from midway through the first quarter until late in the second and another five in a row early in the last quarter.
The Demons welcomed Chris Dawes back for his first game of the year and he kicked two goals from outside 50, linking up well with makeshift forward James Frawley who kicked two goals of his own and took 14 marks.
Two late first quarter goals narrowed the margin to two points before the Demons jumped out to a 17 point lead in the second quarter. Nathan Jones took time out from winning a comfortable victory over Marc Murphy to kick a goal on the run from the boundary line, and both Frawley and Lynden Dunn added goals. Two goals in three minutes to David Ellard allowed the Blues to drag the margin back to four points at the long break.
With Carlton already having made their substitution due to injury in the first quarter, and carrying two other players who were hurt, it took 12 minutes for the first goal to be scored in the second half but Melbourne got two in a row to open up a 16 point lead. Two more late in the quarter, the second to Rohan Bail after a controversial relayed free kick after ruckman Matthew Warnock was reported for striking Jake Spencer restored a 21 point lead going into the last quarter.
Carlton did all the attacking in the first 10 minutes of the last quarter but managed just five behinds before Jack Watts marked in front of goal and kicked his second to give the Demons some breathing space. After a Michael Evans snap which looked to be rolling through took a right break and was rushed through for a point Carlton goalled through Chris Yarran to keep the game interesting before Cameron Pedersen sealed victory with a speculative snap from the boundary line.
It was Melbourne's first win against Carlton since Round 22, 2007.
Best were James Frawley, Nathan Jones and Tom McDonald. Michael Evans replaced Dean Terlich during the third quarter after Terlich suffered a hamstring injury.
Video
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Age - 13/04/2014