Semi Final, 2023
Melbourne vs Carlton
Friday 15 September
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 96,412
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.3 | 4.7 | 7.11 | 9.17.71 |
| Carlton | 2.2 | 5.3 | 7.5 | 11.7.73 |
Carlton win by 2 points
Goalkickers: Joel Smith 3, Bayley Fritsch 2, Kysaiah Pickett 2, Ed Langdon 1, Christian Petracca 1
Milestones:
Last game
Joel Smith
Last MFC game
James Jordon
Playing to avoid another early exit from the finals, Melbourne took on a Carlton side that had recovered from a mid-season slump to hit September in red-hot form, and held a recent win against them. The Demon attack had failed in their Qualifying Final loss to Collingwood, but things looked good when they kicked the first three goals of the night. The Blues got two late in the term, then took the lead in the second term as Melbourne's inaccuracy began to hurt them again. The Demons hit back to lead by a goal at the last change, but two early goals put Carlton in front. The lead was grabbed back again, before several chances to seal the game were missed. Carlton reduced the margin to less than a goal, and with a minute left they capitalised on a turnover to take the lead. Needing just a point to force the game to extra time, Melbourne was unable to go forward and were eliminated in front of the biggest crowd to see them play since the 1964 Grand Final.
Best were May, Oliver and Viney. Josh Schache was an unused substitute, the only time all season Melbourne chose not to use their replacement player.
Media
afl.com.au - 15/09/2023
Links
Demonblog match review