FOLLOWING a good win against Sandringham, the Carlton Reserves had a defiant win over Sydney in their curtain raiser at the SCG.

In a high-scoring affair, the Carlton Reserves kicked away in a big victory, at the SCG to win back-to-back games, prevailing 15.15 (105) to 11.9 (75).

A career-best performance from young key forward Harry Lemmey spearheaded the performance, stepping up with seven goals in an efficient showing.

Sam Docherty once again led brilliantly to finish with a game-high 37 disposals, while Ben Camporeale (33 disposals), Liam McMahon (four goals) and Hudson O’Keeffe (nine clearances) had impressive showings.

While slippery conditions proved tricky for both teams early in the first term, it was a good start for the Blues.

O’Keeffe hit the ground running once again starting the game off strong in the ruck, standing up in place of Marc Pittonet, while co-captain Liam McMahon loomed large early.

The return of AFL-listed Alex Cincotta provided energy to the group, looking lively early in his return while spending time on the likes of Swans AFL captain Callum Mills and veteran Taylor Adams.

After leading the disposal count last week, veteran Sam Docherty (eight disposals) and youngster Billy Wilson (seven disposals) were making their presence felt at ground level, while key defender Harry O’Farrell stood up multiple times in defence, including a desperate goal-saving spoil.

The game was on the Blues’ terms early despite conceding two early goals, as Ollie Poole proved dangerous with the first highlight of the game – finishing a banana from the pocket to open Carlton’s account.

Before long, it was O’Farrell with a kick to the pocket that found key forward Harry Lemmey. With a classy snapping finish, he kicked his first of the evening to give the Blues their second in no time.

O’Keeffe continued to show his grunt in the middle, with a clearance following up his own ruckwork. Will Hayes provided another forward entry to Lemmey on the junction of the 50-metre line and boundary, where he finished for his second in quick succession.

With an interception from Nelson, Phipps-Parsons found Lemmey with a kick over the back to space. On fire early, the key forward played on and finished for his third in only three minutes, in turn giving the Blues a narrow lead at the first change.

To start the second, the Blues continued where they left off, winning the first clearance through a surging Camporeale (11 disposals).

After repeat entries, Liam McMahon kicked his first of the game with a simple set shot finish, before intercepting a kick inside 50 and finishing off his own work for his second in a minute.

The co-captain then matched Lemmey’s effort of three straight goals, slotting one home from 45 metres out on the run.

With the Reserves inching ahead, a forward stoppage gave the Blues another chance, where Camporeale positioned himself well at the back of the stoppage and curled one home off the outside of his boot for his first goal in Navy Blue.

While the Blues had most of the play, O’Farrell (five marks) continued to command the back half alongside Ethan Phillips, before a searing kick inside 50 from Cooper Vickery ended with Lemmey registering a career-high fourth goal in the first half.

Carlton took a 16-point lead into the main break and then enjoyed the perfect start to the second half, with Cincotta poking home from the top of the square for his first on return.

The Swans’ answering goal was immediately met with a Carlton reply, as Ramshaw found Lemmey for his fifth while debutant Taj Logan started to find his groove and Billy Wilson persisting with his distribution from the back half.

Ethan Phillips was again solid in defence, while Irishman Matt Duffy got more and more involved in just his second game of football with 12 disposals to his name in the third term.

As the rain began to fall at the SCG, a clever kick from Poole found Phipps-Parsons in space, with the second-gamer kicking his first VFL goal to give the Blues a game-high lead.

Carlton’s key forwards again combined with McMahon finding Lemmey, who opted to go around his body for a return of 6.0 to that point in the contest.

With a 28-point lead at three-quarter time, the Blues were looking to put the Swans away early, and it was none other than Lemmey who registered the opening goal of the final term.

Sydney started to press with consecutive goals, but a clearance from Nelson to McMahon saw the co-captain hold his nerve and steady the ship with his fourth goal.

Phillips continued to battle in the back half with 20 disposals to his name, while Docherty kept controlling the play in defence and withstood Sydney’s pressure throughout the term.

Despite the ball being played in Blues back half for the majority of the quarter, their lead proved too strong, coming away 30-point victors at the SCG.

SYDNEY VFL                    4.2     7.2     9.5         11.9 (75) 
CARLTON RESERVES     4.5     9.6     13.9       15.15 (105) 

GOALS 
Carlton: Lemmey 7, McMahon 4, Camporeale, Cincotta, Phipps-Parsons, Poole

BEST
Carlton: Lemmey, O’Keeffe, Phillips, Docherty, McMahon, O’Farrell