FOR the third straight season, Carlton will head down the highway for a clash with Geelong.
In its search for its first win of the year, the Blues will be ruing another missed opportunity last week, while their upcoming opponents couldn’t have been more impressive in their home win over the Hawks.
A key feature of the way Saturday night’s game will pan out will be around the ability to dominate possession.
Geelong showed how devastating it could be with ball-in-hand last weekend, having 90 more disposals than Hawthorn on Friday night in the 61-point triumph.
"He's someone who has been focussing on his forward pressure... I think he had more tackles than anyone on the ground."
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) June 16, 2020
See who impressed Daniel O'Keefe in Saturday's reserves scratch match.#OwnTheFuture
It continued a significant trend for the Cats over the past 12 months, where they’ve lost just two of their past 17 games when winning the possession count. On the flip side, they have a 1-7 record in that when they lose the possession count.
Gary Ablett was at his brilliant best last weekend playing across half forward, and he could very well go head-to-head against another veteran.
On a day where he matches John Nicholls for games played in the Navy Blue, Carlton will be leaning on the experience of Kade Simpson across half back against the little master.
Coming up against Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood in the middle, Patrick Cripps has always risen to the occasion against the best — and the same can be said for his form against Geelong.
Since 2016, Cripps has averaged 32 disposals, eight clearances and 109 AFL Fantasy points against the Cats: he looms as the perfect choice as captain for your AFL Fantasy side for Round 3.
