Notes from the game: 2016 Round 15 Carlton

In a mistake-riddled game, Collingwood hangs on for a 12-point win.



Here's something I forgot to say about last week's game. As I drove home from the station late Friday afternoon, my car showed the outside temperature as 6℃. I was pretty sure that it would not get any warmer for the game later in the day. I thought about Collingwood's recent performances and felt my spirits flag. At that moment, I resolved not to go to the game.

Normally, the prospect of seeing Collingwood torment Carlton would be quite appealing. The betting seemed to have the Pies as favourites. But my heart is no longer in it. Late in the afternoon, I said to the better half that had the game been on in the afternoon when it was quite sunny, albeit colder than I would like, I would have gone. But the evening offered only cold, without the mitigation either of sun on the one hand or good footy on the other.

And so it proved. Collingwood managed 8 goals for the game, only slightly less terrible than Carlton's 6. The teams managed a combined, inaccurate 14.18. Now some of the behinds came from long shots (either literally from a distance or metaphorically in difficult circumstances). Nevertheless, both teams managed to miss many regulation shots. So there was little joy to be had from the game.

I kept switching to the ABC's election coverage to ameliorate my disappointment. When Levi Casboult marked not far from goal, no angle to speak of, I switched to the election. Later, when I switched back, I was surprised to see that Carlton's score had only increased by a point. So, I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see all that game. It may be that while I was listening to Barrie Cassidy, Collingwood players were delighting those fans who stayed with the game. But I wouldn't put my house on it.

To put this game into perspective, Collingwood's moment in the sun came in the "premiership quarter" (Q3) when they kicked - wait for it - 2.3 to 0.2, thereby stretching their half-time lead to a match-sealing 18 points! I bet you're kicking yourself for not going to the game!