Harry McKay was hurt during a rough collision in the second half and hobbled off in the hands of the trainers, ruining Carlton’s first finals victory in ten years.
In front of 92,026 spectators at the MCG on Friday night, the Blues♿ overcame a furious last-quarter surge from Sydney to emerge victorious with a score of 11. 8. (74) to 9. 14. (68).
In the Blues’ backline, McKay was involved in a nasty collision with several Swans forwards that left the former Coleman Medal winner sprawled on the ground and clutching his ribs.
Due to his injury, McKay was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Blues secured a spot in the semi-finals against Melbourne for the following weekend.
Although McKay’s concussion was not confirmed by Carlton, the way the star forward stumbled off the ground does not bode well for his chances of playing against Melbourne.
McKay will follow the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols if he receives an official diagnosis of a concussion.
Teammate Jack Martin may be forced to sit out if McKay is unable to stand up to the Demons. Martin is in for a nervous wait after he collected Nick Blakey with a swinging arm during the first quarter.
After the victory, Martin discussed his actions and made it clear that coach Michael Voss was behind him despite the controversy.
“I came off the bench and Michael Voss goes a good tackle,” Martin said following the game on Channel 7.
Martin’s ferocity was praised by Carlton captain Patrick Cripps throughout the game, which followed two critical final quarter marks in Carlton’s defensive fifty.
He’s been enormous. I adore him because he hits players hard and they feel it,” Cripps said to Channel 7 following the game.
“It’s the style we want to play.”
After 181 career games, it comes as Cripps recorded his first-ever victory in the finals.
“The big games are what you play footy for,” he says to Seven.
“I adore how we approached it. The Swans are a great opposition, and I really like how they approach things. They threw everything at us.
“We’ve grown a lot in the eighteen months under Vossy (Michael Voss), we just perhaps lacked confidence there for a while. Although external expectations may have overwhelmed us, we managed to turn things around and it’s truly remarkable.”
Leave a Reply