Carlton delivered a harsh AFL reality check to the Brisbane Lions with a 91-point Easter Thursday thumping at the Gabba.
With midfield guns Chris Judd and Marc Murphy leading the way, the Blues ran amok to win 23.16 (154) to 9.9 (63) after the Lions had given 25,920 home fans hope with an enterprising start.
While both clubs enjoyed convincing first-up wins in round one, genuine top-four contenders Carlton highlighted the huge gulf between the sides after trailing by two points at the first change.
While Brisbane kicked six goals in an entertaining opening quarter, the short five-day turnaround following their 42-point win over Melbourne took its toll.
They only kicked one goal in the second and third quarters combined and the imminent return of skipper Jonathan Brown against Fremantle next weekend can’t come soon enough for the Lions.
The Blues had 11 separate goal-scorers with key target Jarrad Waite finishing with five majors.
Carlton’s Eddie Betts also produced two cracking marks to dominate the highlights reel. His first came high above James Polkinghorne as the visitors cut loose in the second term before repeating the effort over Cheynee Stiller in the second half.
Judd was kept to just two possessions in the opening term but took only a minute to put the Blues on top in the second with an angled major on the run to spark a three-goal burst which turned the match on its head.
The humble skipper, who had raised eyebrows by rating Murphy Carlton’s best midfielder last week, looked to be on the money as the 24-year-old sparkled with a 16-touch first half, which included a second-quarter goal from the most acute angle on the Gabba.
But Judd came into his own as the match wore on to deserve best on ground status, finishing with three goals and a game-high 33 disposals despite being spelled heavily in the third term.
The Lions kicking accuracy, so good in the first quarter as they got on top 6.1 to 5.5, also lapsed as they finished with 1.5 in the second and were unable to cope with the Blues’ pressure.
Veteran Simon Black was miked-up for Brisbane and was among their best with Daniel Rich, who racked up 27 touches.
