And what happened to Carlton? Well,they lost captain Patrick Cripps to a hamstring injury after a quarter. That was bad. But really,the bigger loss was ruckman Marc Pittonet,out with an injury picked up against the Hawks last week,which left the inexperienced Tom De Koning exposed against Jarrod Witts.
Witts,who missed all of last year with a knee injury,made the Blues’ vaunted midfield look second rate. He also had Noah Anderson and Touk Miller at his feet,who between them had a picnic with 67 touches combined.
At half-back,Lachie Weller played one of his best games for the club with his soft hands,speed and brilliant ball use by foot. Mabior Chol kicked four goals and small forward Malcolm Rosas jnr had a breakout game with three.
The Blues had started hot,with the reborn Charlie Curnow hooking through his first in the first minute of play and Cripps finding space directly in front of goal in the second. But from there,as Witts took charge of the centre,the Suns settled.
Rosas kicked their first,and his first at AFL level,hit by a magnificent Jack Lukosius pass as the home side transferred from half-back. Lukosius,having a sparkling first term,won a hard ball and handed off to Anderson for another.
By the end of the quarter,Cripps was on the bench,the Suns had five on the board,and the Blues had problems. Other than Sam Docherty in the back half – without whom they would have been lost – they lacked leadership and,increasingly,discipline.