Live: McGovern subbed off after brutal bump as Curnow ignites Blues

Lewis Young playing the role of a rover, except he’s two metres tall!

Carlton did brilliantly to just keep possession of the ball for the last couple of minutes with the Saints coming hard.

George Hewett turns Wanganeen-Milera in the middle of the ground and sends a long ball inside 50.

Young stays on the ground out the back of the marking contest and snaps truly from close range. He’s got two for the quarter now.

Jack Higgins has his second of the night and St Kilda’s second in a matter of minutes!

The Saints have upped their pressure over the last five minutes and it’s translating to the scoreboard now.

They’re getting repeat forward 50 entries and this time Higgins drops down in a tackle attempt and Ollie Hollands catches him a little bit high.

The game is back on, margin back down to just 11 points.

Mattaes Phillipou finally gets the Saints on the board in the quarter!

This time it’s the Saints who force a turnover on the wing, and Max Hall sends a lovely centred kick inside 50 and finds Phillipou, who takes an excellent contested mark.

Phillipou pumped after that goal as he tries to get this crowd revved up.

God the Saints needed that one badly!

Will White kicks Carlton’s third goal of the second term, but this is Sam Walsh’s goal.

Walsh received a hospital pass on the wing with five Saints defenders surrounding him, and somehow Walsh is able to wriggle his way out of two tackles.

The ball is eventually sent forward and White gets out the back of the defence to kick an easy goal from inside the square.

Ross Lyon looks like he’s going to tear strips off the changeroom walls at halftime.

Not a lot going right on the field right now for the Saints, but they’re about to get their main distributor back.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has gotten his ankle re-strapped and he’s set to come back onto the ground.

The Saints need him because the Blues are dominating this game right now.

Warning signs for the Saints here.

They just can’t get the ball out of their defensive half at the moment.

The Blues force another turnover, Silvagni involved again on the wing.

The ball ends in the hands of Sam Walsh, who sends a lovely long kick inside 50 to find Lewis Young.

Young slots the set shot from close range. The Saints defence looks a little overmatched and undersized right now.

The inside 50 count reads 19-11 Carlton’s way.

Lovely defence from the Blues on the wing as they forced the turnover.

Jack Silvagni picks up the loose ball, completely fakes out his defender, and finds Charlie Curnow with a lovely short kick inside 50.

Curnow goes back and slots his third goal of the night.

In worse news for the Saints, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has limped off the ground with what looks to be an ankle injury.

Mitch McGovern has been subbed out after being bumped by Liam O’Connell.

I doubt O’Connell will be in trouble for that bump, that was a complete footy collision, although there’s no telling with the MRO these days, to be honest.

The siren sounds to end a very, very entertaining quarter of football.

Ross Lyon won’t be happy with the amount of fun had by everyone you’d think.

It was end-to-end stuff at the MCG, with the Saints getting off to the fast start before being pegged back by the Blues, courtesy of a signature flurry from Charlie Curnow.

Wilkie is an excellent defender, but that Curnow match-up looms as a problematic one for the Saints, with Curnow looking like he wants to rip this game apart right now.

Wanganeen-Milera has been everywhere for the Saints and has 10 disposals and four marks already.

Jaxon Binns is Carlton’s leading ball-winner with nine disposals to go along with his goal.

In some bad news for the Blues, Mitch McGovern’s night looks to be over after he came off the ground midway through the quarter.

Cooper Lord is Carlton’s sub and looks set to come on in the second quarter.

Cal Wilkie with some great goal-line defence!

Jaxon Binns wheels off in celebration as he thinks he’s kicked his second goal of the first quarter, but Wilkie is claiming he touched it.

They send it up to the ARC and finally we have an image from the ARC that doesn’t look like it was taken by a 1.3 megapixel camera, Wilkie has indeed touched it.

Cooper Sharman, the star of last week, is on the board!

The Blues defence will be disappointed as that, as they let the ball get out the back of a marking contest in the square.

Sharman reacts quickest, beating Jack Silvagni to the ball, and volleys it home from mid-air just before the ball crosses the goal line.

 Oh boy, Charlie is truly up and about now!

Charlie Curnow outpoints Wilkie in another marking contest, this time right on the 50m arc, to take a brilliant one-handed mark.

He wheels around and slots it beautifully from outside 50 and revs up the crowd as he is known to do.

That knee looks a-OK at the moment.

It’s amazing how Charlie can ignite the Blues, they look like a completely different team all of a sudden.

Charlie Curnow is on the scoreboard!

Curnow has been worn like a glove by Saints defender Cal Wilkie, and the close attention results in a free kick to the Carlton star.

Charlie calmly slots the set shot to give Carlton its first lead of the night.

The Blues have kicked two goals from centre bounces already tonight, something to keep an eye on for the Saints brains trust.

Jaxon Binns gets his lick back!

Some excellent handballs in this chain as Carlton was put under immense pressure from the Saints defence.

Eventually the ball ended in the hands of Binns, who finished truly with a lovely little snap on the right boot.

The Blues needed that one.

Anthony Caminiti pulls out the big double cobra celebration after kicking truly from a set shot!

Caminiti took an intercept mark 45m out from goal after a haphazard kick out of defence from Jaxon Binns from the goal line.

Not the best clearing kick attempt that, the Saints had the wall well and truly set up. Excellent defence of the ground.

St Kilda looks really dangerous every trip forward.

Harry McKay with the quick response for the Blues as he kicks truly from a set shot!

It wasn’t the cleanest forward 50 entry as Francis Evans volleyed the ball inside 50 from the wing, and then ball lands a little short where McKay outmuscles Dougal Howard to take a diving mark.

Big for the Blues to see McKay kick confidently on his first set shot of the night.

Max Hall, take a bow!

The Saints have high hopes for this kid, and here’s why!

Hall led smartly to the pocket and then kicks truly on the set shot from an acute angle and the Saints are pumped.

Early warning signs for the Blues. The Saints have two goals from five inside 50s. The Blues yet to score from four entries of their own.

The match starts as the last Blues-Saints clash ended – with a Jack Higgins goal!

A lovely finish from the Saints goalsneak, who received a handpass from Jack Sinclair and snapped under pressure from 40m out directly in front.

Higgins now second on the AFL’s goalkicking chart with 22 majors.

Just an early look at some numbers, the Blues will want to get someone to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who’s already had seven touches and three marks.

We’re off and running at the home of football!

St Kilda resisting the urge to send Marcus Windhager to Carlton captain Patrick Cripps for now. Windhager is lining up on Blake Acres on the wing for the time being.

In Carlton’s forward line, it looks like Callum Wilkie will get the Charlie Curnow assignment.