Opening Round, 2026

Carlton 2.2 14 4.4 28 8.6 54 10.9 69 Sydney Swans 0.3 3 2.6 18 14.9 93 20.12 132
Venue:	SCG
Date:	Thursday March 5, 2026 (7.30 pm).
Result:	Lost by 63 points.
Crowd:
Goalkickers:	M. Pittonet 3.0, B. Ainsworth 2.0, W. Hayward 1.2, B. Kemp 1.1, A. Moir 1.0, H. McKay 1.0, E. Hollands 1.0, Z. Williams 0.1, L. Reidy 0.1, P. Cripps 0.1, C. Lord 0.1, Rushed 0.2.
Reports:
Umpires:	Brendan Hosking, Jamie Broadbent, Simon Meredith, Martin Rodger.
Injuries:
Ladder:

Swans blow away Blues in second half

Carlton has gone down by 63 points in the season opener against Sydney. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.

Carlton has gone down by 63 points in the season opener against Sydney. Despite a bright start, the Blues were no match for the power of the Swans in the second half, ultimately falling 20.12 (132) to 10.9 (69). On a night where the Blues unveiled seven new faces for the Club, Ben Ainsworth and Will Hayward kicked their first goals in Navy Blue while AFL debutants Jagga Smith (27 disposals) and Harry Dean (six intercepts) showed they belong at the level. The Blues enjoyed a strong start, with their appetite for the contest and willingness to take the game on a feature. They kept the Swans goalless in the opening term, with the returning Brodie Kemp kicking the first goal of the season. He was quickly followed up by Hayward, while fellow former Swan Ollie Florent started brightly as the Blues took an 11-point lead into the main break.

Carlton kept that going in the second term, responding to Sydney taking the lead with a pair of quick goals to close the term. One of those was a piece of individual brilliance from Ainsworth, launching from 60 metres out to wrestle the lead back, before Marc Pittonet had a key victory against Brodie Grundy. The recently re-signed Sam Walsh led the charge for the Blues in the first half, typically combative at stoppage, while young midfielder Cooper Lord was prolific in the opening stages. When Pittonet converted once again from a stoppage at the resumption of play in the third term, the Blues led by 22 points - but from there, it was all Sydney. The Swans were at their devastating best, comprehensively beating the Blues at stoppages to pile on 12 goals for the term. It turned a 22-point Carlton lead into a 39-point deficit at the final change, with the Blues no match for the Swans’ run and carry. Come game’s end, it was a 63-point difference on the scoreboard, with the Blues needing to dust themselves off and go again against Richmond next Thursday night at the MCG.

Team

B:	14 Oliver Florent	23 Jacob Weitering	33 Lewis Young
HB:	35 Harry Dean	11 Mitch McGovern	42 Adam Saad
C:	4 Ollie Hollands	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	19 Will Hayward
HF:	8 Lachie Fogarty	10 Harry McKay	12 Ben Ainsworth
F:	7 Jagga Smith	17 Brodie Kemp	43 Ashton Moir
Ruck:	27 Marc Pittonet	29 George Hewett	18 Sam Walsh
Interchange:	6 Zac Williams	25 Liam Reidy	20 Elijah Hollands
	36 Cooper Lord	31 Campbell Chesser
Coach:	Michael Voss
Emergencies:	39 Talor Byrne	40 Hudson O'Keeffe	37 Jordan Boyd

Milestones

Debut: Harry Dean, Jagga Smith
Debut (Carlton): Ben Ainsworth, Campbell Chesser, Oliver Florent, Will Hayward. Liam Reidy
50 Games: Brodie Kemp
First Goal (Carlton): Ben Ainsworth, Will Hayward
1. Marc Pittonet kicked a career high 3 goals.

Video

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2026 | Round 1