Round 16, 2026

Carlton West Coast Eagles
Venue:	Marvel Stadium
Date:	Saturday June 27, 2026 (1.15 pm).
Result:
Crowd:	41,861
Goalkickers:
Reports:
Umpires:	Nicholas Brown, Martin Rodger, Eleni Tee, Harrison Birch.
Injuries:
Ladder:

Game Review

Resurgent Blues make it six straight with commanding Eagles win.
Carlton continues its surge to a Wildcard spot with an emphatic win over West Coast - By Sarah Black

It's full steam ahead for the Fraser freight ship, as Carlton made it six wins on the trot under its interim coach in defeating West Coast by 53 points at Marvel Stadium. Aside from a third-quarter mini-wobble when the Eagles managed the first two goals, the Blues did it fairly easily, and Josh Fraser must surely be wondering what's so difficult about this coaching caper with the 17.15 (117) to 9.10 (64) result under his belt. It's comfortably the Blues' highest score of the year, as well as their biggest win, while West Coast has been consigned to its 11th loss for the season. Carlton burst out of the blocks in the first term, kicking the first three goals and recording the opening five clearances as they set up the game-winning break nice and early in the piece. All eyes were on Harley Reid and Patrick Cripps in the middle of the ground, the young buck v the old bull, and while they had plenty of skirmishes with slightly manic grins plastered on their faces throughout, it wasn't a head-to-head battle. The Blues were finding space all over the field in the opening term, transitioning the footy with ease as Sam Walsh and Jagga Smith got busy; one particular chain ending up in a Mitch McGovern hanger on an unsuspecting Elliot Yeo, only for the forward's shot to drift right. West Coast tried to work its way back into the game in the second term, evening up the contest around the stoppage and throttling the Blues' run and spread. Brady Hough ran down Smith exiting 50, and Bo Allan kicked a superb spoil-and-burn effort, but it was 18-year-old Talor Byrne who countered both marks on the scoreboard, converting a second-term brace.

Not only did the Eagles enter the third term 32 points adrift, they'd recorded 100 disposals fewer in an uncontested possession thumping, with Reid having done all he could with eight clearances in two quarters of footy. West Coast's delivery into attack left much to be desired, with key forwards Jobe Shanahan, Jake Waterman and Willem Duursma battling against both the Carlton key backs and messy delivery. At one point in the third term, the Blues – led by Harry Dean and Lachie Cowan – had more marks in defensive 50 than the Eagles had in its own 50. Duursma was thrown on the ball to start the fourth term, but the No.1 pick (somewhat understandably) couldn't single-handedly turn the tide of the 36-point deficit. Eagles ruck Bailey Williams (34 hitouts, two goals) was excellent across all four quarters, while it was one of Blues recruit Ben Ainsworth's better games for his new club with 28 touches, five clearances and a goal. George Hewett did well to limit Reid's influence around the ground, clearance count (12 and 23 disposals) aside.

Cripps v Reid
For two players who – aside from the opening few minutes – didn't directly play on each other, the Carlton skipper and West Coast star sure ran into each other a lot. Both a fan of the contested ball, a bit of chat and out-muscling their opponent in a contest, Cripps made sure Reid knew all about it when he kicked a goal against the Eagle in the opening term. There were a few high-spirited wrestles along the way in the entertaining contest, and the veteran will be more than happy to have come away with 31 disposals, nine clearances and a goal.

McKay the back-up ruck
It's certainly not the first time that key forward Harry McKay has been employed as back-up ruck, but the freedom he was afforded and the smarts he showed around the ground was a key part in Carlton building out its match-winning lead. While it should be acknowledged he was often partnered against first-year Cooper Duff-Tytler (until a three-quarter time calf injury), McKay's smart ball use and ability to get on the run appeared to free him from the mental demons which occasionally haunt, although he did cop a poke in the eye late in the final term.

Best: P. Cripps, S. Walsh, B. Ainsworth, H. McKay, H. Dean, G. Hewett.

The Blues showed how to minimise Harley's influence
We only got a five-minute glimpse of Patrick Cripps v Harley Reid, and it was the much more unheralded work of George Hewett that helped Carlton to the comfortable 53-point win against West Coast, and provided a guide for future sides. The hard-working Hewett kicked two goals going the other way in the first quarter, taking advantage of Reid's want to move on the attacking side of the contest. The Blue - who found himself out of the 23 earlier this year, but was a key contributor on Saturday - also recorded 26 disposals and four clearances. The young Eagles star finished with an impressive 12 clearances and 23 disposals, and again had much of the midfield weight on his young shoulders compared to the more even spread of the Blues mids. But his ability to impact the contest on the outside was much more muted, thanks to Hewett getting busy - Sarah Black

Team

In:
Out:

Interesting Facts

1. This is the first time in season 2026 that Carlton has scored 100 points or more.
2. Record breaking Carlton home game crowd (41,861) against West Coast Eagles.
3. First time since Round 7, 2010 that all Carlton players had at least 10 disposals.

Free Kicks

Carlton 22
West Coast Eagles 21

Front Runners

1 - Blake Acres 14.7km
2 - Liam Baker (WCE) 14.6km
3 - Tom Cole (WCE) 14.3km
3 - Marcus Herbert (WCE) 14.3km
3 - Jake Waterman (WCE) 14.3km

AFLCA Votes

9 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
8 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
7 - Ben Ainsworth (CARL)
4 - George Hewett (CARL)
1 - Lachlan Cowan (CARL)
1 - Harley Reid (WCE)

Video

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Round 15 | Round 17