Carlton’s first finals win in a decade has been soured by an injury to Harry McKay, who limped off in the hands of the trainers after a brutal clash in the second half.
The Blues survived a frantic final quarter surge from Sydney to run out 11. 8. (74) to 9. 14. (68) winners in front of 92,026 fans at the MCG on Friday night.
McKay was involved in a nasty collision with multiple Swans forwards in the Blues’ backline, which left the former Coleman Medal winner sprawling on the turf while clutching at his ribs.
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The injury forced McKay to watch on from the sidelines as the Blues booked a semi final date with Melbourne for next weekend.
While Carlton refused to confirm whether McKay suffered a concussion in the clash, the way the star forward stumbled off the ground is not a promising sign for his chances of facing Melbourne.
If he is officially diagnosed with a concussion, McKay will enter the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols.
If McKay is unable to front up against the Demons, he could be joined by teammate Jack Martin, who faces a nervous wait after collecting Nick Blakey with a swinging arm in the first quarter.
Martin spoke on his actions after the win, ensuring that he had the support of coach Michael Voss after the controversy.
“I came off, on the bench and Vossy (Michael Voss) goes ‘good tackle’,” Martin said on Channel 7 post match.
Meantime, Carlton captain Patrick Cripps lauded Martin’s ferocity across the game, which came after two crucial final quarter marks in Carlton’s defensive fifty.
“He’s been huge. What I love about him is he’s bloody hard, he hits players and they feel it,” Cripps told Channel 7 post match.
“It’s the style we want to play.”
It comes as Cripps recorded his first ever finals win after his 181 career games.
“That’s what you play footy for, the big games,” he tells Seven.
“I just love the way we attacked it. They threw everything at us, the Swans are a quality opposition, I love the way they go about it.
“It’s been 18 months under Vossy (Michael Voss) and we’ve grown a lot, we just probably lacked a bit of confidence there for a bit. We probably got drowned by external expectations, but we found what works for us to turn it around and it’s pretty special.”