Round 14, 1995 - Carlton vs Richmond

Carlton have shown that they are the team to beat, in a top of the table clash for the ages against Richmond at the MCG in front of almost 85,000 fans.

The game was level with around 20 minutes to play, before the Blues kicked away late to win 17.13 (115) to 12.13 (85)

Carlton captain Stephen Kernahan gets a kick away against the Tigers

The game was moved to the MCG given the prowess of the two clubs who occupied the two top spots on the ladder going into the clash.

And the game lived up to every bit of its high billing, with a high-octane start where both teams traded blows for much of the first quarter, which continued throughout the game.

Carlton had even more reason to be motivated going into the game, with fan favourite ruckman Justin Madden playing his 300th AFL game.

The motivation from both teams boiled over a few times during the game, particularly in the second quarter where a few spotfires or mini melees broke out.

Richmond though were able to go on a bit of a run, kicking five of the last six goals at one stage in the second quarter to take a slender 5-point lead into the halftime break.

This led commentator Gerard Healy to state that Richmond, '...don't have many superstars but they are collectively playing as a super team."

Richmond got out to a 10-point lead during the third, but a stray elbow from Scott Turner on Brett Ratten that resulted in a broken nose for Ratten, and a report for Turner, seemingly swung momentum, with the Blues piling on three goals in two and a half minutes.

To Richmond's credit though, they didn't let the Blues run on beat them, with the Tigers fighting back again in the final term to draw level with around 20 minutes to play.

Commentator Bruce McAvaney quipped, 'This is as good as it gets', as the top of the table clash continued to live up to the hype.

Unfortunately from there, the Tigers were not able to make the most of some relatively easy shots on goal, while the Blues did, as they cruised to victory, and to the top of the AFL ladder.

For the Blues, young star Anthony Koutoufides was brilliant, with 34 disposals and 10 marks.

For Richmond, Matthew Knights and Wayne Campbell more than held their own against a star studded Carlton midfield, with the former unfortunately injuring his hamstring during the third quarter. While Knights tried admirably to play on, he clearly wasn't right.

Campbell's two goals also brought up his 50th of his career.

One real highlight for the Tigers was the showing from first year key forward Stephen Jurica. A man mountain at just 19 years of age, Jurica outmuscled legendary fullback Stephen Silvagni often, kicking four goals and showing that perhaps he could form a lively front half combination with Matthew Richardson moving forward.

Brendan Gale offered his teammates a strong target to kick to up forward with seven marks, and after a slow start, Paul Bulluss battled hard in a defence that was getting plenty of ball sent their way by the strong blues midfield.

Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Matthew Knights	10
Wayne Campbell	9
Stephen Jurica	8
Jamie Tape	8
Brendan Gale	7
Paul Broderick	7
Mark Neeld	7
Stuart Maxfield	5
Ashley Prescott	5
Nathan Bower	5
Chris Naish	4
Paul Bulluss	4
Duncan Kellaway	3
Michael Gale	3
Scott Turner	3
David Bourke	3
Chris Bond	2
Greg Dear	2
Matthew Rogers	2
Justin Charles	0
Jamie Elliott	0