Friday’s only  AFL Round 12 match is between Geelong Cats and Carlton Blues with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:50 PM local time with home team Geelong Cats currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Geelong Cats and Carlton Blues.

Round:Round 12 , June 06, 2014 , 7:50 PM
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Weather:16° Partly cloudy

Odds Comparison:

Geelong Cats	1.18	1.17	1.18	1.17	1.18	1.20
Carlton Blues	5.00	5.20	5.00	5.20	5.00	4.60

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Preview:

The first game of Round 12 takes place between Geelong and Carlton, 7.50PM on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.  The Cats will be expected to win this one, even though they are coming off a huge 110-point loss to the Sydney Swans last round.  Carlton are also coming off a loss, however, having been beaten by the lowly Brisbane Lions on their GABBA home turf.  Geelong have won the last four times these two teams have met, and should be able to make it five on Friday night.

Teams:

 Geelong
B Jared Rivers, Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie
HB Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Mark Blicavs
C George Horlin-Smith, Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan
HF Steve Johnson, Hamish McIntosh, Jesse Stringer
F Jordan Murdoch, Tom Hawkins, Jimmy Bartel
FOL  Dawson Simpson, James Kelly, Cameron Guthrie
I/C  Jed Bews, Billie Smedts, Steven Motlop, Mathew Stokes
EMG Jackson Sheringham, Brad Hartman, Josh Walker
IN: Corey Enright, Tom Lonergan
OUT: Jackson Sheringham (Omitted), Travis Varcoe (family funeral)

Carlton
B Andrejs Everitt, Michael Jamison, Simon White
HB Chris Yarran, Sam Rowe, Zach Tuohy
C Kade Simpson, Marc Murphy, Sam Docherty
HF Jeff Garlett, Jarrad Waite, Troy Menzel
F Levi Casboult, Lachie Henderson, Mitch Robinson
FOL  Robert Warnock, Bryce Gibbs, Dale Thomas
I/C Andrew Walker, Andrew Carrazzo, Brock McLean, Dennis Armfield
EMG Dylan Buckley, Nick Graham, Jaryd Cachia
IN Andrew Walker, Dennis Armfield
OUT David Ellard (Calf), Dylan Buckley (Omitted)

News:

For long-time friends Cam Guthrie and Mark Blicavs and their all-conquering Geelong teammates, copping a triple-figure belting from Sydney was the most alien of experiences.

Since round 6, 2007, the Cats’ win-loss record is a remarkable 144-34.

Guthrie can boast 35 victories from his 50 games in the famous hoops.

And even most of the rare losses have been close-run affairs.

So how did they cope with conceding 22 goals to the all-conquering Swans in a 110-point thumping last week?

“I haven’t been on the end of too many losses in my time at the club,” the hard-running midfielder told AAP.

“But I never take it for granted because the club has a great record and it’s something we want to continue.

“We looked to get over the Sydney game as soon as possible.

“We did a thorough review, looked at where we went wrong.

“We’re aiming to come out this week and redeem ourselves and put in a really strong performance.”

Which is hardly good news for a struggling Carlton outfit, sitting in 12th place with a 4-6 win-loss record and who have lost all 11 of their previous clashes against the Cats at Etihad Stadium.

In recent clashes between the two teams, Guthrie has mainly played on one of the Blues’ dangerous small forwards such as Jeff Garlett or the departed Eddie Betts.

Since moving into the midfield he has proved equally adept at locking down a dangerous opponent in the role of a latter-day Cameron Ling, while also racking up plenty of possessions.

It’s a role well suited to one of the best runners at the club, although even someone as fit as Guthrie sometimes has to sit back and marvel at the aerobic capacity of his childhood mate Blicavs.

The pair grew up playing sport together in Sunbury in Melbourne’s northern outskirts.

Guthrie stuck with Australian rules football while Blicavs changed tack in his early teens to focus on athletics, before being lured back by Geelong after coming up short in his bid to contest the 3000m steeplechase at the London Olympics.

“He is an absolute running machine,” said Guthrie of Blicavs, who could play either as a running ruckman or a key defender against Carlton.

“In the pre-season he wins everything.

“If we do time trials, if we do repeat 400s, he’s always up the front and some of his GPS data is just insane.

“We grew up together so I knew what a talented all-round sportsman he was and he was a very good footballer back in the under-14s.”

According to Guthrie they didn’t lose many games back then either.