Carlton turned a nine-point halftime deficit into a 20-point win over Footscray in Round 8 of the VFL, storming home with seven unanswered goals in a dominant third quarter. The Blues finished 16.21 to 15.7 after trailing at the main break.

Ashton Moir opened the scoring after Liam Reidy found him inside 50, and Carlton briefly regained the lead late in the first quarter when Talor Byrne converted after a handoff from Blake Acres. Footscray then edged ahead and carried a nine-point advantage into halftime, leaving Carlton with work to do after a start that had already included a sharp snap from Lachie Fogarty after Cooper Vickery forced a crucial spoil.

The response after the break was immediate. Vickery launched a long-range effort from beyond 50 inside 30 seconds of the third quarter following a centre clearance, and Moir put Carlton back in front a minute later. Hudson O’Keeffe followed with consecutive goals in the term, including one finished while he was lying on the turf, before a coast-to-coast passage from a kick-in ended with Byrne converting again.

The pressure kept coming from Carlton’s defensive half, and Matthew Cottrell capped the third quarter with a goal after relentless work out of defensive 50. By three-quarter time, Carlton had pushed the margin to 30 points, a sharp reversal after spending much of the first half chasing the game.

Byrne added his third goal in the final quarter, Moir snapped his fourth on the run and Cody Walker finished with a classy goal as Carlton closed out the result. Wade Derksen also impressed early in a shift back to defence, taking multiple intercept marks as Carlton continued its strong run of form in the VFL.

The win underlined how quickly Carlton can change the tone of a match when its pressure lifts and its ball movement opens up. Against Footscray, the Blues did not just recover from a slow first half; they took control of the game, buried it in a single quarter and then managed the finish with enough composure to leave no doubt about the result.