September has arrived and the Cats are preparing to embark on their 18th Finals campaign in the last 20 years, with a blockbuster Elimination Final awaiting at the MCG on Friday night. 

While this time of year is not unfamiliar for Geelong, the opponent is, as they are set to face Carlton in a Final for the first time in 31 years. 

The Blues have an abundance of momentum on their side and a story that has been well publicised throughout 2026, going from a 1-8 record to the Wildcard Round, now progressing to September and setting up a huge clash at the 'G. 

There are a number of factors that make Carlton so dangerous, with plenty of talent across the ground and some impressive key position players, allowing them to play a strong brand of football that has proven hard to stop. 

Take a look through some of the standout numbers from Carlton's game with the Elimination Final opposition analysis, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

2026 Ladder 

Geelong: 5th (15-8)
Carlton: 10th (12-10-1)

Recent Games

2026, Round 12 - Carlton 12.16 (88) def. Geelong 12.12 (84)
2025, Round 7 - Carlton 14.10 (94) def. Geelong 12.4 (76)
2024, Round 15 - Carlton 21.12 (138) def. Geelong 11.9 (75)
2024, Round 7 - Geelong 18.10 (118) def. Carlton 15.15 (105)

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Stopping Carlton's Controlled Brand

Scouring the stat sheets, there are plenty of areas of the game that Carlton have improved in during the 'Josh Fraser era.'

But one thing in particular that stands out has been their ability to control the football for extended periods, getting the game on their terms and forcing opposition teams to do plenty of defending. 

Through the opening eight weeks of the season, Carlton had only won more disposals than their opponent on one occasion for a total record of 1-7, with a total disposal differential of -128 across that span. 

But with the coaching change, the Blues completely flipped the script in this area.

2026 Disposal Stats

From Round 10 through to this point of the season, Carlton finished with more disposals than their opponent in 14 of their last 15 games, including last week's Wildcard victory over the Western Bulldogs. Across that span, they have a disposal differential of +973.

The Blues only lost two games during that stretch and one of them came against Hawthorn, where the Hawks collected 57 more disposals and controlled the football for extended periods of the match. 

Sam Walsh, Patrick Cripps and Jagga Smith all rank inside the AFL's top 16 players for total disposals this year, creating a fascinating area of the game to keep an eye on this Friday. 

Avoiding Jacob Weitering

While plenty of attention will be on Carlton's star-studded midfield, Geelong will also need to be wary of their key pillars in defence, most notably the impressive Jacob Weitering if they want to kick a winning score on Friday night. 

Weitering was immense in last week's Wildcard Round, taking a game-high six intercept marks and collecting 10 intercept possessions against Melbourne, repeatedly repelling dangerous attacks and nullifying the Demons' forwards. 

He has proven to be a thorn in Geelong's side recently, amassing 31 intercept possessions across the last four meetings between the two sides, which also includes 15 intercept marks. 

The positive for the Cats is that they have a plethora of options with the likes of Shannon Neale, Jeremy Cameron, Jay Polkinghorne and Ollie Henry, but they will need to lower the eyes and hit targets inside 50 on Friday night to negate Weitering's intercepting prowess. 

Limiting Carlton's Efficiency Inside 50

Carlton are one of the rare cases in the AFL when it comes to efficiency inside 50, one of the few teams that rely heavily on their key forwards and the ability to take marks in the forward half. 

What they do excel at however is collecting the ball when it hits the ground, ranked as the number one team in the AFL this year for ground ball gets inside 50, with an average of 17.9 per game. 

Surprisingly, Patrick Cripps is the third highest rated player in the league for this statistic in 2026, but he is closely followed by Francis Evans (fourth) and Brodie Kemp (19th), while Ben Ainsworth and Will Hayward also contribute heavily. 

In the clash between Geelong and Carlton earlier this year, the Blues had an efficiency inside 50 of 62.5% in comparison to the Cats' 46.3%, a theme that has been common across recent matches between the sides. 

When the ball hits the ground on Friday night in their defensive 50, Geelong's stars across half back will need to be at the top of their game to help repel attacks and rebound.