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| Venue: | MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Friday 10th June, 2022 (7.50 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 26 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 65,440 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | H. McKay 3.1, C. Curnow 2.1, M. Owies 2.0, Z. Fisher 1.1, J. Silvagni 1.1, M. Cottrell 1.0, P. Cripps 1.0, J. Martin 1.0, C. Durdin 0.2, Rushed 0.2. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Nick Foot, Justin Power, Brett Rosebury. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | A, Cerra (hamstring). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 4th. | ||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Blues steal the show on Dons' big night
Carlton continues its top-four push with a comfortable win over Essendon at the MCG as the Bombers celebrated their 150th anniversary - By Sarah BlackCarlton has upset Essendon's 150th birthday celebrations, defeating the Bombers by 26 points at a soggy MCG. The Blues are now sitting on nine wins from their 12 matches after the 12.8 (80) to 7.12 (54) result, right in top-four contention with their highest number of victories in a season since 2013. In the absence of the hamstrung Adam Cerra, George Hewett (28 disposals) and Paddy Cripps (28, one goal) worked tirelessly in the stoppages, while Sam Walsh (29) provided plenty of outside run and Sam Docherty was outstanding in defence with 33 disposals. Twin towers Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow shared five goals in a night that didn't lend itself to key-forward dominance. Dylan Shiel worked hard for Essendon to finish with 27 touches, 10 tackles and a booming first-quarter goal, while Sam Draper was good in the first half with two goals and some strong marking. Harry Jones (two goals) made an immediate impact in his second game of the season after an ankle injury, but just didn't have enough supply, while Zach Merrett (26 touches) and Nick Hind (22) ran hard all night.
After a bright start, Darcy Parish was subbed off with a calf issue in the third quarter and finished with just 10 disposals. The night began with a stirring pre-game celebration featuring a host of Essendon greats including James Hird, Kevin Sheedy, Michael Long and the Watson and Daniher families, but Carlton wasted no time spoiling the mood. Jack Martin kicked the opener for the Blues in the first 70 seconds and the Blues skipping three goals clear before a rare bit of fast Essendon play found Harry Jones for the side's first at the 17th minute. Draper's shoulder-length mullet may have been dampened by the rain, but his enthusiasm for the contest wasn't. While he handed Cripps a major with an undisciplined free kick in front of Carlton's goal in the second term, the followed up just minutes later with a high snap of his own. Essendon's endeavour couldn't be faulted, laying 20 tackles to Carlton's 10 in the first quarter, but the Dons' sloppy disposal exiting 50 made life hard, and the Blues were efficient rather than ruthless through the first half. But Michael Voss' side dominated the action directly after the main break, pushing out to a 38-point lead early in the third term as the Bombers forlornly trailed their opponents on the rebound. Essendon managed to stem the bleeding somewhat, but skipper Dyson Heppell's goal from a 50m penalty ended a run of four consecutive Essendon behinds, in a period when the Bombers failed to take its chances. Bizarrely, that Heppell major 24 minutes into the third quarter was the final goal of the game as both sides played out a last-quarter stalemate.
The return of the (Coleman) king reunites twin towers
Harry McKay – back two weeks early after a knee meniscus injury – looked like he hadn't missed a beat, and worked beautifully with Charlie Curnow to stretch Essendon's defence to breaking point. The pair combined for five goals in wet conditions, and their ability to convert their opportunities set them apart in an often error-strewn game.
A celebration of all things Essendon
It was a who's who of Essendon celebrating the club's 150th year in a pre-match ceremony. Hosted by Briggs, the 16 premiership cups took pride of place in the middle of the ground as Michael Long, Gavin Wanganeen, Scott Lucas, Adam Ramanauskas, Matthew Lloyd joined the Watson, Fletcher and Daniher families on the field. A group of newly signed AFLW players was introduced (complete with a few boos for former Blue Maddy Prespakis), while James Hird received the biggest cheer of the lot. The pageantry was fittingly capped by Kevin Sheedy waving his scarf in the crowd, prompting all Bomber fans to do the same as the team ran out. Skipper Dyson Heppell then pulled the 22 and the past players into a huddle for his pre-game speech.
Welcome back, Caleb
The last time Carlton key back Caleb Marchbank played at AFL level was in a pre-COVID world – round 16, 2019 to be precise. A former first-round selection, Marchbank has suffered a fractured neck, persistent bone bruising in his knee, calf issues and a torn ACL since he last graced an AFL field. He finished with eight disposals and four marks in a welcome return to the top level.
Best: P. Cripps, S. Walsh, S. Docherty, G. Hewett, H. McKay, N. Newman.
Blues rain on Bomber party
Carlton recorded its third consecutive win over the arch rival. - By Rose Zarucky, Carlton Media.Raining on the celebrations. On a cold MCG night, Carlton's third consecutive victory over Essendon - the first time it has achieved the feat in over 25 years - was enough to warm the hearts of all Navy Blue fans in attendance. With the game coinciding with Essendon's 150th anniversary, Sam Docherty was superb, Harry McKay was clean in the air and the Blues defended strongly all over the ground on the way to a 26-point win.
Quarter one
It was a quarter of two halves, as Carlton booted the opening three goals through Jack Martin, Harry McKay and Matt Owies. Tom De Koning did well in the ruck throughout the early going against Sam Draper, while Adam Saad’s pinpoint kicking against his former side helped weave Carlton out of trouble in the backline. As the rain tumbled down halfway through the term, Essendon had the majority of the possession, beating the Blues at the contest whether it was in the air or at the centre bounce. Despite this, the Blues still had their opportunities with 14 inside 50s to eight, giving reunited key forwards Charlie Curnow and McKay opportunities to get involved. It was a Curnow goal which gave the Blues the lead after the Bombers nudged in front. Carlton had to do it without important midfielder Adam Cerra, was subbed out for Matthew Cottrell due to hamstring tightness.
Quarter two
The Blues had their opportunities in front of goal in the second term, but some inaccurate kicking stopped them from blowing out the margin. Early majors from Harry McKay and Patrick Cripps was what the Blues were after, while some a flying mark from Jack Silvagni provided a key highlight on a dreary MCG night. Winning the clearances for the half, Essendon started executing some accurate entries into its forward half and made the most of its shots on goal when it had them. A clever goal from Cottrell stopped the Bombers’ unanswered run, while McKay’s third goal gave the Blues a bit of a buffer on the scoreboard on the back of a five-goal term. In his first game in three seasons, Caleb Marchbank was a strong defensive presence and used his clean disposal to the Blues' advantage, with goals from defensive-half chains being the Blues' main source of goals.
Quarter three
Curnow found his groove again after an inaccurate second quarter with a dribbling goal from the boundary on the back of a clever combination with McKay. An opportunistic right-footed goal from Zac Fisher was just the result the Blues needed to start off the quarter strong. Owies added on another goal for the term, responding to a major down the other end. The Blues did well to keep the Bombers from scoring, despite a lot of the term being played in their half, with a slippery ball proving hard to handle for both sides. Nic Newman and Saad set the tone for the Blues, defending strongly and rebounding with class and purpose to hurt the Bombers both ways. Carlton’s transition football tapered off in wet conditions, but it made it work with strong pressure around the contest. De Koning and McKay showed their marking prowess around the ground as the Blues looked to finish on a high in the final term, holding the Bombers out to enter the final term with a 28-point advantage.
Quarter four
It may not have been a quarter for football purists, but a workmanlike performance from the Blues ini the final term ensured the Bombers wouldn’t run over the top of them on a milestone night for the arch rival. Rain early in the term made for a scrappy contest, with neither side able to make much impact in their respective forward half — this was evidenced by a goalless final term by both sides. Lots of stoppages dominated the game, making for a stilted contest as the Blues’ pressure in all areas of the ground ensuring the Bombers had nothing easy. In the end, it was a 27-point victory for the Blues, returning to winning form with their ninth victory of the season.
Three things from the game
1. In tough, slippery conditions, it was a real team effort by the Blues, with no one player taking the spotlight. As the rain fell on the Bombers’ 150th birthday celebration, the Blues bound together to get across the line and spoil the party.
2. Seeing Caleb Marchbank back on the park was a sight for many a sore eyes. Gathering eight disposals, Marchbank didn’t have to do anything spectacular and proved to be a solid contributor across half back for Carlton, slotting seamlessly into the line-up.
3. Harry McKay had a strong return after being sidelined from knee surgery. Using his aerial ability not only in the forward half but also round the ground to help his teammates, McKay managed to slot three goals (all in the first half) as well as gathering four contested marks and 11 contested possessions.
Moment of the match
This moment didn’t come from the match, but there was a moment to remember before the Blues ran through the banner. Shianne Durdin was waiting for her brother on the sideline, with Corey running out arm-in-arm with his little sister in front of a big MCG crowd. Shianne instantly relaxed when she felt Durdin’s hand on her arm, running through the banner with him and the team before the game.
Best: S. Docherty, N. Newman, P. Cripps, H. McKay, A. Saad, G. Hewett, S. Walsh, L. Young.
Voss remaining level after Round 13 win
Here's what Michael Voss had to say after the Round 13 win. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.Carlton AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss remained consistent with his message coming out of the Round 13 win over Essendon as he has throughout the entirety of the season. There were things to like and things to work on. However, one thing he wasn't going to take away from was the emotion of the victory, which was Carlton's third consecutive triumph over the arch rival. This is what he had to say: you can watch the full press conference here.
On his three-quarter time address:
“I thought our first half was really strong, probably our first two and a half quarters. We strayed from doing some little things well which we had been doing earlier. “I think we’re still in that phase where we’re learning to win and win properly. We acknowledge there’s still growth left in us. “When we talk about expectations, people talk about expectations on where we’ll finish but our expectations are that we stay with what we’re trying to and play a certain way. They’re certain behaviours that we need and we need to stay on that. “It was reinforcement of being able to do that.”
On method over result:
“That’s all we ever talk about: what is our way. “The scoreboard becomes irrelevant because we take greater pride in how we get ourselves into those positions. That’s something that has been a strong emphasis for us in the first half of the season and will continue to be. “I don’t set any limits on what this group can do, clearly there is capacity to do something pretty good. We’ve got to stay at it for longer and there are times when we stray from that when we put ourselves in really strong positions. “We’ll keep going to work on it and making it really clear. I imagine when we start bridging that gap, results will go more in our favour.”
On celebrating victories as they come along:
“From day dot, you’ve probably heard me talk about this every time I sat here is that we celebrate the four points. This is an extremely hard environment which we play in and we take nothing for granted for what we’ve been given, because we have to deserve it. “There was a lot going on around the game about Essendon and what they were celebrating: it was a really important night for them. The players got themselves really prepared for that, but more importantly we locked in on the way we wanted to play. “What I’m pleased about is our players were able to adapt and we won a slightly different way. Some of our back-half transition was fantastic: we’ve been doing a lot of work on that. “We didn’t win the centre-square bounce and lost some territory, but we were able to win the ball and be quite efficient with ball in hand.”
On Adam Cerra’s injury:
“It’s hamstring tightness. Until he gets scans, like we tend to do when we get to these, we’ll wait and see on what it looks like. “We certainly hope it’s on the minor end, but it’s hamstring tightness at the moment: we’ll get that assessed.”
On Caleb Marchbank’s successful return:
“There is a huge positive. “Seeing Caleb Marchbank back there and being able to roam that backline, it’s a great story of persistence and resilience. He’s had a lot of challenges. “That journey of him being able to get back to play AFL football and be out on the MCG, it’s been far longer than my time here. The boys absolutely love him and he’s a really important part of what we do. “We need to be realistic here: if we can get him winning his battles and joining in as a good teammate, his performances will only climb from here.”
On playing in big fixtures in recent weeks:
“Next week is the third one. You talk about the last few games we’ve had with Collingwood stepping into Essendon stepping into Richmond. “I said to the players, we should be really grateful that we get the opportunity to play in front of such big crowds. We should never take that for granted. “We have a large supporter base. The style we’re playing, our supporters are clearly feeling connected to that and the way we’re coming along and we’re really grateful. “We can’t wait. It’s great to be involved in these games and we want to be involved in more.”
Team
| B: | 24 Nic Newman | 33 Lewis Young | 37 Jordan Boyd |
| HB: | 15 Sam Docherty | 22 Caleb Marchbank | 42 Adam Saad |
| C: | 25 Zac Fisher | 9 Patrick Cripps (c) | 32 Jack Newnes |
| HF : | 18 Sam Walsh | 30 Charlie Curnow | 44 Matthew Owies |
| F: | 21 Jack Martin | 10 Harry McKay | 1 Jack Silvagni |
| Ruck: | 12 Tom De Koning | 5 Adam Cerra | 29 George Hewett |
| Interchange: | 4 Lochie O'Brien | 7 Matthew Kennedy | 19 Corey Durdin |
| 20 Lachie Plowman | |||
| Medical Substitute: | 46 Matt Cottrell | ||
| Coach: | Michael Voss | ||
| Emergencies: | 3 Jesse Motlop | 17 Brodie Kemp | 43 Will Setterfield |
Medi-Sub; A, Cerra (hamstring) replaced by M. Cottrell in the first quarter.
In: Jack Martin, Harry McKay, Caleb Marchbank, Jordan Boyd, Matthew Kennedy.
Out: Jacob Weitering (shoulder), Liam Stocker (omitted), Paddy Dow (omitted), Jesse Motlop (omitted), Jack Carroll (omitted).
Interesting Fact
Caleb Marchbank played his first AFL game in 1069 days after a series of injuries that has kept him out for almost 3 years, his last game was Round 16, 2019 vs Melbourne.Milestones
150 Goals Harry McKayAnniversaries: The Blues would again take the points as our opponent celebrated an important anniversary, this time the Bombers' 150th year
Anniversaries: The Blues have a habit of beating teams celebrating their anniversary matches, in addition to Essendon's 150th year, the Blues secured wins in Collingwood's Centenary game Round 8, 1992, Collingwood's 125th year celebration game Round 7, 2017 and, Richmond's 100th year celebration Round 14, 2008. Surely you'd think the opposition would have learnt by now .................
Goal-kicking: Matt Owies' 2 goals would see him move to double figures for majors this year, at roughly the half way mark. he would be our 6th player to hit double figures - last year it would take until the final round for us to have 6 double digit goal kickers. A good sign of goal spread across the team....
AFLCA Votes
10 - Sam Docherty (CARL)6 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
5 - Harry McKay (CARL)
5 - Lewis Young (CARL)
2 - Nic Newman (CARL)
2 - Dylan Shiel (ESS)
Brownlow Votes
Best and Fairest Votes
Video
Round 12 | Round 14