Shopping spree for me, Goal spree for the Blues

With $110 in my wallet, I made my way from the schoolyard to the car, where Mum and Dad picked me up and we were off to Shepparton. I planned on spending some, if not all of my money that I received from relatives for my upcoming birthday.

I was feeling good; school was out, another weekend, and a long weekend at that, with Monday a pupil free day. And, of course, the footy was back. We made our way around Shepparton, before getting to the Marketplace. I went into the Telstra Shop to look at some phones, before bumping into fellow Almanacker Jeffrey Paterson’s Dad. After chatting with him, we entered the shopping centre.

I bought Andrew McLeod’s book, Black Crow, and some socks. I looked at some clothes, but there was nothing good. Looking at the DVD’s, I saw my sister Hayley by coincidence, and while Mum and her talked, I grabbed a Masterchef DVD and made my way to the front counter to surprise Mum. I wasn’t helped by Hayley as I walked away though, when I heard her whisper to Mum “What’s he doing with a Masterchef DVD?” Luckily, Mum hadn’t realised what was going on after I gave Hayley the death stare. We then looked in the music shop Sanity, and Mum bought the first two Twilight DVD’s, much to my dismay. I bought myself a DVD, and Mum, Dad and I had some tea as Hayley left to get home.

After tea (tea, not dinner) Dad left to go look in the nearby liquorworks. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to buy something for him. As we had first walked in, Dad pointed out the book called The Changi Brownlow, which we both had a good interest in, so I went and bought it for him. I gave it to him in the car as we left Shepparton, with the footy starting on the radio. Essendon and Carlton.

We returned home in time for me to watch the game on TV. Paddy Ryder was given a free kick before the first bounce, and Kyle Reimers was given another free in a contest inside 50 from the resultant kick. He kicked the first goal, but Mitch Robinson replied at the other end, kicking a nice goal after a good pick-up. Angus Monfries kicked his first from a free kick, but the Blues went on a goalkicking spree, with Jeff Garlett kicking two in a row, Chris Judd receiving from the smart Andrew Carrazzo to kick his first and Robinson bullocking into David Hille to earn a free kick and his second goal. A free kick to Essendon out of the centre from that goal saw Brent Prismall mark and kick Essendon’s third from 45m out on a tight angle, and the Dons trailed by 15 points at quarter time, 3.6 to 6.3.

The second quarter got underway with Jarrad Waite snapping his first, then goaling from an uncontested mark to give Carlton a 26 point lead. He then received a handball, took two bounces and kicked a great goal on the run from just inside 50 as Carlton took control. Kyle Hardingham booted his first from the goalsquare, and Jason Winderlich was gifted a 50m penalty against Paul Bower to keep Essendon in it. A free kick and advantage saw Eddie Betts run into an open goal to give the Blues a 22 point lead at half time, 10.5 to 5.13.

As I continued reading Black Crow, the second half started. Kade Simpson converted on the run, before Essendon mounted a resistance with Hille taking a one-handed mark on the behind line. He put the ball through the goals with the checkside, but Carlton should have gotten another goal through Waite, but the goal umpire had other ideas. Hardingham made it a 12 point play with a good leap, taking the mark and getting his second, before Brent Stanton kicked his first from a 50m penalty to cut the deficit to just 11 points. In his celebration though, he stupidly knocked Carrazzo on his behind, gifting Carlton with a free kick, which saw David Ellard kick his first goal, then Garlett snapped a classy goal, his fourth, to maintain the 22 point lead at three quarter time, 13.8 to 8.16. Another goal umpiring blew, this time for a Jay Neagle snap that clearly went through, was given a behind. At least it cancelled out the Waite decision.

The final term was a write-off for Bomber fans. Everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. Carrazzo kicked a nice goal on the run from 50, before Waite snapped his fourth from the pocket. Carrazzo snapped his second over his shoulder, and Marc Murphy converted on the run from 50m out. Garlett was the beneficiary of some great teamwork, booting his fifth goal, before Shaun Hampson took a strong mark and kicked his first to take the margin out to 58 points. Travis Colyer snagged a late major for Essendon, but the Blues were far from done. Shaun Grigg kicked his first for the night, Aaron Joseph converted on the run from 45m, Murphy won another clearance which saw Garlett kick goal number six, and Paul Bower took a strong mark in the goalsquare to cap off a wonderful evening for the Carlton Football Club, winning by 76 points against their arch-rivals, 23.11.149 to 9.19.73.

Its been a turbulent month for Carlton, but they put all of that behind them on a chilly night at the MCG, with their best final quarter against Essendon in history burying the talks of the Blues possibly missing the finals. They are safe in the eight, Brett Ratten’s coaching job is safe, but can the same be said about Matthew Knights?

Essendon 3.6—5.13—8.16—9.19.73

Carlton 6.3—10.5—13.8—23.11.149

Goalkickers:

Essendon-Hardingham 2, Winderlich, Monfries, Stanton, Hille, Colyer, Prismall, Reimers

Carlton-Garlett 6, Waite 4, Carrazzo 2, Robinson 2, Betts, Grigg, Bower, Hampson, Judd, Ellard, Simpson, Murphy, Joseph

Best:

Essendon-Howlett, Dempsey, Hurley, Stanton

Carlton-Judd, Garlett, Waite, Murphy, Warnock, Carrazzo, Grigg, Scotland, Simpson

Crowd:

57,095 at the MCG

Votes:

3: Chris Judd (C)

2: Jeff Garlett (C)

1: Jarrad Waite (C)

About Josh Barnstable

21 year old North Melbourne supporter from country Victoria. Currently living in Melbourne studying a Bachelor of Sports Media. Dreams of becoming a sports journalist and broadcaster.

Comments

  1. Josh, your mum likes Twilight?
    omg she’s seriously so COOL!! :)

  2. oh ps-
    Tell her Emmett Cullen is mine! :P
    lol

  3. John Butler says

    Josh

    From previous descriptions of your cooking exploits, you may want to check out that Masterchef DVD yourself. :)

  4. Hahahahahahahaha, good call JB. :)

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