Round 13 – Carlton v Essendon: The Wright result for the Bombers!

 

I had planned to be at the Essendon game against Carlton but coming down with a heavy cold I was not up to it, so after a day of rest, relaxation and sleep I prepared myself to watch the game.

 

I was extremely nervous about this game, Carlton have a tendency to always hit us on the rebound and win, and after numerous straight losses the law of averages suggested a win was not far away for them.

 

You cannot keep good players like Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, and Patrick Cripps down for long, and as big occasion players the time was right for them to have big games.

 

As I saw it, Essendon had to win the ball from the centre, and with Pittonet an injury omission had the Blues depleted in that area. Essendon with their late change to include ruckman Andrew Phillips I believe was an attempt to take advantage of the Blues lack of a quality ruckman though I thought De Koning toiled manfully throughout the match.

 

With Merrett closely tagged by Ed Curnow in the first half it was left to Ben Hobbs, Jye Caldwell, and Nic Martin to provide the drive out of the centre which they did well. Along with Stringer’s strength and bullocking play added to the Bombers’ forward thrusts.

 

And what a joy for Bomber supporters to have Peter Wright back in the side. His first foray into the play resulted in a mark and a goal was a magical start for him and a real confidence booster for both him and the team.

 

Our back six are really the unsung heroes of the team. Usually undersized against their taller opponents they just get on with the job. McGrath is excelling in his rightful position and provides so much drive from the backline with his attacking footy. Redman has gone up a level, Ridley is sublime with consummate skills, and Laverde is a good honest toiler who gets the job done week after week. Zerk-Thatcher is one of our most improved players, and held his own against the tall Carlton forwards.

 

The Bombers lifted their game in the third quarter to blow the Blues away with seven goals. It was fabulous to watch and certainly cheered me up greatly.

 

There is a noticeable desire by the team to back themselves in, they are confident in their skills and abilities to take on the game, especially those players who have played less than fifty games – Martin, Caldwell, Durham, Hobbs, and Menzie are all the future of the club.

 

With the bye next week, time to rest a few niggles and refresh for the second half of the season. With so many players performing well it will be difficult to find a slot for everyone with team selection.

CARLTON         1.5    3.10     5.10     6.16 (52)
ESSENDON     2.4    4.6     11.7    13.8 (86)

 

GOALS
Carlton: C.Curnow 2, Cincotta, Martin, McKay, Owies
Essendon: Wright 5, Menzie 2, Langford, Snelling, Merrett, Guelfi, Phillips, Caldwell

 

BEST
Carlton: Cerra, Saad, C.Curnow, Walsh, Motlop
Essendon: Wright, Martin, Stringer, Ridley, Hobbs, Redman, Caldwell

 

INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Essendon: Nil

 

LATE CHANGES
Carlton: Nil
Essendon: Andrew Phillips comes into the selected side for Massimo D’Ambrosio

 

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Paddy Dow (replaced Jack Martin at three-quarter time)
Essendon: Massimo D’Ambrosio (replaced Sam Draper in the fourth quarter)

 

Crowd: 83,638 at MCG

 

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