This was published 3 years ago
That’s all I have for you tonight everyone. Thanks so much for joining us this evening as the Blues scored a 26-point win over the Bombers.
Peter Ryan has also written a great colour piece on Essendon’s celebrations tonight.
Thanks again for your comments and interactions.
I’ll be back with our Saturday AFL live blog tomorrow afternoon so please join me then.
Bye for now.
Essendon’s frustrating brand of football was on full display once again as the Blues outclassed the Bombers in their celebration game of 150 years of football.
Some of Essendon’s legends, including James Hird, Kevin Sheedy, Matthew Lloyd, Tim and Jobe Watson and the four Daniher brothers, were on the field as part of the pre-game tribute to the Bombers’ past, but after all the rah-rah from captain Dyson Heppell, the Bombers conceded the opening three goals of the game.
The Bombers did respond, kicking three straight of their own to take the lead midway through the first term, but Carlton took a five-point advantage into quarter-time and weren’t headed again.
Essendon dominated the centre clearances - 11-3 in the first half - but that was the source of just one goal. The Blues, meanwhile, made the game look much easier, as they transitioned from defence into attack with speed and got the ball in quickly to Harry McKay (three goals) and Charlie Curnow (one) in the first half.
Bombers coach Ben Ruttne spoke to the media post game.
There is no such thing as an honourable loss but are you pleased with the way the guys acquitted themselves, particularly the score shots you had at the end.
Yeah, it’s been a fantastic week for the footy club. A lot of people put in a lot of hard work. I thought the way the players embraced the week, and prepared and set themselves up for tonight’s performance I thought for tonight’s performance - I was really pleased with the whole football club. Yeah, I think there are certainly signs there to take with us. You know, there are signs of progress. Unfortunately, we are not able to - we are not quite getting the scoreboard to move and churn the way we would like just yet. That’s often the last thing to start to get moving for us. But there are certainly some areas of our game that I think we are continuing to build on.
Can you identify where you thought there were signs of progress. What was that?
Blues coach Michael Voss spoke to the media post game.
Three-quarter time, it looked like you had a direct message for the players. What was your message at that point?
I thought our first half was really strong, probably first two and a half quarters was good, but we strayed from doing some little things well. We should have been doing earlier, and we strayed away from it. I think we were in that phase, where we were learning to win and win properly, and acknowledge there is still some growth left in us. So when we talk about expectations, people talk about expectations about where we are going to finish, but expectations that we stay with are what we are trying to do and play a certain way, and there are certain behaviours we need and we have to stay on that. So, it was more reinforcement. There were a lot of turnovers in the game in the last quarter. Conditions got a bit harder, but I’m really pleased we have been able to finish off the game and walk away with the four points.
Your frustration was more about how you were playing rather than blowing the scoreboard right out?
Blues star Sam Docherty spoke to Channel Seven post game.
What did you make of that one? A good solid win?
The game probably didn’t look the way we wanted to. The last quarter went 24 minutes which showed no stoppages. It is not a brand of footy you want to play as a defender. The Bombers, it was a big occasion for them and came out with good fight tonight, so we are pleased to get the win.
What did Vossy say at three-quarter time? He didn’t look happy.
Essendon celebrated their grand history but Carlton showed it has plenty to be excited about in the present as they moved into the top-four at the half-way mark of the season.
The Blues scored a 26-point win and held strong despite neither side kicking a goal in the final term as the wet weather settled in.
Both clubs lost key players with Adam Cerra (groin) and Darcy Parish (lower leg/calf) forced off the field.
The match has turned into a battle of attrition in this last term as the Bombers have forced Carlton to play slower and it has seen them go without a goal so far.
But they aren’t scoring at the other end and the Blues still hold a comfy lead.
Blues 78, Bombers 54 with 10 mins to go.
The Blues have a fierce grip on this match heading into the final term but the Bombers have kept battling despite being well behind.
Darcy Parish is off for the Bombers meaning both clubs have used their medical subs for tonight.
Perhaps on this historic night, the 2022 Bombers will emulate the 1984 grand final team who came back from 23 points down at three-quarter time to beat the Blues and win the flag.
Dyson Heppell has kicked a goal for the Bombers to keep them within five goals.
Darcy Parish has been trying to play through what looks like a calf injury and he has finally been removed from the game with medical-sub Alec Waterman limbering up.
The change has been made so he will enter the game shortly.
Blues 78, Bombers 50 with two mins to go in Q3.
Both teams are wearing black armbands tonight to acknowledge people dear to their respective clubs who have died.
The messages below are from the respective clubs:
The Blues are honouring past Blues player John Lloyd, father of Matthew Lloyd and Blues official Brad Lloyd.
Carlton players will wear black armbands for tonight’s match to honour the passing of past-player John Lloyd. Lloyd played 29 senior games for Carlton as a half-back under Ron Barassi, and his three sons followed in his footsteps, all perusing successful football careers on and off-field. The Carlton Football Club extend their sincere condolences to the Lloyd family, including John’s children Brad, Matthew, Simon and Kylie, and wife Bev.