Ibitmybut
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- Jun 16, 2007
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Last time they met: Essendon 18.10 (118) d. Carlton 16.12 (108)
FORM
Carlton: WL
Essendon: LL
SUMMARY
Carlton and Essendon clashes are always close, and playing each other in the AFL's Rivalry Round really builds up on the tension and intencity of the teams going into the match. Last year's Round 3 match between these two bitter rivals was a great example, after Carlton came back to win by 3 points after trailing by 48 points at half time, which is arguably Carlton's best ever comeback. Brendan Fevola was the star in the same match last year, booting 8 goals in a half of football. Another good example of these two teams' close encounters was during last year's Round 16 clash, which was deemed as the 'Bryce Gibbs Cup'. The team battled it out quarter after quarter and the closing scoreline ended up on 105 points a piece, which meant that Carlton were favourites to grab Bryce Gibbs even after the draw. Finally, last year's Round 20 clash between the two rivals saw Essendon edge in front in the final quarter to be victors by 10 points.
The two teams will hopefully continue their string of close matches with another close and edge-of-your seat match here tonight, to give their season a boost in the right direction. Both teams have everything to play for with a spot in the Top 8 up for grabs, and tonight's contest will surely be even, with both teams sitting on 1.80 odds. The game will be a thriller! Don't miss it!
ODDS
Blues 1.80
Bombers 1.80
PREDICTION
Blues by 3
TEAMS
Essendon
B: Jay Neagle, Dustin Fletcher, Henry Slattery
HB: Damien Peverill, Patty Ryder, Andrew Welsh
C: Alwyn Davey, Andrew Lovett, Angus Monfries
HF: Nathan Lovett-Murray, Adam McPhee, Ricky Dyson
F: Adam Ramanauskas, Scott Lucas, Matthew Lloyd
R: David Hille, Mark McVeigh, Brent Stanton
Inter: Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich, Scott Gumbleton, Bachar Houli
IN: N/A
OUT: N/A
Carlton
B: Paul Bower, Bret Thornton, Setanta O'hAilpin
HB: Andrew Walker, Shaun Grigg, Andrew Carrazzo
C: Marc Murphy, Heath Scotland, Adam Bentick
HF: Bryce Gibbs, Jarrad Waite, Ryan Houlihan
F: Eddie Betts, Brendan Fevola, Brad Fisher
R: Cameron Cloke, Chris Judd, Nick Stevens
Inter: Kade Simpson, Simon Wiggins, Jordan Russell, Richard Hadley
IN: Paul Bower
OUT: Matthew Kreuzer (injury)
Ibitmybut added 36 Minutes and 29 Seconds later...


QUARTER 1
Essendon 2.4 (16)
Carlton 4.2 (26)
The key to a good quarter is applying the pressure and that is exactly what Carlton did to take the lead after the first term of play. Essendon had control early on with Lucas and Lloyd getting plenty of balls delivered in theri direction, but the experienced Bret Thornton kept the dangerous Scott Lucas to only 4 touches for the quarter, while the Irishman in Setanta O'hAilpin kept Matthew Lloyd to 6 disposals for the quarter, with his aggresive attitude and tight playing style. As well as keeping his direct opponent to only 4 touches for the quarter, Carlton's key defender Bret Thornton racked up a total of 9 disposals for the quarter, and was easily Carlton's best alongside team-mate Ryan Houlihan, who managed 9 disposals of his own. The scoring came about after Carlton conceded a point from an easy-shot at goal, and immediately bounced back when Nick Stevens scored the first goal of the match 6 minutes into the quarter. Stanton then replied with a goal of his own to bring the Bombers back in winnable range, but it was a flourish of goals from Brad Fisher (who kicked two for the quarter), and Marc Murphy to bring the Blues in front by 10 points going into the second. It is by no means a great lead, with still three quarters of footy to be played, but it is a lead nonetheless which I am sure Brett Ratten would be very proud of. Brendan Fevola has had a quiet first quarter with only 3 disposals for the quarter, and it is unsure whether that is a good or bad thing for the Bombers.
QUARTER 2
Essendon 2.6 (18)
Carlton 7.7 (49)
Great defensive pressure from the Blues saw Essendon trail by 31 points at half time. Carlton denied Essendon a single goal in the quarter, and only conceded 2 points in the process. Once Carlton had posession of the ball, they did not play around with it and got straight to the point - delivering it inside 50. The stats clearly show this, with the Blues racking up 20 more disposals for the game than the Bombers, and entering their attacking 50 five more times than Essendon. With Carlton's 68 marks to Essendon's 47, it clearly shows that Carlton held the ball responsibly and did not rush their kicks or plays, which has not been seen from Carlton in recent weeks - showing that the young side has matured as a team. The Blues also applied 7 more tackles than the Bombers which shows that they are willing to attack the game head-on and have an aggresive approach to the match. Although Brad Fisher only had 3 touches for the quarter, one of those touches resulted in a goal to put the Blues in front by more and was the beginning of a mini-onslaught by the Blue Baggers. Simon Wiggins and Marc Murphy followed in Fisher's examples with goals of their own, which brought Carlton to 3 goals for the quarter against Essendon's zero. Chris Judd had another quarter worth mentioning with 12 more disposals to add to his tally, and Walker supported him with his defensive run who racked up 9 disposals of his own. Unfortunately for the Blues, Brendan Fevola did not touch the ball a single time in that quarter which show signs that he is not as fit as first thought. Paul Bower and Richard Hadley are also having quiet games with only 4 touches of their own. Brent Stanton for the Bombers has already managed 22 touches after only a half of footy, so the Blues will look to shut him down for the next half.
QUARTER 3
Essendon 3.8 (26)
Carlton 8.10 (58)
A very low-scoring quarter, with only 17 points being added to the scoreboard, but the Blues managed to win the quarter by a point which increases the lead even more. Jobe Watson was a star for the Bombers in their defensive fifty, and when the ball was delivered to Carlton's attack Jobe Watson was always the one to deny them of an important goal. Essendon held the ball a lot more than Carlton did in that quarter, but unfortunately for the Essendon faithful they could not find a way to convert their posessions into goals, and only managed 1 for the quarter, coming from the boot of Adam McPhee early in the quarter. It was a very ugly quarter of footy, with the ball being turned over at every disposal, and it looked like the Dons had the quarter won by 5 points until Chris Judd took a mark deep inside 50 which he converted into a Carlton goal with 3 minutes left on the clock. Brent Stanton continued his magnificent match with 11 disposals for the quarter to bring his tally to 33, and Watson had a 13-disposal quarter to bring up 29 touches after 3 quarters of footy.
Essendon now need 32 points in a single quarter for a win, and it looks like Lloyd and Lucas would have to step up to bring home a magnificent win. It will be tough though, with Fevola looking to fire up in the last quarter after only 7 touches for the match, and with Chris Judd on fire with 25 disposals.
QUARTER 4
Essendon 6.13 (49)
Carlton 9.10 (64)
Essendon obviously went into the last quarter believing that they had a chance to win it, and right from the word go they dominated the centre bounces, clearances and basic posession getting. Five early behinds were registered for the Bombers, and they were looking extremely dangerous in the centre of the ground. Brent Stanton led from the front with 40 disposals to his name and Watson and McPhee supported him with 36 and 31 disposals respectively. Alwyn Davey scored the first goal of the quarter much to Essendon's delight, after a great snap under pressure. Matthew Lloyd was the next to snag a goal - his only for the night - and soon after him Alwyn Davey scored another wonder goal from the boundaty. Essendon was running out of time but the Carlton players were under immense pressure, but with 4 minutes to go, Eddie Betts sealed the deal for the Blues after he snagged his only for the night, to give Carlton it's second win in three matches. No real Carlton player had an answer to Essendon's sudden onslaught, with the exception of Jarrad Waite who racked up 10 disposals and Andrew Carrazzo with his own 13. A very dissapointing last quarter from the Blues will give them quite a spray from Brett Ratten, but a win's a win and they will be happy regardless of their poor last quarter.

One of Brent Stanton's many touches for the night
FINAL SCORE
Essendon 6.13 (49)
Carlton 9.10 (64)
After playing a magnificent last quarter, time unfortunately ran out for the Bombers and saw them lose after putting up a galiant effort in the last quarter. Brent Stanton was the star for the home team with 40 posessions to his name, which is surely a career high for the mid-fielder. Chris Judd did a good job on Stanton, with 33 of his own disposals to lead Carlton from the front. After looking like a dud at the start, tonight's Rivalry Round match between Carlton and Essendon proved to be a very exciting, and there are very positive signs from both clubs.

GOALS: Davey (2), Stanton, Dyson, McPhee, Lloyd
BEST: Stanon, McPhee, Watson
INJURIES: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
STATS


GOALS: Fisher (3), Wiggins, Carrazzo, Stevens, Judd, Murphy, Betts
BEST: Carrazzo, Wiggins, Judd
INJURIES: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
STATS

TEAM STATS
