Round 13 is already shaping up a classic edition to the ongoing tale of the Essendon-Carlton Rivalry. Two clubs whose raw hatred of each other must be baffling to non-footy fans given our mirrored history of late. Both are former powerhouses who despite always having huge and strong supporter bases and have been quite shit for over 20 years. In 2006 we battled to an infamous for the Bryce Gibbs Cup.. And no one won, and I’m not referring to the drawn game here.
Even more recently our paths surprisingly mirror each other; with both clubs surviving a bumbling board over; being rejected by both Clarko and Lyon in their search for a new coach and ending up with the “next best option”.. Yep, Essendon showed that, just like Carlton, it could dodge bullets with it’s incompetency.
In the contact of the season, this game could be huge; so many of us want to believe that Essendon has changed, but we’ve been May Premiers before. My expectations for this year were low… but I’m stubbornly holding on to them until there is real proof. A win over Carlton will go a long way to proving that; especially given their good form, long break since their trip to Adelaide, and them genuinely eying off a top 4 spot come September.
Oh, this is also the first Battle of Twin Peaks, (Ughh, Gotta think of a better title!) as Ben Mckay and his evil twin finally do battle; yep the media are going to be insufferable over this one.
The Round That Was
An expected but disappointing loss, we still struggle on the road with all three of our losses coming from interstate games, and only barely beating Adelaide and West Coast. Fortunately, we don’t travel again until Round 24 when we head up to the Gabba to face Brisbane. Yeah, the umps sucked, but our poor kicking for goal and Gold Coasts' strong defence and ability to kick quick responses whenever we started building any momentum were the deciding factors in the end. We played ok really, but losing still sucks.
GOLD COAST 2.2 6.4 9.6 14.7 (91)
ESSENDON 3.5 4.8 6.13 11.14 (80)
GOALS
Gold Coast: King 4, Long 4, Lukosius 2, Miller, Humphrey, Berry, Ainsworth
Essendon: Cox 3, Wright, Menzie, Kelly, Jones, Hind, Guelfi, Durham, Caldwell
BEST
Gold Coast: Anderson, Collins, Andrew, Long, Uwland, Rowell, Sexton
Essendon: Merrett, Martin, Hind, Ridley, Heppell, Redman
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Essendon: Kyle Langford (hip pointer)
LATE CHANGES
Gold Coast: Nil
Essendon: Todd Goldstein (managed) replaced by Nick Bryan
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: David Swallow (replaced Bailey Humphrey in the fourth quarter)
Essendon: Elijah Tsatas (replaced Kyle Langford in the fourth quarter)
Crowd: 21,759 at People First Stadium
Carlton on the other hand was able to dispose of a subpar Port Adelaide in what was a tight game until Cripps when bang bang bang in the final quarter, and knocked them the **** out! I don’t like to praise Carlton, but credit where credit it due.
PORT ADELAIDE 3.2 4.8 7.9 10.11 (71)
CARLTON 3.2 5.5 8.10 16.11 (107)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 4, Burgoyne, Soldo, Horne-Francis, McEntee, Finlayson, Marshall
Carlton: Curnow 3, Williams 3, McKay 3, Cripps 2, De Koning, Kemp, Cincotta, McGovern, Acres
BEST
Port Adelaide: Butters, Horne-Francis, Georgiades, Wines, Drew
Carlton: Cripps, Curnow, De Koning, Newman, Walsh, Williams
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Carlton: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Jeremy Finlayson (replaced Charlie Dixon in the third quarter)
Carlton: Jack Carroll (replaced Orazio Fantasia in the last quarter)
Crowd: 40,532 at Adelaide Oval
The Last Time We Met
This was a fun game. It was a tight contest for most of the first half and until Essendon and Peter Wright in particular went beast mode. Essendon kicked 8 goals in a row from the 20-minute mark of the 2nd till halfway through the third and Wright kicked 3 of those goals and made Weitering his bitch for the night. God, I hope he does it again on Sunday.
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
The Selection Table
Possible Outs -
Bryan - I know.. He just got in and I wanted him in.. but.. 0 marks. He might get a reprieve though with Langford possibly injured.
Tsatas - Don’t like him as the sub; want full games for him to develop so either full AFL or VFL for mine.
Langford - Likely injured
Kelly - Wasn’t all that bad, but we need to strengthen our midfield
Lav - Possibly suspended for a week
Possible Ins - Slim pickings based on the VFL game.
Goldstein - Strait back in
Settefield - Very good in the VFL despite the team getting spanked hard.
Shiel - Need some pace - Maybe he will get a reprieve.
Hayes - In for Lav.
My Prediction - Honestly, on my ladder predictor (done 4 rounds ago or so), I have Carlton winning, but right now… nah. Staying positive. Essendon by 23
Oh right. **** Carlton!
Even more recently our paths surprisingly mirror each other; with both clubs surviving a bumbling board over; being rejected by both Clarko and Lyon in their search for a new coach and ending up with the “next best option”.. Yep, Essendon showed that, just like Carlton, it could dodge bullets with it’s incompetency.
In the contact of the season, this game could be huge; so many of us want to believe that Essendon has changed, but we’ve been May Premiers before. My expectations for this year were low… but I’m stubbornly holding on to them until there is real proof. A win over Carlton will go a long way to proving that; especially given their good form, long break since their trip to Adelaide, and them genuinely eying off a top 4 spot come September.
Oh, this is also the first Battle of Twin Peaks, (Ughh, Gotta think of a better title!) as Ben Mckay and his evil twin finally do battle; yep the media are going to be insufferable over this one.
The Round That Was
An expected but disappointing loss, we still struggle on the road with all three of our losses coming from interstate games, and only barely beating Adelaide and West Coast. Fortunately, we don’t travel again until Round 24 when we head up to the Gabba to face Brisbane. Yeah, the umps sucked, but our poor kicking for goal and Gold Coasts' strong defence and ability to kick quick responses whenever we started building any momentum were the deciding factors in the end. We played ok really, but losing still sucks.
GOLD COAST 2.2 6.4 9.6 14.7 (91)
ESSENDON 3.5 4.8 6.13 11.14 (80)
GOALS
Gold Coast: King 4, Long 4, Lukosius 2, Miller, Humphrey, Berry, Ainsworth
Essendon: Cox 3, Wright, Menzie, Kelly, Jones, Hind, Guelfi, Durham, Caldwell
BEST
Gold Coast: Anderson, Collins, Andrew, Long, Uwland, Rowell, Sexton
Essendon: Merrett, Martin, Hind, Ridley, Heppell, Redman
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Essendon: Kyle Langford (hip pointer)
LATE CHANGES
Gold Coast: Nil
Essendon: Todd Goldstein (managed) replaced by Nick Bryan
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: David Swallow (replaced Bailey Humphrey in the fourth quarter)
Essendon: Elijah Tsatas (replaced Kyle Langford in the fourth quarter)
Crowd: 21,759 at People First Stadium
Carlton on the other hand was able to dispose of a subpar Port Adelaide in what was a tight game until Cripps when bang bang bang in the final quarter, and knocked them the **** out! I don’t like to praise Carlton, but credit where credit it due.
PORT ADELAIDE 3.2 4.8 7.9 10.11 (71)
CARLTON 3.2 5.5 8.10 16.11 (107)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 4, Burgoyne, Soldo, Horne-Francis, McEntee, Finlayson, Marshall
Carlton: Curnow 3, Williams 3, McKay 3, Cripps 2, De Koning, Kemp, Cincotta, McGovern, Acres
BEST
Port Adelaide: Butters, Horne-Francis, Georgiades, Wines, Drew
Carlton: Cripps, Curnow, De Koning, Newman, Walsh, Williams
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Carlton: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Jeremy Finlayson (replaced Charlie Dixon in the third quarter)
Carlton: Jack Carroll (replaced Orazio Fantasia in the last quarter)
Crowd: 40,532 at Adelaide Oval
The Last Time We Met
This was a fun game. It was a tight contest for most of the first half and until Essendon and Peter Wright in particular went beast mode. Essendon kicked 8 goals in a row from the 20-minute mark of the 2nd till halfway through the third and Wright kicked 3 of those goals and made Weitering his bitch for the night. God, I hope he does it again on Sunday.
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
The Selection Table
Possible Outs -
Bryan - I know.. He just got in and I wanted him in.. but.. 0 marks. He might get a reprieve though with Langford possibly injured.
Tsatas - Don’t like him as the sub; want full games for him to develop so either full AFL or VFL for mine.
Langford - Likely injured
Kelly - Wasn’t all that bad, but we need to strengthen our midfield
Lav - Possibly suspended for a week
Possible Ins - Slim pickings based on the VFL game.
Goldstein - Strait back in
Settefield - Very good in the VFL despite the team getting spanked hard.
Shiel - Need some pace - Maybe he will get a reprieve.
Hayes - In for Lav.
My Prediction - Honestly, on my ladder predictor (done 4 rounds ago or so), I have Carlton winning, but right now… nah. Staying positive. Essendon by 23
Oh right. **** Carlton!
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