Essendon has been convincingly beaten by Carlton at the MCG on Saturday, losing by 96points.
It was the Bombers' fifth straight loss and with an 11-9 record, they are nowoutside the top eight for the first time since round one. With Richmond and Collingwoodremaining on their schedule, the one win they need to climb back into the topeight is looking increasingly unlikely.
""It was a hugely disappointingperformance from us all,"" said Essendon coach James Hird. ""We werecompetitive for the first 15 minutes and then we really fell away. It wasn'tgood at all.""
Conversely, the Blues are also 11-9 and remain in the finals hunt after one oftheir most complete performances of the year. And if there was any justice infootball, Saturday's sublime effort should end once and for all any talk aboutthe future of Blues coach Brett Ratten.
With two wins over Collingwood and Richmond and this one against Essendon,Ratten has some big scalps to his name. And with winnable games to close outthe season against Gold Coast and St Kilda, he could end the season with 13wins, a fair return given the cruel run with injuries and some unfortunatesuspensions he has had to endure this year.
Carlton's 24.12 (156) to 8.12 (60) win was fuelled by its best second term of theyear, when, with a 7-0 edge in centre clearances and countless avenues to goal,the Blues rattled on 10.1 to extend a 15-point lead at the first change to 52points at half-time.
It started after a quarter-time melee that involved just about every player onthe ground and it came through complete dominance in the midfield. Bomber primemovers Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton were restricted to one possession each andDavid Zaharakis three, while the Blues pretty much did as they liked, withAndrew Carrazzo (Watson's opponent) getting nine disposals, while skipper ChrisJudd and Marc Murphy each had seven.
That dominance was translated throughout the match. Judd, in his first matchback following his four-match 'chicken wing' suspension, finished with 23 disposals,but it was Murphy with 37 possessions, Bryce Gibbs with 28, Kade Simpson with26 and Brock Mclean with 26 who ran amok.
But equally important for the Blues was their aerial dominance in the forwardline. Jarrad Waite was lively all day with five goals. The oft-injured forwardhas his detractors, but he straightens the Blues up. In just his fifth game,young forward Levi Casboult was a great foil for Waite with three goals, whileJeff Garlett, Simpson and McLean also kicked three. For McLean, who has been insuper form for the Blues in the second half of the season, it was a personalbest.
""I'm really pleased with the way theplayers played. We put some things in place – it wasn't much different than theway that we want to play – but I thought that was pretty much a four-quarterperformance,"" Ratten said.
""I'm really pleased with the way theplayers have stepped up … I thought across the board that was as close to 22contributors as you can get.""
It didn't help the Bombers that defender Dustin Fletcher left the groundhalfway through the first quarter with an adductor strain suffered wheneffecting a wonderful and trademark defensive spoil on Eddie Betts. In thethird term, the Bombers then lost fellow key defender Jake Carlisle to whatappeared to be a serious ankle injury.
It meant that Essendon was playing short-sticked at both ends of the ground.Unlike their colleagues in defence, who were hobbled, the Bomber forwards justweren't effective. Patrick Ryder and Stewart Crameri each kicked two goals,while Michael Hurley - who didn't look anywhere near full fitness - added justone.
He looks just about shot for the season. Just like his team.
It was the Bombers' fifth straight loss and with an 11-9 record, they are now outside the top eight for the first time since round one. With Richmond and Collingwood remaining on their schedule, the one win they need to climb back into the top eight is looking increasingly unlikely.
Conversely, the Blues are also 11-9 and remain in the finals hunt after one of their most complete performances of the year. And if there was any justice in football, Saturday's sublime effort should end once and for all any talk about the future of Blues coach Brett Ratten.
With two wins over Collingwood and Richmond and this one against Essendon, Ratten has some big scalps to his name. And with winnable games to close out the season against Gold Coast and St Kilda, he could end the season with 13 wins, a fair return given the cruel run with injuries and some unfortunate suspensions he has had to endure this year.
Carlton's 24.12 (156) to 8.12 (60) win was fuelled by its best second term of the year, when, with a 7-0 edge in centre clearances and countless avenues to goal, the Blues rattled on 10.1 to extend a 15-point lead at the first change to 52 points at half-time.
And it came through complete dominance in the midfield. Bomber prime movers Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton were restricted to one possession each and Davis Zaharakis three, while the Blues pretty much did as they liked, with Andrew Carrazzo (Watson's opponent) getting nine disposals, while skipper Chris Judd and Marc Murphy each had seven.
That dominance was translated throughout the match. Judd, in his first match back following his four-match 'chicken wing' suspension, finished with 23 disposals, but it was Murphy with 37 possessions, Bryce Gibbs with 28, Kade Simpson with 26 and Brock Mclean with 26 who ran amok.
But equally important for the Blues was their aerial dominance in the forward line. Jarrad Waite was lively all day with five goals. The oft-injured forward has his detractors, but he straightens the Blues up. In just his fifth game, young forward Levi Casboult was a great foil for Waite with three goals, while Jeff Garlett, Simpson and McLean also kicked three. For McLean, who has been in super form for the Blues in the second half of the season, it was a personal best.
It didn't help the Bombers that defender Dustin Fletcher left the ground halfway through the first quarter with an adductor strain suffered when effecting a wonderful and trademark defensive spoil on Eddie Betts. In the third term, the Bombers then lost fellow key defender Jake Carlisle to what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
It meant that Essendon was playing short-sticked at both ends of the ground. Unlike their colleagues in defence, who were hobbled, the Bomber forwards just weren't effective. Patrick Ryder and Stewart Crameri each kicked two goals, while Michael Hurley - who didn't look anywhere near full fitness - added just one.
He looks just about shot for the season. Just like his team.
ESSENDON 2.5 6.6 7.8 8.12 (60)
CARLTON 5.3 15.4 20.9 24.12 (156)
GOALS
Essendon:Crameri 2, Ryder 2, Watson, Lonergan, Stanton, Hurley
Carlton:Waite 5, McLean 3, Simpson 3, Walker 3, Garlett 3, Casboult 3, Betts 2, Murphy 2
BEST
Essendon:Watson, Browne, Hooker
Carlton:Murphy, Gibbs, McLean, Waite, Simpson, Judd, Betts, Casboult
INJURIES
Essendon:Fletcher (hip flexor), Carlisle (ankle)
Carlton:Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Leroy Jetta replaced Dustin Fletcher in the first quarter
Carlton:Tom Bell replaced Andrew Carrazzo in the final quarter
Reports:Nil
Umpires:McBurney, Farmer, Schmitt
Official crowd:59,381 at the MCG
