Round 7 1995, Essendon vs. Carlton

Game Statistics

ESSENDON.........2.5   4. 7   6.11    9.11   (67)
CARLTON..........3.5   4. 7   5.10   10.15   (75)

Goals:

Essendon: Alessio 4, Salmon, Bewick, Hills, Young, Olarenshaw 1.
Carlton: Cook 3, Gleeson, Rice 2, Clape, Spalding, Bradley 1.

Crowd:

73,753 at the MCG

Comment:

Our first loss for the season, but what a game of football. It was fast, skillful and the pressure applied by both sides was enormous. It was a low scoring affair, indicative of the way that both teams would not give in, and with the scores level at half time, it was an open ball game. Essendon played well in the third term to lead going into the final break, but that wasn't enough, with Carlton almost doubling their score in the last term to run out winners. The final nail in the coffin came when Gleeson intercepted a misdirected Essendon handball on the backline, and kicked truely.

Given Essendon's recent dominance over Carlton, it really seemed that they were more fired up to win than us. With Kernahan and Williams missing, it was a depleted Calrton side that ran out onto the ground. But what they lacked in top players, they made up for with determination, and in the end it was that, and Essendon's overuse of the ball that won it for them.

Much has been made about Essendon's possesion style of play in recent times, much of it criticism. Yet we musn't forget that it is the same style of play that has given us some of our greatest victories. In a game where possessions were hard to come by, they needed to be used to greatest effect nearly every time. In the end it was Carlton that did this more than Essendon.

Gavin Wanganeen was superb for the Dons, picking up heaps of possessions and using them well. Michael Long had another good game, and is in unbelieveable form this season. Finally James Hird had a great battle with Stephen Silvagni, one of the premier full backs of the league, and in the end I would say James just came out on top. This loss will probably help Essendon to look at its areas it needs to improve, given that Carlton are the first tough opponent we have had this year.

Standing after Round 7:

Yes, they still remain unbeaten (partly due to our loss), Carlton and Richmond are still on top. Even though we lost, we retain third spot, half a game ahead of Geelong and the Eagles. Melbourne, Collingwood and St Kilda had their first wins of the season, so every team has at least four points on the board now. The ladders is as follows:

--------------P-W-L-D-For-Agst--%---Pts
CARLTON.......7 7 - - 746 448 166.5 28
RICHMOND......7 7 - - 641 509 125.9 28
ESSENDON......7 5 - 1 761 526 144.7 22
GEELONG.......7 5 2 - 768 569 135.0 20
WEST COAST....7 5 2 - 646 480 134.6 20
HAWTHORN......7 4 3 - 609 529 115.1 16
NORTH MELB....7 4 3 - 625 657  95.1 16
FOOTSCRAY.....7 4 3 - 607 745  81.5 16
Fremantle.....7 3 4 - 707 688 102.8 12
Adelaide......7 3 4 - 545 562  97.0 12
Sydney........7 2 5 - 700 717  97.6  8
Brisbane......7 2 5 - 653 770  84.8  8
Collingwood...7 1 5 1 564 674  83.7  6
Melbourne.....7 1 6 - 547 636  86.0  4
St Kilda......7 1 6 - 456 739  61.7  4
Fitzroy.......7 1 6 - 520 846  61.5  4

Next Week:

Another big challenge for the Dons next week, the Eagles in Perth. The Eagles haven't been dominant this year, and Essendon has one of the best records against the Eagles. However, if our form doesn't improve from the Carlton game, we could be facing two losses in a row. I would expect the Dons to rebound well against the Eagles, but it won't be an easy victory.

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