AFL 2024 round 13 LIVE updates: Blues heaven: Carlton defeat old enemy by 26 points before bumper MCG crowd

Here come the Blues

This might not have been Carlton’s most convincing performance, but all that matters is they pocketed the four points.

The Blues’ 26-point victory over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night was their third on the trot and propelled them into second spot after being outside the top eight before this streak.

Carlton’s nine wins to date this season are more than double what they had at the same time 12 months ago, so there will be no need for any second-half heroics just to qualify for September.

Everyone knows about the Blues’ stars but they have a band of lower-profile contributors playing a significant role.

Among them are Alex Cincotta – who kicked two last-quarter goals and did a great tagging job on Zach Merrett – Matt Owies, Jordan Boyd, Blake Acres and Brodie Kemp.

Territory dominance unrewarded

Essendon might have entered the match higher on the ladder than Carlton, but they were widely considered the underdogs.

Ultimately, only a barrage of goals from the Blues at either end of the contest proved the difference.

The Bombers will kick themselves for wasting countless opportunities in the first three quarters, after which they led the inside-50 count 46-25, yet trailed by 15 points.

The third term, in particular, should have seen Essendon make far greater scoreboard impact, but they repeatedly slaughtered the ball going into attack.
On the flipside, Carlton were ruthlessly efficient.

They had 12 scoring shots from 17 first-half inside 50s, and put the result beyond doubt with four goals in barely 10 minutes to start the final term.

Time wasting?

One of the AFL’s most-maligned rules had another chapter early in Sunday night’s match.

The league’s crackdown on time wasting leaves no wiggle room for players to give the ball to the wrong player after a free kick, so Nic Martin’s skill error was always going to be costly.

Martin seemingly attempted to kick the ball to Blue Mitch McGovern from about 15 metres away but succeeded only in finding his Essendon teammate on the mark.
No sooner did it happen than McGovern was gleefully running forward from half-back to kick a goal after receiving a 50-metre penalty.

Players are now trying to use the rule to fool their opponents.

Carlton forward Zac Williams pleaded with Dyson Heppell to give him the ball after Charlie Curnow received a free kick in the fourth quarter, but the Bombers veteran was too smart for that.

Jacob Weitering on Elijah Hollands following his drug scandal:“You’ve got to give him a lot of credit and we probably don’t talk about it enough – he came into this club in pretty rough circumstances and he had to earn the trust of the group back,” Weitering told Fox Footy.

Carlton spent three weeks checking on recruit Elijah Hollands, enlisting psychologists, coaches, administrators, the club board, an integrity consultant and the midfielder’s parents, before agreeing to recruit him after he was charged with possessing illicit drugs.

That drug charge was resolved in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday when the 20-year-old agreed to be of good behaviour for two months and to undertake a drug diversion program after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine. No conviction was recorded.

“He was head down, bum up from the start and he has done a magnificent job for us. The way he runs his patterns defensively helps us out and then when he gets the ball, he is just so composed and he finds that bridge kick really well,” said Weitering.

“When we lower the eyes and find our big boys, we are pretty hard to stop.”

What sort of lad is he?

“He is pretty confident but at the same time, he is a hard worker,” Weitering told Fox Footy.

“Everyone makes mistakes in life and we’ve tried to embrace him as an individual and hopefully he feels he is comfortable in his own skin and can do his job in the navy blue which he is doing so far.”

Here come the Blues

This might not have been Carlton’s most convincing performance, but all that matters is they pocketed the four points.

The Blues’ 26-point victory over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night was their third on the trot and propelled them into second spot after being outside the top eight before this streak.

Carlton’s nine wins to date this season are more than double what they had at the same time 12 months ago, so there will be no need for any second-half heroics just to qualify for September.

Everyone knows about the Blues’ stars but they have a band of lower-profile contributors playing a significant role.

Among them are Alex Cincotta – who kicked two last-quarter goals and did a great tagging job on Zach Merrett – Matt Owies, Jordan Boyd, Blake Acres and Brodie Kemp.

Territory dominance unrewarded

Essendon might have entered the match higher on the ladder than Carlton, but they were widely considered the underdogs.

Ultimately, only a barrage of goals from the Blues at either end of the contest proved the difference.

The Bombers will kick themselves for wasting countless opportunities in the first three quarters, after which they led the inside-50 count 46-25, yet trailed by 15 points.

The third term, in particular, should have seen Essendon make far greater scoreboard impact, but they repeatedly slaughtered the ball going into attack.
On the flipside, Carlton were ruthlessly efficient.

They had 12 scoring shots from 17 first-half inside 50s, and put the result beyond doubt with four goals in barely 10 minutes to start the final term.

Time wasting?

One of the AFL’s most-maligned rules had another chapter early in Sunday night’s match.

The league’s crackdown on time wasting leaves no wiggle room for players to give the ball to the wrong player after a free kick, so Nic Martin’s skill error was always going to be costly.

Martin seemingly attempted to kick the ball to Blue Mitch McGovern from about 15 metres away but succeeded only in finding his Essendon teammate on the mark.
No sooner did it happen than McGovern was gleefully running forward from half-back to kick a goal after receiving a 50-metre penalty.

Players are now trying to use the rule to fool their opponents.

Carlton forward Zac Williams pleaded with Dyson Heppell to give him the ball after Charlie Curnow received a free kick in the fourth quarter, but the Bombers veteran was too smart for that.

“When you play a good side, it’s going to come in stages,” Patrick Cripps told Fox Footy post-game.

“You’ve got to hold up [at times] and then when it’s your turn to counterpunch, you got to put it on the scoreboard.”

Of the win, he said it showed a lot of growth in the group, who were struggling at this point last season.

“This is a pretty good reflection of where we were this time last year,” said Cripps.

“And it puts us in a really good position for the back half of the year.”

Well, that’s another chapter written in the books of one of the game’s oldest, and most passionate, rivalries. The Blues are into the top two, having knocked Essendon off that perch with a huge 26-point win.

It was a game of momentum swings and drama, but ultimately the Blues were simply more efficient in front of goals.

Carlton defeat Essendon 15.6 (96) to 6.16 (70).

Official crowd: 88,510.

It’s the second-biggest home-and-away attendance for an Essendon-Carlton clash.

Nice one, nuffies.

Alex Cincotta has answered for the Blues. It’s his second goal this quarter, bobbing up to kick important majors, all while on his tagging role on Zach Merrett.

His done a good job quelling the Bombers’ skipper impact on the game.

Blues by 27, with four minutes to go

Essendon need four goals in five minutes.

Michael Voss is still looking very uncomfortable on the sidelines. But if his side can hold off the Bombers for just a little while longer, they’ll jump into second spot on the ladder.

Blues by 21 with five minutes to go

That’s two in a row from the Bombers, after Jade Gresham got his first of the evening, to draw the margin back under 30 points. Can the Bombers kick five goals in ten minutes?

Meanwhile, Mitch McGovern has gone down to the rooms to be assessed, meaning with Harry McKay also off, the Blues are missing a tall at either end.

Blues by 29

And just like that, Carlton had a 41-point advantage before Sam Durham managed to get one back with a quick reply.

The Blues kicked the first four goals of the final quarter, with eight inside 50s to one, as they got the upper hand on the territory battle.

Things aren’t looking good for Essendon now. But plenty can happen in 12 minutes.

Blues by 35