Carlton’s great escape: Blues hold off ferocious Bomber fightback in King’s Birthday eve blockbuster

Carlton have escaped with an eight-point victory over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night after a mid-match collapse threatened to waste their seven-goals-to-one start.

However, the Blues’ much-needed win – 11.12 (78) to 11.4 (70) – was overshadowed by a second-quarter incident where Bomber Sam Durham put Adam Cerra on his back with a front-on bump that is sure to attract match review scrutiny.

Durham’s hit on Cerra dazed the Blue and left him briefly flat on his back as Carlton teammates, including former Bomber Adam Saad, rushed in to remonstrate with the Essendon midfielder.

Former Bomber Adam Saad had plenty to say to Sam Durham after his bump on Adam Cerra.Credit: AFL Photos

Cerra remained on the field for more than 10 minutes before disappearing into the Blues’ rooms for a head injury assessment (HIA) that cleared him of a concussion.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Melbourne great Garry Lyon was critical of Carlton’s delay in undertaking the test, but the Blues defended their decision.

“[Cerra] was immediately assessed out on the ground and was OK to remain out there,” a Carlton spokesperson told this masthead.

“Vision was also reviewed on the bench, [and] the club made the decision to have HIA completed as an absolute precaution. He passed that also.”

The Blues seemed on track for a comfortable win over the injury-ravaged Bombers when they went to quarter-time with a 33-point lead in front of 74,280 fans.

Xavier Duursma kicked a big goal late for the Bombers.Credit: AFL Photos

Ex-Essendon forward Orazio Fantasia extended Carlton’s margin to a match-high 38 points in the second quarter, but the Bombers kicked six of the next seven goals either side of half-time to launch a fierce fightback.

Michael Voss’ men, who led by 11 points at three-quarter-time, again looked safe when Blake Acres slotted a brilliant 50-metre goal from the boundary before Zac Williams blasted through another from point-blank range.

But Essendon kept on coming and were only six points behind with almost four-and-a-half minutes left when Xavier Duursma soared across a pack to mark then kick a goal.

Neither team managed a goal thereafter, although Blues pair Charlie Curnow and Acres had the only two set shots in the dying minutes.

The Bombers’ last opportunity slipped through Durham’s hands just outside 50, and they were unable to piece together a match-winning passage.

Carlton’s restricted free agent Tom De Koning was best afield with 23 disposals, 13 contested possessions, seven clearances and a goal in a ruck mismatch with veteran big man Todd Goldstein.

Blue Sam Walsh and Bomber Nic Martin were also prominent with an equal-game-high 32 disposals apiece, while Darcy Parish amassed 30 touches and 10 clearances in a strong return game.

Well, that was an eventful night – the Blues just hanging on to remain in the finals hunt.

Thanks for following throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

We will be back on Monday for the King’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood at the MCG.

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Blues coach Michael Voss spoke to Channel Seven post-game

Is it satisfaction or relief for you right now?
It was a fairly familiar tale for a while. We started the game really well, but then a couple of moments we could do better, they scored the last goal of the second quarter, and then the first goal of the third quarter and there is a 12-point swing and it turns the momentum. There have been games we have not been able to persevere and show the grit as well, so I felt like it wasn’t necessarily because we weren’t trying to do things, it was more to the credit of Essendon, to turn the tide and, lucky enough, we were able to hold on.

Patrick Cripps of the Blues leads the Blues out.Credit: Getty Images

One of your big balls spent most of his time in the third quarter in the goal square in Patrick Cripps?
I will have to talk to him about that.

That is a player move?
One of the big ones for Crippa is that I think he has been able to share the load a lot, so the beneficiaries of that have been Cerra, Hewett and others being able to step up, and it is hard to do that as a leader in those times, but you want to know when the big moments are coming, and put yourself in the middle and say that it is my turn and let’s go. He has been fantastic like that, to give the opportunity for the other guys to build their games, and he has been prepared to take a backward step.

Adam Cerra gets a kick away.Credit: AFL Photos

Adam Cerra has also spoken to Channel Seven post game.

He was asked by Kane Cornes whether he thought the footy was past the attempted bump that Sam Durham made on him in the second term
The play happened so quickly, as you would know, and the rule is to protect the guy putting his head over the ball, but I can understand that accidents happen, and he was not malicious and [not] trying to hurt me. It happens with the game being so quick. Obviously, we hope it is out of the game, and there are rules around that but accidents happen.

Carlton have escaped with an eight-point victory over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night after a mid-match collapse threatened to waste their seven-goals-to-one start.

However, the Blues’ much-needed win – 11.12 (78) to 11.4 (70) – was overshadowed by a second-quarter incident where Bomber Sam Durham put Adam Cerra on his back with a front-on bump that is sure to attract match review scrutiny.

Durham’s hit on Cerra dazed the Blue and left him briefly flat on his back as Carlton teammates, including former Bomber Adam Saad, rushed in to remonstrate with the Essendon midfielder.

Former Bomber Adam Saad had plenty to say to Sam Durham after his bump on Adam Cerra.Credit: AFL Photos

Cerra remained on the field for more than 10 minutes before disappearing into the Blues’ rooms for a head injury assessment (HIA) that cleared him of a concussion.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Melbourne great Garry Lyon was critical of Carlton’s delay in undertaking the test, but the Blues defended their decision.

“[Cerra] was immediately assessed out on the ground and was OK to remain out there,” a Carlton spokesperson told this masthead.

“Vision was also reviewed on the bench, [and] the club made the decision to have HIA completed as an absolute precaution. He passed that also.”

The Blues seemed on track for a comfortable win over the injury-ravaged Bombers when they went to quarter-time with a 33-point lead in front of 74,280 fans.

Xavier Duursma kicked a big goal late for the Bombers.Credit: AFL Photos

Ex-Essendon forward Orazio Fantasia extended Carlton’s margin to a match-high 38 points in the second quarter, but the Bombers kicked six of the next seven goals either side of half-time to launch a fierce fightback.

Michael Voss’ men, who led by 11 points at three-quarter-time, again looked safe when Blake Acres slotted a brilliant 50-metre goal from the boundary before Zac Williams blasted through another from point-blank range.

But Essendon kept on coming and were only six points behind with almost four-and-a-half minutes left when Xavier Duursma soared across a pack to mark then kick a goal.

Neither team managed a goal thereafter, although Blues pair Charlie Curnow and Acres had the only two set shots in the dying minutes.

The Bombers’ last opportunity slipped through Durham’s hands just outside 50, and they were unable to piece together a match-winning passage.

Carlton’s restricted free agent Tom De Koning was best afield with 23 disposals, 13 contested possessions, seven clearances and a goal in a ruck mismatch with veteran big man Todd Goldstein.

Blue Sam Walsh and Bomber Nic Martin were also prominent with an equal-game-high 32 disposals apiece, while Darcy Parish amassed 30 touches and 10 clearances in a strong return game.

Carlton midfielder Adam Cerra said he felt fine to remain on the field, despite a heavy hit from Essendon’s Sam Durham which will be scrutinised by the match review officer.

Cerra was hit flush by Durham in the second term, prompting teammates to remonstrate, and was left with a shiner but remained on the field for 14 minutes before he was taken from the ground for a HIA test to determine whether he had been concussed.

He had been assessed on field by the Blues’ doctors, and was adamant he could play on.

“It’s all good. Obviously, I went off and had the test, and passed all that,” Cerra told Fox Footy after the Blues’ eight-point win at the MCG.

“I got the all clear from the docs. I thought that was all good, to keep running around. It felt normal. But, obviously, I came off for due diligence, and did the test. I had 20 minutes off and passed all of that. So, it felt great.”

During the 14 minutes before Cerra was removed from the field of play, the Blues’ doctors continued to analyse footage of the incident.

“I played out the game and felt great,” Cerra told Seven in the Blues’ change room.

He said he did not feel Durham’s act was “malicious”, declaring “accidents happen”.

The clash will spark more debate about how head knocks are treated, and the role the AFL’s review system with its concussion scrutineers is used.

Blues skipper Patrick Cripps spoke to Channel Seven soon after the siren...

On how the Blues handled their second-half demons
We just have to not get distracted and keep playing, and keep sticking to the process and keep playing an especially aggressive brand of footy, and the ball movement stuff – we have to do it for longer.

Jesse Motlop takes a strong grab.Credit: AFL Photos

On Jesse Motlop’s impact on the game
I thought Jesse Motlop was huge – he has copped a fair bit of criticism this year, which I have felt has been unfair for a fourth-year player, and for him to not only kick the goals, but put in the pressure, he was huge – he was tremendous today.

Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh have held firm in the final term, the Blues hanging on for an eight-point win (78 to 70) at the MCG. Their finals hopes remain alive, but this wasn’t as strong a win as they should have enjoyed.

Four points: The Blues hang on.Credit: Getty Images

The key stats from Sunday night footy at the MCG...

Youngster Archer Day-Wicks concedes an inexplicable 50-metre penalty for crossing the protected area. Sam Walsh then finds Blake Acres on the lead, but Acres’ shot for goal is out on the full. The Blues then score a point. Their lead is eight points with just over a minute remaining.

Charlie Curnow fails to make the distance after a strong mark. His shot was from about 45 metres out from goal, but the ball is rushed through for a handy point. The Blues lead by seven points.

Bomber Xavier Duursma, in game 100, completes a big mark and converts from about 20 metres out. Duursma, of course, knows how to take a big mark. The Blues lead by a goal with just over four minutes remaining. Remember, the Blues led by 38 points earlier in the night...