‘Where we deserve to be’: Blues coach adamant his side are a contender after downing Bombers

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.

Zac Williams of the Blues celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty

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.

Archie Perkins of Essendon.Credit: Getty

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.

Well, that’ll do me.

Thanks for joining our live blog tonight and we’ll see you tomorrow for the blockbuster King’s Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne at the MCG. The Big Freeze!

Have a good sleep, footy fans, it’s a big one tomorrow.

Michael Voss is adamant. Carlton deserve to be in the top two.

“We are where we deserve to be. The ladder doesn’t lie,” Voss said post beating Essendon by 26 points.

“The last probably three weeks we’ve played against some quality opposition and we’ve ran out the game(s) really strong.

“So to beat us, you’ve got to go for four quarters. And that’s something that we’ve had to develop as a football team over the last little while, it hasn’t sort of just arrived. It’s been something we’ve been working on for quite a while.”

Michael Voss of Carlton.Credit: Getty

Looking back 12 months, the Blues had four wins at this stage in the season, and they still managed to finish the season just a few kicks from making a grand final. Now, they’ve got nine wins and are sitting in second spot on the ladder.

“It probably shows you how quickly things can change. So, you know, don’t take for granted where you are and we’ve had to earn our right to get here.

“I look at where the season’s at, and consistency, and we’ve had good visibility on the competition compared to what we’ve played against ... of the last 11 rounds, we’ve played all of the top 10 (teams).

“So, we’ve got a really clear visibility about where we are and what we’ve got to get to work on. And there’s clearly some gaps that we need to address. But in terms of things we’ve had to work on from early in the year to now, we’re certainly producing a lot more consistent performance.”

Essendon coach Brad Scott credited Carlton for their efficiency and polish, saying his side’s inability to make the most of its forward thrusts prevented them from amping up the pressure on the Blues.

He put it down to kicking execution, the Bombers’ connection inside their forward 50-metre arc and the fact they did not generate enough quality shots.

“(Carlton) converted their opportunities certainly a lot better than we did,” Scott said.

“Territory dominance was going to be pretty important in the game … so, yeah, it’s disappointing. I think. Clearly, Carlton deserved their win. But I thought our guys laid a foundation to give ourselves an opportunity to sort of dominate part of the game … We certainly dominated parts without converting on the scoreboard.”

Scott said his team had been “really poor in converting opportunities” for the past two weeks, citing last week’s loss to Gold Coast when the Bombers kicked 11.14.

“So we’ve got a lot of work to do on that. But now I sit here at roughly the midpoint of the season, thinking the foundation of what we’re doing is something to build on,” Scott said.

Brad Scott, senior coach of the Essendon Bombers.Credit: Getty

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.

Elijah Hollands celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty

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.

Zac Williams of the Blues celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty

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.

Archie Perkins of Essendon.Credit: Getty

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’ve got to put it on the scoreboard.”

He said tonight’s win showcased the growth of Carlton’s playing list, which was struggling at this point last season.

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

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

The Blues celebrate a goal.Credit: Getty

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).

Zac Williams of the Blues celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty