Inside the Carlton-Essendon rivalry: Glenn Manton, Justin Madden relive great Blues, Bombers battles

In the 1980s and 1990s there were few rivalries that could match the fervour of Essendon and Carlton. Two greats who played for both clubs detail what footy has been missing without the powerhouse clubs at the top.

Few are better placed to speak on what the rivalry between Carlton and Essendon meant in its heyday than Glenn Manton.

Delisted by Essendon in 1994, the premiership Carlton defender kicked the opening goal of the famous 1999 preliminary final boilover after shooting his mouth off in the lead up to the clash.

Former Bomber and Blue Glenn Manton.

“I had made a public comment the week before when I dropped the F-bomb on national television when I said we were going to stick it up the ‘expletive’ Bombers,” Manton recalled this week.

“I had a little bit more riding on it because I know a lot of people weren’t terribly happy with me saying that.

“It was just an extraordinary game.”

Sunday’s King’s Birthday Eve clash may not carry near the same weight as that all-time 1999 clash.

Manton attempts to spoil Matthew Lloyd in the 2000 preliminary final.

But it shapes as potentially the third-biggest meeting between the two clubs in the 25 years since that day, with the Bombers sitting second and the Blues fifth on the ladder.

A follow-up preliminary final in 2000 and an elimination final in 2011 mark possibly the only two games of real consequence between the two teams this century, with those two and a round 20 clash in 2000 the only matches between the giants to reel in more than 85,000 fans.

On Sunday night, both clubs are expecting north of 92,000 at the MCG and Manton said the rivalry being reborn would be good for the game.

The 1999 preliminary final remains one of footy’s most famous days.

“The game has missed those clubs at the top. You want your powerhouse clubs to be at the top of the ladder or at least in contention for some sort of spoil towards the end of the year,” he said.

“To have Carlton and Essendon down the bottom of the ladder, it is not productive for the competition.

“You want a good, even spread and you want to know that those stronger clubs are going to compete at the highest levels. ‘Hurts the game’:

“It has just been too long, it hurts the game itself.”

If Manton is well placed to talk about the rivalry, Justin Madden may be even better.

Manton said clashes between the Bombers and Blues “meant a little more”, and Madden agreed.

The great ruck played 45 games for his boyhood club Essendon before notching up 287 for the Blues.

Madden played against Essendon – and usually his brother Simon – 26 times for 12 wins, one draw and 13 losses.

Justin Madden (left) knows all about the Carlton-Essendon rivalry and playing against his brother Simon (right).

“It was always an exciting game. There are a few big teams you want to play against and the Bombers are always one of them if you are playing for Carlton,” he said.

Despite still sitting tied with Collingwood for the most VFL/AFL premierships on 16, neither Essendon nor Carlton has troubled the scorers since the Bombers’ dominant 2000 side.

And neither has really gotten close outside of a grand final appearance in 2001 for Essendon and Carlton’s run to a preliminary final last year.

Both clubs have lost more than they have won since the end of the 2000 season and collected six wooden spoons between them.

In the 103 seasons played before the turn of the century, Essendon finished last twice (1907 and 1933) and Carlton never held up the ladder.

After two decades of struggle, Madden believes the pressure has built on both clubs.

“It makes the game even bigger than ever because there is a weight of expectation on the shoulders of both teams,” he said.

“The Bombers have sort of kicked on a bit sooner than probably their supporters might have even expected. I know a lot of Bombers supporters who are pretty excited and likewise the weight of expectation on Carlton’s shoulders is great given they did all right last year.

“But there is an impatience on both sides of the ledger for both clubs.”

Chris Judd on the burst in the 2011 elimination final between Carlton and Essendon.

Having been cut by the Dons, Manton felt each game against his old side was a chance “to find some sort of redemption” and he described the blockbuster games as “feverish”.

“To have that fever and almost an intoxication that you are playing against a really, really good football club both in the present and historically, to have 90-95,000 people who are part of that fever, that is just where the excitement comes in,” he said.

Originally published as Inside the Carlton-Essendon rivalry: Glenn Manton, Justin Madden relive great Blues, Bombers battles