Best Win Since 2000 No. 19
Round 11 2013 vs Carlton
| Essendon | 2.1.13 | 3.4.22 | 6.7.43 | 11.11.77 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton | 1.4.10 | 6.5.41 | 8.9.57 | 10.12.72 |
Context
-
Essendon had dropped to 5th after what was a very strong start to the season. It seemed that the “us against the world” feeling of the supplements scandal was losing its effect on the field.
-
Carlton had won 3 matches in a row and sat in 6th, 1 win behind the Bombers.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
-
82,639 attended the game during the Friday night prime time slot.
-
Carlton led 55-24 halfway through the 3rd quarter after a goal before the Bombers finally found some run. A lucky bounce in the goalsquare after a long-range snap by Stewart Crameri gave the Bombers their 2nd goal in over an hour of football.
-
Dyson Heppell took a wonderful courageous mark minutes later before offloading to Michael Hibberd. His short kick found Jake Melksham, who strolled through the corridor before kicking a 60m bomb to give the Dons momentum.
-
Ben Howlett took a speccy early in the 4th quarter before converting the set shot to reduce the margin to 13 points.
-
From the next centre bounce, Heppell cleared high to just inside 50 where the bouncing ball was collected by Jake Carlisle, who pushed away a would-be tackler with one arm before kicking the goal. The red-and-black in the crowd were definitely up and about if they weren’t already.
-
David Myers found himself in acres of space after a mixup by the Blues at halfback. He awkwardly strolled in to goal before the briefest feigning of a handpass before finally putting the ball through the big sticks himself. Scores level.
-
Jake Carlisle stamped his impact on the game by taking a contested mark against his opponent, Lachie Henderson, before wheeling around and drilling a perfectly weighted pass to Melksham, who blasted the ball through from point-blank range to put Essendon in front.
-
Carlton’s Jarrad Waite had had the night of his career, kicking his 7th goal of the game to give the Blues back the lead. It set up an exciting finish. With just under 3 minutes of play remaining, the two teams would go close to re-enacting Essendon’s winning goal in the classic 1998 match between the two teams, where Stephen Silvagni had saved a goal only to gift the ball straight back to Scott Lucas who kicked the goal straight back over Silvagni’s head. On this occasion it was Brent Stanton who kicked a scuffed drop punt from 55m. Lachie Henderson won the foot race to the ball, but opted to keep the ball in play rather than rush a behind and sacrifice Carlton’s slender 1 point lead. Under pressure from Carlisle, Henderson spotted a teammate at halfback, but it was instead Bomber, Jason Winderlich, who forced his way in front of his opponent, Chris Yarran, to intercept. Winderlich chipped short to Melksham who marked 40m out. Melksham kicked the goal to put the Bombers in front by 5 points with 99 seconds on the clock.
-
Carlton had one last inside 50, but Jake Carlisle took a towering mark to all but lock in the win for the Dons. The Essendon crowd on the siren and throughout the last quarter were fantastic.
Extra notes
- Joe Daniher’s debut for Essendon.
What happened next?
-
Essendon won their next 5 games to set up a 1st vs 2nd clash with Hawthorn at Docklands stadium - sound familiar? Unfortunately, it kickstarted a sad end to a difficult season, with the Bombers going down by 56 points.
-
Carlton reverted to mediocrity but were gifted a spot in the finals after finishing 9th. They hilariously beat Richmond in the Elimination Final, leading to an avalanche of Ninthmond memes all over social media. Sydney ensured that Carlton’s run didn’t last too long in a Semi Final at the SCG.
Click here to go to best win #18.