Umpires: N.Nash & I.Robinson.

Goalkickers: R.Ditchburn 3, P.Meldrum 3, A.Marcou 2, J.Madden 2, M.Buckley 1, R.Ashman 1, F.Marchesani 1, S.Kourkoumelis 1, W.Harmes 1

Best: K.Hunter, W.Johnston, R.Ditchburn, A.Marcou, D.English, B.Doull, R.Austin.

Reports: R.Merrett (Essendon) by field umpire N.Nash and goal umpire E.Johnson for allegedly striking R.Austin (Carlton) with a right fist to the face during the first quarter - 2 weeks.

M.Neagle (Essendon) by boundary umpire P.Nichols and field umpire I.Robinson for allegedly striking W.Jones to the stomach in the first quarter - severe reprimand.

J.Madden (Carlton) by boundary umpire P.Nichols and field umpire I.Robinson for allegedly striking R.Andrews (Essendon) with a clenched fist to the face during the second quarter - 2 weeks.

Injuries: Nil

Game Review

After such a terrible performance the week before, it was not a bad effort against our bogey team.

Former Hawthorn Captain Don Scott wrote an article in the Herald Sun days earlier claiming there was a "sniper" within VFL ranks. He claimed that a particular player had been going around belting opponents behind play. The morning of the game it was revealed the said player was Essendon's Roger Merrett.

Obviously Merrett had either not read the article or simply ignored it because he whacked Rod Austin in the mouth 70 metres behind play in an act worthy of 6 weeks, not the 2 weeks he received.

The Sheedy tactic of starting a fight behind play when the opposition had momentum again worked a treat & so we shot ahead of the Bombers, only for them to grind us down.

There are a few ways to look at the war of words that erupted over the Essendon-Carlton clash on Saturday. Firstly, it is hard to believe that Essendon's actions in the first few minutes were spontaneous, as suggested. The Bombers hit the turf with a full head of steam and Carlton ran into a team hell-bent on victory at almost any price. The Essendon-Carlton match at Windy Hill last year started in almost identical fashion, with a Carlton small man being flattened. Carlton caved in that day but, to their credit, they stood and fough Essendon this time around. But dont get me wrong. I am not suggesting Essendon went into this match with the intent of knuckling Carlton into submission. What I am suggesting is that the Bombers had a deliberate policy of hitting hard as ealy as possible. And there is nothing wrong with that. Carlton claim the first tackle was a head-high one on Carlton rover Alex Marcou. Marcou was downed by a cheap shot by Bomber backman Stephen Carey. - Jim Main Inside Football

Team

Video

Milestones

50 AFL Games: Justin Madden
Last Game (Carlton): Greg Sharp
Last Game (Carlton): Robbert Klomp