Game Review

By 1987, Essendon had fallen to such a level that this victory was not celebrated to any great extent.

I'm all for ground rationalisation business, especially when it comes to Carlton-Essendon encounters. There's no doubt that VFL Park, with its roomy outers, should be reserved again for these two combatants and my arguement has nothing to do with the fact that the Blues have rolled the Bombers out there twice in as many years - not much! I'm quite prepared to sacrifice my Saturday afternoons at Princes Park to witness a Carlton-Essendon clash at the Thunderdome. For there's only one thing better than Essendon going down to Carlton in front of 30,000 screaming Blues fans, and that's Essendon going down to Carlton in front of an extra 30,000 Princes Park patrons. That's exactly what happened at the weekend and if Kevin Sheedy's not prepared to talk about it, one Carl Toner will. Carlton notched up the 54 point win primarily because of the fact that the pressure it exerted lasted the mandatory four quarters. Now I know coach Robert Walls has been terribly concerned with the spasmodic play of his charges since his ascension to the Carlton throne and at long last he appears to have come up with the remedy. At VFL Park the Blues persisted and as a result the Bombers buckled. Players such as Kernahan, Motley, Dorotich and Bradley are benefiting from a year's experience in the big time and their team-mates are being inspired to perform accordingly. Madden is in fine touch, having improved in his ruckplay, provided an option up forward and generally contributed around the ground. That would hurt "Sheeds" even more, given that the big bloke was once a promising Don. Football can be cruel sometimes, eh Kev! - Carl Toner Inside Football.

Kernahan Dominates
Carlton, with Stephen Kernahan dominating the play, gave Essendon a football lesson at VFL Park. Their win by 52 points moved them to the top of the league ladder after Round 5. If Kernahan had kicked straighter then his 6 goals 8 behinds, it would have been an even greater performance. The Carlton captain, who snared 12 marks at centre half-forward gave his players upfield something to kick to. Roger Merrett, at centre half-forward for Essendon, did not get a look in against Jon Dorotich. - Footy Week.

Rhys-Jones up again
Four reports in the game took some gloss off the Carlton win as David Rhys-Jones was reported on two charges which takes his reports to 13 in his career. The fiery winger had 24 disposals (10 kicks and 14 handballs) for the game to be the leading possession-getter for the Blues. - Footy Week

What will please Carlton most about their 54-point win was that they were too physically strong for Essendon, particularily on the forward line where Kernahan, Sartori and Dennis ruled the air, while Dorotich's return gave the backline a comforting and confidence-building boost. - Footy Week

Team

Milestones

100 Goals: Paul Meldrum

Brownlow Votes

3: Paul Meldrum (CARL)
2: Stephen Kernahan (CARL)
1: Tom Alvin (CARL)