AFL Round 3 2008: Essendon v Carlton Preview
April 3rd 2008 23:06
Here we are at the third round of the 2008 AFL Premiership Season. Once again, the Bombers are up and down like a yo-yo in the opening rounds of 2008. After thumping the Kangaroos in round 1 and then being decimated by the Cats last week, they currently stand at 1 win / 1 loss, but on last week’s form, it’s hard to be optimistic about their performance against Carlton on Saturday night.
As for the Blues, they’re not looking a whole lot better. Yet to win a match in 2008, Carlton presently stands at 14th place on the ladder after consecutive losses to Richmond and St Kilda. Their highest score of 85 points in the opening two rounds is also the second lowest in the competition; second only to the lamentable opening performances of Melbourne with a dismal high score of just 66.
But how much will all of this mean when these two proud old Victorian sides hit the MCG turf on Saturday evening? Not a lot, if history has anything to say about it.
You don’t have to travel too far back into the past to find a major upset between Carlton and Essendon. Think of the 1999 finals series when Carlton stole the game away from the Bombers by a single point to the dismay of over-confident Essendon fans and the astonishment of bookkeepers across the nation. As a Bombers fan in a family divided between Carlton and Essendon supporters, that is a day I would very much like to forget. But still it remains as a gentle reminder, a warning in the back of my mind that the navy Blues are a side that should never be underestimated. In the nine years that have passed since that incredible upset, very little has changed and regardless of their respective positions on the ladder, clashes between Carlton and Essendon have invariably been close, competitive, hard fought battles.
This time around, Carlton and Essendon are neighbours on the ladder once again, divided only by the two sides from the West, and the same hard-fought contest is expected on Saturday. The bookmakers can’t pick a winner, but someone has to. I’m going to take a lesson from history and back the opposition. Carlton to win by under 20 points.
For all my fellow Essendon fans out there, let's hope I'm wrong!
As for the Blues, they’re not looking a whole lot better. Yet to win a match in 2008, Carlton presently stands at 14th place on the ladder after consecutive losses to Richmond and St Kilda. Their highest score of 85 points in the opening two rounds is also the second lowest in the competition; second only to the lamentable opening performances of Melbourne with a dismal high score of just 66.
But how much will all of this mean when these two proud old Victorian sides hit the MCG turf on Saturday evening? Not a lot, if history has anything to say about it.
You don’t have to travel too far back into the past to find a major upset between Carlton and Essendon. Think of the 1999 finals series when Carlton stole the game away from the Bombers by a single point to the dismay of over-confident Essendon fans and the astonishment of bookkeepers across the nation. As a Bombers fan in a family divided between Carlton and Essendon supporters, that is a day I would very much like to forget. But still it remains as a gentle reminder, a warning in the back of my mind that the navy Blues are a side that should never be underestimated. In the nine years that have passed since that incredible upset, very little has changed and regardless of their respective positions on the ladder, clashes between Carlton and Essendon have invariably been close, competitive, hard fought battles.
This time around, Carlton and Essendon are neighbours on the ladder once again, divided only by the two sides from the West, and the same hard-fought contest is expected on Saturday. The bookmakers can’t pick a winner, but someone has to. I’m going to take a lesson from history and back the opposition. Carlton to win by under 20 points.
For all my fellow Essendon fans out there, let's hope I'm wrong!
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