Match

Carlton vs Essendon

Commentary / 11 Jun 2023

Pre Game

00:00
Carlton has scored less than 60 points in each of its last five matches – with its 44 points in Round 12 its lowest score since the shortened 2020 season.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:12
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
03:00
A strong start is crucial for the Blues tonight, having lost each of their last five first quarters as well as losing each of the last five second quarters.
03:29
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
05:57
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Alex Cincotta)
06:25
Carlton has gone coast-to-coast from defensive 50 to score the opening goal of the match. Carlton has been the lowest-scoring team from defensive 50 launches this season, averaging 10 points per match from this zone.
08:00
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
09:28
In his first game of the season, Peter Wright has provided Essendon with an immediate impact in their forward line scoring the first goal for the Bombers. Wright was targeted 178 times last season inside 50 for the Bombers - 139 more targets than any other Essendon player.
12:23
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
13:09
Essendon has generated nine of the first 12 inside 50s to start the match. Essendon won the inside 50 count for the first time since Round 5 in their win against North Melbourne last weekend.
13:10
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Rushed)
14:05
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Matthew Owies)
15:06
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
16:04
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
16:27
Carlton has scored a wasteful four behinds from their last four inside 50s. The Blues have scored more behinds than goals in each of their last four matches.
18:00
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
18:30
Kyle Langford has scored a goal for the Bombers following Carlton's four consecutive behinds. Langford ranks No.1 at the club for goals (24) and score assists (19) this season – ranking equal-eighth in the AFL in the latter measure.
20:21
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
22:06
Essendon has been the more efficient team by foot, with their kicking efficiency of 81% substantially greater than Carlton's 59%. Essendon ranks No. 1 for kick efficiency this season (69.6% in 2023).
25:25
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
28:18
Nic Martin enjoyed an outstanding opening quarter, accumulating 13 disposals, four marks, four contested possessions, three inside 50s, and 220 metres gained. Martin has recorded the second-most score assists for the Bombers this year.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
03:28
Adam Cerra has been Carlton's most prolific midfielder tonight, collecting a team-high 11 disposals at 91% efficiency. Cerra has applied the second-most pressure acts for the Blues this season.
04:54
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Rushed)
06:06
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Jack Martin)
06:30
Both of Carlton's goals for the match have been launched from their defensive 50 zone. Since Round 9, the Blues have launched an inside 50 from 16.1% of their rebound 50 chains – ranked last.
07:20
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Jack Martin)
08:54
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
09:04
Carlton has been unable to capitalise on their intercept possessions. The Blues have scored a wasteful 2.6 (18) sourced from turnover whilst holding Essendon goalless from this source.
13:46
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Nic Martin)
14:00
70% of the play in the second quarter has been held in Carlton's forward half of the ground. They lead inside 50s 10 to three during this time but have only managed one goal despite this dominance.
16:42
Essendon has been unable to apply the same frantic pressure in the second term as they were able to in the first quarter. After recording a season-best 209 pressure factor to start the match, Essendon's pressure factor has dropped to 150 since quarter-time.
17:07
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Sam Weideman)
17:18
Blues Interchange - Jack Silvagni off due to an injury.
20:01
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Harry McKay)
20:30
Harry McKay has scored his first goal of the match, following a free kick paid against Brandon Zerk-Thatcher in a one-on-one contest. Zerk-Thatcher has lost three of his four defensive one-on-one contests tonight and has lost 41% of the one-on-one contests he has defended this season – ranked 49th of the top-50 players for total contests defended.
21:53
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Will Snelling)
24:01
Two of Essendon's three goals scored tonight have been sourced from centre bounces. The Bombers are the second-highest scoring team from these events this season, averaging 14 points per game from this source.
24:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
27:19
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Sam Docherty)
27:49
Carlton dominated the contested game in the second quarter, leading these possessions 36 to 18 for the quarter. This is Carlton's best contested possession differential in any quarter this season, whilst conversely, it is Essendon's worst differential in any quarter this season.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:44
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
01:16
After attending eight centre bounces in the first half, Zach Merrett has started in the forward line for the Bombers in the third quarter. This change in position has had an immediate impact, with Merrett scoring the first goal of the half - his fifth goal of the season. Merrett has not scored more than 10 goals in a year since his debut season in 2014.
02:28
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
04:25
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Matt Guelfi)
06:39
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
07:16
Essendon has dominated clearances tonight, winning the first five clearances of the third quarter and leading this stat overall by seven tonight. They have made this advantage count on the scoreboard, scoring four goals from this source whilst holding Carlton goalless from their clearances.
09:16
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Andrew Phillips)
11:01
Essendon has scored 15 times from their 28 entries, a conversion of 54%. Carlton's conversion is currently at 42%. Essendon has scored from 46.7% of their inside 50s this season – ranked third.
13:57
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
15:07
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Menzie)
15:37
Essendon has scored six goals in the third quarter, already equaling their most goals in any third quarter this season. They have won seven more contested possesions and laid six more tackles this quarter.
18:29
The Bombers now lead clearances nine to one for the quarter, with Jake Stringer leading the way with three. Essendon ranks third-last for clearances over the last month, averaging 32 per match.
19:59
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
20:42
Carlton has kicked a steadying goal, their fourth goal of the match from their 33rd inside 50 - a conversion of 12%. Carlton has averaged a goal from 15.4% of their inside 50s over their last four matches - the worst conversion in the AFL.
22:45
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
23:07
The Bombers have scored their sixth goal launched from their defensive half for the game, with 20 of their 73 points tonight being launched from their defensive 50. The Bombers are averaging 23.2 points per game from their defensive 50 this season – the best by a team since 2010 and 6.3 better than any other team this year.
26:43
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Matthew Owies)
26:57
A positive for the Blues has been their intercept marking, leading this stat 10 to six with Jacob Weitering winning four individually. Weitering has been Carlton's best intercept defender this season, completing a club-high 34 intercept marks with 16 of these being contested.
31:52
The Bombers scored 7.1 (43) in the third quarter - their highest-scoring quarter of the season. After only scoring one goal sourced from turnovers in the first half, the Bombers piled on four of these goals in the third quarter in a strong response to their turnover game.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
02:08
The Bombers have only lost one of their six matches this season when leading at three-quarter time. Conversely, the Blues have not won any of their eight matches this season when trailing at this break.
02:37
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Rushed)
04:12
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Menzie)
04:58
Essendon has scored the opening goal of the final quarter following some strong pressure inside 50 by Jye Menzie. Essendon now leads tackles 53 to 27 - an overall advantage of 26 tackles. This is Essendon's best differential for the season whilst also being Carlton's worst.
06:44
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Rushed)
08:21
Bombers Interchange - Jayden Laverde off due to the blood rule.
09:02
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Ed Curnow)
09:17
Essendon has enjoyed an accurate night in front of goal from their set shots, scoring 11.1 (67) from these shot types tonight. Contrastingly, the Blues have scored 4.5 (29) from their respective set shots tonight.
11:50
SCORE GOAL - Blues (Charlie Curnow)
12:50
The Blues continue to fight, winning the first six clearances of the quarter and leading contested possessions by 10 for the term. The Blues now lead contested possessions for the match by 18. Carlton lost the contested possession count by 29 last round – their worst result since 2021.
13:36
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Jesse Motlop)
16:48
The Blues are dominating territory in this final quarter, generating 13 of the first 15 inside 50s for the term. 88% of the quarter has been played in the forward half for the Blues. They have won 15 more forward half intercepts tonight - their best differential for the season.
18:19
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Sam Weideman)
19:25
Essendon is playing a high-control style game in the last quarter, completing 24 marks to eight for the term. Overall, the Bombers have taken 23 more marks than the Blues for the match. Over their last five matches, Essendon has averaged 115 marks per match - the most of any team. They are one of only two teams to average over 100 marks in this time (Fremantle 103 per match).
19:45
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Jack Silvagni)
21:39
SCORE BEHIND - Blues (Jesse Motlop)
23:21
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Caldwell)
23:39
Jye Caldwell has finished off a strong performance with a late goal following another tackle inside 50. The Bombers lead tackles in this zone 20 to seven. Caldwell has won a team-high 16 disposals since half-time, attending eight centre bounces in this time after attending just two of these events in the first half.
27:40
Essendon's pressure was relentless all match and ultimately proved too strong for Carlton, laying 31 more tackles than the Blues tonight. The Bombers applied a pressure factor of 186 compared to Carlton's 158, outscoring the Blues by 22 points from turnovers in the second half.