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First meeting | 24 May 1897 |
---|---|
Latest meeting | Carlton 19.9.123 def Essendon 16.11.107 (2 May 2021) |
Next meeting | TBC |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 250 |
All-time series (AFL only) | Carlton 126 wins Essendon 118 wins Draws 6 |
Largest victory | Essendon – 109 points (4 May 1985) |
The rivalry between the Carlton and Essendon football clubs is one of the most celebrated rivalries in the Australian Football League.
There are conflicting views on how far the rivalry between Essendon and Carlton stretches. However, the intensity of the rivalry today can be traced directly back to 1981. Carlton and one of its strongest traditional rivals, Richmond, had enjoyed considerable success through the 1970s, while Essendon had endured mediocrity. In 1981, former Richmond player Kevin Sheedy, took the role as coach at Essendon (a role he would ultimately fill for 27 years), and he brought his dislike of Carlton with him to his new club. [1]
The significance of 1981 is highlighted by the memorable and controversial finish to the teams' second meeting that season, which was held at Princes Park. With twenty minutes elapsed in the final quarter, Carlton held a 26-point lead; but, Essendon kicked four goals in the remaining twelve minutes to win the match by one point. The controversy came when, with the margin still at 14 points, Carlton's Mike Fitzpatrick conceded a free kick in defence for the rarely applied infringement of wasting time; that free kick resulted in a behind, and therefore did not have a direct influence the result, but it is the incident from which this game is mostly remembered. That match was the second in a string of ten consecutive wins by Essendon against Carlton. [1]
Since then, two matches (resulting in one upset victory to each team) most strongly define the rivalry between the clubs. The first was the 1993 Grand Final, when Carlton was a strong favourite to win, but was comprehensively beaten by 44 points by a notably young, inexperienced Essendon team known as the "Baby Bombers". The second was the 1999 Preliminary Final, when Essendon was an even stronger favourite to win, but was beaten by a single point by a Carlton team whose form throughout the season had been inconsistent. [2]
Including the two key games, the three decades of the modern incarnation of the rivalry from 1981 until 2015 has seen several memorable, close games, including four drawn matches, five matches decided by a single point, and a total of 18 matches decided by one goal or less. [3]
In 1998, the clubs established the Madden Cup as an annual prize for matches between the two clubs. The Madden Cup is named in honour of brothers Simon Madden – who played 378 games for Essendon, winning two premierships, four best and fairests, and a Norm Smith Medal – and Justin Madden – who played 45 games for Essendon and 287 games for Carlton, winning two premierships and two best and fairests. The establishment of the trophy coincided with Justin's retirement in 1997. The two clubs usually play each other twice during the home-and-away season, but the Madden Cup is contested only once per year: in the Carlton home game during odd-numbered years, and in Essendon home game during even-numbered years. [4]
Since joining the VFL in 1897, Essendon and Carlton have faced off 250 times.
Head To Head Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Clubs | Home and Away | Finals | Grand Finals | Total |
Carlton | 116 | 7 | 3 | 126 |
Essendon | 108 | 7 | 3 | 118 |
Draws | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Played | 230 | 14 | 6 | 250 |
In 112 years, the two clubs have played in 20 Finals against each other.
Their first meeting in a final was in the 1904 Semi Final, and this was the only time that Carlton and Essendon played against each other at Victoria Park, which was Collingwood's home ground. Carlton won by 3 points before going on to lose the 1904 Grand Final to Fitzroy.
The most recent final played between the clubs was the 2011 Elimination Final, which Carlton won by 62 points. Before this was the 2000 Preliminary Final, which Essendon won by 45 points.
Essendon and Carlton have contested six Grand Finals, most recently in 1993. Each team has won three of these encounters.
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 2.3 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.5 (35) |
Essendon | 1.1 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 (26) |
Crowd: 50,261 at the MCG. |
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 4.0 | 8.0 | 10.4 | 13.8 (86) |
Essendon | 3.7 | 8.11 | 10.15 | 11.19 (85) |
Crowd: 85,815 at the MCG. |
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 2.4 | 2.10 | 3.12 | 6.16 (52) |
Essendon | 3.3 | 7.7 | 12.15 | 18.17 (125) |
Crowd: 90,453 at the MCG. |
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 1.1 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 8.10 (58) |
Essendon | 6.5 | 7.7 | 10.10 | 13.12 (90) |
Crowd: 98,385 at the MCG. |
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 2.2 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 7.14 (56) |
Essendon | 2.1 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 8.5 (53) |
Crowd: 116,828 at the MCG. |
Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlton | 1.2 | 5.2 | 10.5 | 13.11 (89) |
Essendon | 5.9 | 10.9 | 16.11 | 20.13 (133) |
Crowd: 96,862 at the MCG. |
On 14 July 1981, 42,269 people witnessed Essendon win the 1981 Escort Cup over Carlton at Waverley Park. To date this is the only pre-season/night series Grand Final played between the two clubs.
Essendon 9.11 (65) defeated Carlton 6.5 (41)
This match would symbolise the upcoming of the Essendon Football Club in the 1980s. In front of more than 65,000 people at Waverley Park, Essendon would go on to knock out the reigning Premiers before making 3 consecutive Grand Finals.
Essendon 17.12 (114) defeated Carlton 12.9 (81)
The highest scoring draw in the history of the VFL/AFL, Carlton and Essendon were tied when the final siren sounded and with the ball in the hands of Stephen Kernahan. His kick after the siren, from 35-40m on a wide angle, famously went out on the full.
Carlton 19.18 (132) drew Essendon 20.12 (132)
The qualifying final between the top two teams was the first Saturday night finals match in AFL history. More than 79,000 people were in attendance, and there was never more than a goal the difference at the end of any quarter.
Carlton 15.10 (100) defeated Essendon 14.14 (98)
Minor premier Essendon was an overwhelming favourite to easily beat sixth-placed Carlton in the preliminary final to progress to the Grand Final against the Kangaroos. In a tight final quarter, Carlton's Anthony Koutoufides starred and Fraser Brown made a match-saving tackle on Essendon's Dean Wallis in the final minute to seal an upset one-point victory.
Carlton 16.8 (104) defeated Essendon 14.19 (103)
Essendon was on a nineteen-game winning streak, having not been beaten since the previous year's preliminary final. Carlton was second on the ladder with a record of 15–4, having had a thirteen-game winning streak broken only the previous week. The result was a Friday night match with a crowd of 91,571, the highest ever crowd for a night match or a Carlton match during the home-and-away season. The game itself was close right up until the final quarter, when Essendon kicked seven goals to three to win.
Essendon 16.13 (109) defeated Carlton 12.11 (83)
The sides met on Preliminary Final weekend again, and Essendon got its revenge for the previous year's heartbreak. Essendon was on top from the beginning, and put the game beyond doubt with six goals to one in the third quarter.
Essendon 18.17 (125) defeated Carlton 12.8 (80)
After Carlton were behind Essendon by seven goals in the game, a seven goal onslaught in the last quarter by the Blues snatched the game from the Bombers. The Blues started strongly to lead in the opening quarter but the Bombers controlled the middle quarters to take a 28 point lead at three quarter time. Before Carlton made a comeback in the last quarter of the game to win by a final score of Carlton 16.14 110 to Essendon 17.4 106. [5]
The near-opposite circumstances of that great match from Round 20, 2000, both teams were sitting at the bottom of the ladder. After both sides had won their Round 1 games, the next fourteen rounds had yielded no wins and a then-club record losing streak for Essendon, and only one win (against Essendon) for Carlton. The match became known in the media as the "Bryce Gibbs Cup", under the expectation that the loser of the game would ultimately finish last, receiving the first draft pick which was expected to be used on the young Glenelg midfielder Bryce Gibbs. Close all day, the game finished in a draw. [6]
Essendon 16.9 (105) drew Carlton 15.15 (105)
Carlton staged one of its greatest come-backs to beat Essendon in this match. In time-on in the second quarter, Carlton trailed Essendon by 48 points. Three late goals in the second quarter dragged the margin back to 30 points. Then, seven goals to one in the third quarter saw Carlton ahead by 7 points at three-quarter time. A see-sawing final quarter ended with a three-point win to the Blues. The revival was sparked by Brendan Fevola, who kicked 8 goals.
Carlton 18.17 (125) defeated Essendon 17.20 (122)
After Carlton had led by one point in the final moments of the match, Kade Simpson in trying to clear the Essendon defence put the ball out on the full, resulting in a turnover in which Essendon, through David Zaharakis just missed a shot at goal on the run. Minutes earlier, Essendon's Dustin Fletcher tackled Carlton's Jeff Garlett as he played on in front of goal, saving a potential goal. [7] Carlton 11.13 (79) drew Essendon 11.13 (79)
After Essendon had the early lead in the first quarter, It was all Chris Judd who inspired Carlton to a comfortable Carlton 21.23 (149) def Essendon 13.9 (87). Carlton's third consecutive elimination final appearance presented the opportunity for their first victory in a final since 2001. It had simply been too long. Pitted against the arch enemy Essendon in front of a near capacity MCG crowd the big questions were certainly being asked of the playing group. Were the lessons from the previous two heart-breaking elimination final losses going to stand them in good stead or would it all count for nought?
The game was close all day and wouldn't be decided until the dying seconds of the match. With the Bombers trailing by two points with less than a minute to spare in Saturday night's low-scoring encounter, Eddie Betts gave a 50-metre penalty away as Bomber Adam Saad went to kick in from a behind. Saad was taken to the middle of the ground where he bombed forward to a pack of players, with teammate Jacob Townsend marking and kicking for goal – and the game – from 50 metres out with seconds to go. [8] It was a good looking kick however it fell just short and was rushed through for a point with the match ending at Carlton 7.10 (52) def Essendon 8.3 (51)
The two sides faced each other in the AFL Women's competition for the first time in round two of AFL Women's season seven at North Port Oval on Sunday 4 September. [9] Despite a goal and 21 disposals to Madison Prespakis, an Essendon comeback from 21 points down in the final quarter fell just short as Carlton hung on for a one-point win. [10]
Carlton 5.2 (32) defeated Essendon 4.7 (31).
Journeyman Justin Murphy spent time at four AFL clubs, but spent the longest time at Carlton. It was Murphy who was holding the ball as the final siren sounded in Carlton's 1999 Preliminary Final victory over Essendon. Murphy ultimately would spend the final two years of his AFL career at Essendon.
After 233 games in the navy blue, one of Carlton's favourite sons, Scott Camporeale, walked out on the club. After the 2005 season Carlton tried to make it difficult for Scott to leave by not releasing him to train with Essendon (his desired club). He nominated for the pre-season draft, where, Essendon picked up Camporeale as expected with pick 4 in the 2005 pre-season draft. Camporeale debuted with Essendon in Round 1, 2006. After 19 games over two seasons at Essendon, Camporeale retired and joined Essendon's coaching staff, where worked as an assistant coach until 2010.
During the 2022 AFL Women's off season, former AFL Women's number one draft pick, and 2020 best-and-fairest winner, Madison Prespakis left Carlton and joined expansion side Essendon as a new player signing in April 2022. [9]
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their Ascot Vale home "Alisa", and while the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club’s first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against a Carlton Second 20. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League. Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Ground, known as Windy Hill, from 1922 to 2013, the club moved to The Hangar in near Tullamarine in late 2013 on land owned the Melbourne Airport. The club currently plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Dyson Heppell is the current club captain.
The 2006 AFL season was the 110th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 30 March until 30 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals seriesfeaturing the top eight clubs.
Rivalries in the Australian Football League exist between many teams, most of which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder. The AFL encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as "Rivalry Round" when many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend. Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas, are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as a Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary match-ups, or ignoring stronger and more recent rivalries.
Darren Bewick is a former Australian rules footballer who won two premierships with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Bewick's game breaking pace & goal sense inside the attacking 50 was legendary amongst Bomber fans.
Brent Stanton is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 1995 AFL season was the 99th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
The 2001 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Bombers and the Brisbane Lions, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2001. It was the 105th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 2001 AFL season. The match, attended by 91,482 spectators, was won by Brisbane by a margin of 26 points, marking the club's first premiership since it was established in 1997.
The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000 rather than in its usual last Saturday of September date to avoid conflicting with the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It was the 104th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 2000 AFL season. The match, attended by 96,249 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 60 points, marking that club's 16th premiership and thereby equalling the record for the most VFL/AFL premierships.
The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Kangaroos and Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1999 AFL season. The match, attended by 94,228 spectators, was won by the Kangaroos by a margin of 35 points. It was the club's fourth and most recent premiership victory.
The 1995 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1995. It was the 99th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1995 AFL season. The match was attended by 93,670 spectators. The 1995 grand final was won by Carlton by a margin of 61 points. It was Carlton's 16th premiership victory, making it the most successful club in the league's history. The game also marked Carlton's sixteenth consecutive win and twenty-third win for the year overall, then a record.
The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1993 AFL season. The match, attended by 96,862 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 44 points, marking that club's 15th premiership victory.
The 1947 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1947. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1947 VFL season. The match, attended by 85,793 spectators, was won by Carlton by one point, marking that club's eighth VFL premiership. The winning goal was kicked by Fred Stafford in the dying seconds of the match to give Carlton the win.
The 1983 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1983. It was the 87th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1983 VFL season. The match, attended by 110,332 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 83 points, marking that club's fifth premiership victory.
The 1984 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1984. It was the 88th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1984 VFL season. The match, attended by 92,685 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 24 points, marking that club's 13th premiership victory.
The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1985 VFL season. The match, attended by 100,042 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 78 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.
The sporting rivalry between Australian rules football clubs Carlton and Collingwood is the biggest and longest-lasting rivalry in the Australian Football League (AFL).
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The 1995 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 132nd season of competition, and 99th as a member of the Australian Football League.
Madison Prespakis is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple accolades at junior level and played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) as a teenager, Prespakis won the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in her debut season and the 2020 AFL Women's best and fairest award in her second season. She is a dual AFL Women's All-Australian and three-time Carlton best and fairest winner, and is Essendon's equal games record holder and equal goalkicking record holder.
The 2020 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 157th season of competition. The season was disrupted and partially curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.