The Bombers and Blues on a Thirsday night in Prime Time, huh?
We know why it had to be them – the Bombers have to front up again in less than a week, so it had to be either a Thursday or Friday night game for them, but still… plenty of annoyance at another big timeslot being handed to a team th, a pair of teams, actually, that have underperfromed in 2025.
I want you to do me a favour. I want you to read the following intro in the voice of a certain nasaly commentator, just for fun, okay? You know, sanctimonious… preachy… making every intro sound as though he is gunning for material to nominate himself for that elusive Walkley Award (you know that you have to nominate yourself for that? Talk about trying to slap your own back…).
Anyway, just pinching my nose… here goes.
It may have been Round 24, and it may not have been for sheep stations, but these two mighty titans that have accumulated premiership after premiership once again locked horns at the home of football.
The history of the Carlton and Essendon Football Clubs is one of intense rivalry, passion, and power, with club legends rising to the occasion on either side of the equation, carrying either the old dark Navy Blues, or the red and black of the Bombers to heights other clubs have only dreamed of. They were the yardsticks for so long. They were the cream of the crop – the best the VFL had to offer doing it again in the national competition.
And yet, when you’ve climbed so high, there is only one way to go.
Scandals and punishments have rocked both football clubs, leaving them without a flag between them since the year 2000. And when you fall so far, it is the impact of hitting the bottom that can break the hearts of supporters.
And break the will of the players.
However, there is nothing that cannot be fixed in the AFL. It remains a land of hopes and dreams, where the next win could be the start of something new and exciting.
For the Bombers, their inspirational leader plays game 250. He is their heart and soul, and the man who drives standards at the club. A win in this milestone game would befit his status in the game, as would a performance from Zach Merrett that reminds the football world of just what a brilliant player he has been, and remains..
Over at Ikon Park, milestones take on a different significance this week, as their burgeoning young ruckman, Tom De Koning, plays game number 100. Normally a time for celebration, there is a distinct feeling of inevitability about his game. It could De Koning’s last appearance for the club, with a St Kilda offer that many believe is too good to pass up awaiting his decision.
Old enemies with new twists, we’re set to do it all again. It is the Bombers and the Blues at the MCG, one last time in 2025.
Do you think Gerard knows how much he sounds like a wanker when he sits atop his soapbox? The Waylon Smithers of the AFL< that bloke. Maybe I’ll nominate myself for a Walkley, too. I might even win!
Anyway, I came into this game sporting the commiserations of my fellow Mongrel writers.
“Good luck,” they said, almost as though they were laughing at me for being stuck with this contest. Yeah, I get that both teams have been nowhere near it this year. Essendon have struggled largely due to injury, and Carlton largely due to… not being very good. However, I was hoping that a bit of passion playing fueled by playing against the “old enemy” could be summoned, and as a result, we may see a bit of an entertaining footy game break out.
And it did… for about five minutes in the last quarter, but for the rest of the game, it was about as close to bruise-free footy as you’ll find in the AFL.
So, how do you review a game like this?
Do I focus on the positive for each team, and the young players coming through?
Maybe.
Do I perhaps go hard on some of the insipid defensive efforts I saw?
Hmmm, perhaps.
Or, do I spend the next hour having a whinge about the gulf between the top eight or nine teams and what’s left below?
How about a bit of everything? Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s go, with The Mongrel’s Talking Points from the Blues and Bombers.
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