| Venue: Waverley Park | Date: Saturday August 1, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Won by 1 point | Umpires: I.Clayton & B.Sheehan | Crowd: 29,761 Receipts: $118,680 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: B.Evans 2, W.Johnston 2, S.Silvagni 2, M.Kennedy 1, S.Kernahan 1, J.Madden 1 & P.Meldrum 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: W.Johnston, K.Hunter, B.Evans, C.Bradley, M.Kennedy, M.Naley, D.Glascott, T.Alvin, R.Dennis, J.Madden. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: Nil | Injuries: Nil | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Despite being a sunny day, this match was played in typically arctic conditions at VFL Park in front of a reasonable crowd. With a strong cross wind blowing all day, Carlton toiled against an Essendon team who although much weaker than their premiership years of '84 and '85, still contained some formidable names.With neither side going more than a couple of goals ahead all day, Carlton fell over the line on the strength of Paul Meldrum's goal in the later stages of the last quarter. We then bottled the game up on our half forward flank where Justin Madden kept tapping it toward the boundary line aftereach successive throw in. Ugly, but effective (just like todays football, unfortunately). Meldrum had enjoyed a spectacular start to the year, later polling five early best-on-ground nods from the umpires to shoot to an astounding 15 votes after only eight rounds. His form fell away dramatically however, and he actually came off the bench to kick the winning goal in this game.
In a year which saw several Carlton games go right down to the wire, this win would prove as valuable as any in the final analysis, which saw Carlton finish top and earn the all-important week's rest in the final series.
''You'll cop yours, meathead!
Anyone who went to VFL Park on Saturday expecting us to wipe the Essendon noses further into the ground, ought to have their heads read. After its demoralising defeat at the hands of Sydney, Essendon was always going to bounce back, especially against us, its traditional rival. I admit that the game should not have been so close, but we are still yet to shake off the remains of this mid-season slump. I have a theory about it. Ever since the Hawthorn game, which must have knocked the wind out of our sails, we have struggled. There hasn't really been a big game since then and my boys must have been feeling a huge letdown. Well, this week gives us our chance to bounce back, in what is just about the most crucial game of the season. Whoever wins on Saturday, will probably end up on top of the ladder, and the Swans will be full of fire following their recent successes. But football Melbourne-style is different from football Sydney-style. There is a vast difference in crowd support and local grounds and I have no doubt that a few of the Sydney prime movers will have grave doubts about their ability to perform at Princes Park. Greg Williams, who was always too slow to play on the Melbourne grounds which are roomier, will struggle against Craig Bradley, as he always does. Braddles has been more workmanlike this season and has been a consistently good player. Stephen Kernahan is just about the most influential footballer in this country and he will murder that meathead from the west, Wayne Deadwood. Rod Carter, who we should feel sympathy for, I mean, you wouldn't want your worst enemy to have to walk around like that, will have his lop-sided hands full with either Silvagni or Sartori, who is due to come back into the side. - Carl Toner Inside Football. ''
''Dons come close
Essendon displayed an amazing form-reversal at VFL Park against Carlton. After a 163 point loss to Sydney the week before, the Bombers went down to Carlton by one point. When a point separates two teams at the final siren, it is usually luck which has put the winning side in front. What could have been a Bomber wake turned out to be something else altogether. While not exactly a celebration, the team from Windy Hill demonstrated they might be down, but they are not yet out. It was a game in which both teams were evenly matched, statistically speaking: Carlton had 183 kicks to 180, 63 marks to 56, 79 handballs to 96 and 20 effective tackles to 24. Little wonder one point separated the sides at the game's end. For the Blues, Craig Bradley had 27 possesions (19 & 8) and Wayne Johnston had 19 (16 & 3). In the battle of the brothers, Simon Madden had 15 hit-outs to Justin's 14. - Footy Week.''
Team
| B: | 43 Mick Kennedy | 45 Warren McKenzie | 31 Tom Alvin |
| HB: | 26 David Rhys-Jones | 6 Jon Dorotich | 9 Ken Hunter |
| C: | 38 Shane Robertson | 7 Wayne Johnston | 32 David Glascott |
| HF: | 21 Craig Bradley | 4 Stephen Kernahan (c) | 3 Richard Dennis |
| F: | 35 Peter Dean | 1 Stephen Silvagni | 17 Mark Naley |
| Ruck: | 44 Justin Madden (vc) | 23 Paul Meldrum | 12 Adrian Gleeson |
| Interchange: | 15 Bernie Evans | 10 Brad Shine | |
| Coach: | Robert Walls | ||
Video
Milestones
50th Carlton Game: David Rhys-JonesBrownlow Votes
3: Craig Bradley (CARL)2: Glenn Hawker (ESS) (later a Carlton player)
1: Mark Naley (CARL)
Round 17 | Round 19