WHEN Carlton met Essendon in Round 4 of the 2012 season, Jeremy Laidler collapsed with a dislocated kneecap in the opening minute and Andrew Carrazzo copped a busted shoulder in a questionable tackle not long after.
The Blues, having poleaxed Richmond, Brisbane and Collingwood in successive weeks, suffered their first loss for the season in that one.
Fast forward to Round 21, and the Carlton 22 who took to the field on a cold, wet winter Saturday were, to say the least, hell bent on restoring order – and so it was by way of a 96-point hammering of the James Hird-coached Essendon outfit.
With Chris Judd a fairly handy in after completing a month-long enforced layoff, and the hard-nosed Nick Duigan an equally welcome inclusion, Carlton established an early three-goal buffer by the first change – and after weathering an early second-quarter challenge, snuffed Essendon out with an exhilarating 10-goal term.
Kade Simpson, Andrew Walker (by way of a deft Eddie Betts knock-on) and Jarrad Waite were amongst the Carlton types who hit the scoreboard, and Levi Casboult’s thumping running goal from where the 50-metre line meets the boundary was something to truly behold.
By half-time it was all over and by game’s end, a glorious 96-point rout - second only to the Blues’ 100-point drubbing of the ‘Same Olds’ in Round 2, 1936 - had been realised.
Carlton v Essendon - Round 21, Saturday 18 August 2012
CARLTON 5.3 15.4 20.9 24.12 (156)
ESSENDON 2.5 6.6 7.8 8.12 (60)
The Carlton team
B: Heath Scotland, Nick Duigan, Simon White
HB: Zach Tuohy, Andrew McInnes, Chris Yarran
C: Bryce Gibbs, Chris Judd (Capt.), Marc Murphy
HF: Andrew Walker, Dennis Armfield, Eddie Betts
F: Mitch Robinson, Jarrad Waite, Levi Casboult
Ruck: Matthew Kreuzer, Andrew Carrazzo, Ed Curnow
Interchange: Kade Simpson, Brock McLean, Jeffery Garlett
Substitute: Tom Bell
Coach: Brett Ratten
Brownlow votes
3. Marc Murphy
2. Jarrad Waite
1. Kade Simpson
