BLUES BOUNCE BACK (FOR NOW)

by Little Boy Blue

IF I was harsh last week, commenting on Carlton's failure to win close games, then it seems Wayne Brittain is even harsher than I am. He claimed that they hadn't deserved to win the close ones they'd lost and although I agree with him on most counts, I thought the better side lost in the Hawthorn match- which, of course, made defeat more painful than usual. (Amazing how the gods often punish those who pull off an arsey win. It's happened to Carlton often enough and now it's happened to Hawthorn in a manner more likely to feature in future trivia quizzes than Ben Dixon's after the siren goal).

Anyway, if you're going to win a close one, then doing it against Essendon is about as good as it gets, especially given memories of them running down the clock over the years. And, what a difference an infusion of height makes: Carlton was actually competitive when the ball was kicked to a marking contest.

Gratifying as the win was (especially for the great Craig Bradley), it won't count for much unless some consistency is recaptured in the next four weeks. Loss/win/loss/win (as in round one post-Essendon) won't help avoid the dreaded interstate final and/or sudden death option. And, as Carlton might remember from 1981/82 (when they couldn't beat Essendon, but still won two premierships), the AFL don't take the flag off you just because someone below beat you twice during the season.

By the way, is Shane Warne the role model for some of the Essendon players? They're very good at sledging opposition mistakes, but in both the 1999 preliminary and yesterday, this proved dangerously premature. In Carlton's last three wins against them, some Bombers seem more intent on sledging after taking the lead than on increasing the lead. Maybe, these are good tactics which work more often than not, but it suggests a lack of focus to me. If I can detect a difference in approach, it seems to be that when the two teams meet lately, Carlton are confident while Essendon are arrogant.

Some surprise when turning up for the match on Sunday: first, to actually see a reserves game at the MCG and secondly, to see Ang Christou running around in it. Could it be the end of the road for this crowd favourite? There are rumours of some creative trading moves at Carlton at season's end.

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