Elimination Final, 1983

Carlton	3.3	21	8.4	52	11.7	73	12.9	81
Essendon	4.3	27	7.5	47	14.5	89	17.12	114

Venue: VFL Park Waverley

Date: Saturday September 3, 1983

Result: Lose by 33 points

Umpires: I.Robinson & K.Smith.

Crowd: 65,881

Goalkickers: K.Hunter (5), M.Buckley (2), D.Glascott (2), K.Sheldon (1), R.Ditchburn (1), A.Montgomery (1).

Best; J.Buckley, K.Hunter, K.Sheldon, A.Montgomery, B.Doull, M.Fitzpatrick.

Reports: Nil

Injuries: D.Glascott (bruised thigh), J.Buckley (bruised ribs) & W.Johnston (broken ankle).

Game Review

Carlton entered the game without some of its stars, with Bosustow and Bortolotto suspended, Jones omitted, Ashman withdrawing on the morning of the match and Johnston was injured early in the first term. Essendon was not without its problems, with Neil Clarke and Ron Andrews both missing.

Essendon controlled most of the match, apart from the second term when Mike Fitzpatrick threw his weight around and distracted some of the Bombers players from going for the ball. A 5 goal to 3 second quarter got the Blues back into the match, but they were unable to sustain the effort and Essendon went on to win by 33 points.

It was a shock loss for many Blues fans who always believed that when it came to the crunch against Sheedy and Essendon, the Blues would finally prove that they were the superior team (especially with Essendon losing its past five Elimination finals).

But Carlton had finally run out of that 'something' that had led them to 3 flags in 4 years. The loss heralded a short period where the Blues made the finals but were only making up the numbers. In finishing this season, the grand career of Mike Fitzpatrick would also end in his 150th game.

Team

B:	27 Des English	20 Geoff Southby (vc)	37 Wayne Harmes
HB:	18 Allan Montgomery	15 Val Perovic	11 Bruce Doull
C:	25 Frank Marchesani	5 Ken Sheldon	32 David Glascott
HF:	7 Wayne Johnston	10 Mark Buckley	16 Jim Buckley
F:	9 Ken Hunter	8 Ross Ditchburn	33 Peter McConville
Ruck:	3 Mike Fitzpatrick (c)	28 Spiro Kourkoumelis	34 Alex Marcou
Interchange:	12 Scott Howell	19 Rohan Burke
Coach:	David Parkin