Goalkickers: J. Halfpenny 1.1, D. Vescio 1.0, M. Austin 1.0, K. Sherar 0.1, D. Finn 0.1, Rushed 0.3.

Umpires: Gabby Simmonds, Kayne Nund, Brad Percey.

Injuries: G. Pound (head knock), L. Goss (right ankle).

Ladder: 14th.

Game Review

Blues' season comes to an end

Carlton go down to Essendon by 36 points on Saturday night. - By Jazz Bennett, Carlton Media

Carlton's 2024 season has come to an end, going down by 36 points to Essendon on Saturday night. With late injuries to Mimi Hill and Abbie McKay, Amelia Velardo and Lila Keck received late call-ups to face the Bombers at IKON Park. The game started out highly competitive, with the two old foes going toe-to-toe to open the quarter. Both teams kept their defensive pressure high, with Carlton defenders not allowing Essendon to capitalise on their chances. Gen Lawson-Tavan had the early job on Essendon captain Bonnie Toogood, who successfully spoiled all of Toogood’s forward 50-mark attempts before the Bomber left the field due to injury. Harriet Cordner was also strong in the backline, linking up with Meg Robertson to get the ball out of danger. Maddy Guerin was a looming presence for the Blues, notching three clearances and five contested possessions in the first ten minutes alone. After a back-and-forth battle, it was Carlton who got on the board first, with Mia Austin snapping a classy goal. The Bombers weren’t far behind to get their own, with the first quarter ending with the Blues up by two points. Essendon started the second quarter much more effectively, capitalising on their forward 50 entries with two quick goals.

Jade Halfpenny had her moments in her second game in the Navy Blue, adding defensive pressure to the Carlton forward 50. Darcy Vescio was able to get the Blues back within single digits at the end of the quarter, kicking a goal after being rewarded with a holding free kick. Essendon came out in the second half firing, quickly adding another two goals to their tally in the opening 10 minutes. Lawson-Tavan continued her efforts in the backline, while Jess Good was able to quell an Essendon goal with a mark on the goal line. Halfpenny kicked off the final term with a drop punt from an impossible angle, slotting it through for her first goal in the Navy Blue and her second-ever career goal. In just the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, Lily Goss recorded four contested possessions and a clearance. The Blues refused to finish their season without a fight, bringing a pressure rating of 243 compared to the Bomber’s 191 in the final quarter. In the absence of Hill and McKay, Keeley Sherar finished the game with a game-high 27 disposals along with nine tackles. Maddy Guerin also made a strong impact, accumulating 22 disposals, eight tackles and a team-high 479 metres gained.

They're in! Bombers fly up into finals with big win over Blues

Essendon will play finals after beating Carlton - but it could come at a cost. - By Gemma Bastiani.

Essendon has qualified for back-to-back finals series with a 36-point win over Carlton on Saturday evening, breaking Narrm's heart in the process. The victory sees the Bombers qualify for the post-season, slipping ahead of the Dees on the ladder following a 9.6 (60) to 3.6 (24) win under a setting Melbourne sun at Ikon Park. But it wasn't without some pain, as co-captain Bonnie Toogood was ruled out by quarter-time with an ankle injury, leaving a cloud over the important key forward for next week's elimination final. Maddi Gay (33 disposals at 90.9 per cent, 10 marks) was the star, doing what she wanted across half-back for Essendon, and showing off her elite field kicking, while Georgia Nanscawen (25 disposals, one goal) was everywhere. Already without important ruck Steph Wales for the match, the loss of Toogood could have been a more significant one, but after the star missed five matches earlier this year with a knee injury, the club's back-up option of Ellyse Gamble into attack proved a reliable one. Gamble, in her 50th career game, kicked a critical second-quarter goal when Essendon started to gather some steam and create a gap on the scoreboard. Despite being down a couple of stars before the opening siren, with Mimi Hill (groin) and Abbie McKay (adductor) both late withdrawals, Carlton was up for the fight early, desperate to spoil the Bombers' party. But it was short lived, with Essendon slamming through three second-quarter goals from three different players to really challenge the Blues.

It was their midfielders that were doing much of the damage, controlling the scramble in the absence of Hill and McKay, then pressing forward to create some chaos inside 50. Essendon's ability to shift gears when needed was evident. Moving from its slower, uncontested marking game to maintain control – which bore an eventual mark count of 83-51 – into a hard-running, handball receive game when there was a desire to move quickly. The Blues' deficiencies were on show as they lost shape and method in the front half whenever Essendon was able to win a sense of control. The home side seemed to lack a bullocking key forward target around whom the rest of the forward line could operate, and the Bombers tended to exploit that with their intercepting defenders. Maddy Guerin (22 disposals, seven clearances) and Keeley Sherar (27 disposals, nine tackles) worked hard to carry the Blues' midfield group, and Jess Good (11 disposals, 40 hitouts) dominated the ruck battle, but it wasn't enough to best Essendon's system around the ball. The Bombers scored 5.2 to 1.1 from open play today. They recorded 91-64 groundball gets and 210-126 uncontested possessions with 80-47 uncontested marks to produce 43-28 inside 50s. Keeley Sherar recorded a team-high 27 disposals, 13 contested possessions, nine tackles, and seven inside 50s today. However, she recorded a kicking efficiency of 28% as her team recorded 48% to the Bombers' 65% for the match.

Significant pain before the siren
Before the opening siren had even sounded, Carlton was down two stars. Mimi Hill was the first blow, named a late out with a groin concern, while gun midfielder Abbie McKay copped a fresh adductor strain in the group's warm-up. Hill has been a crucial presence across the half-back line for the Blues this year, with her ball-winning ability and aggressive run worrying opposition forward lines, and McKay's bullocking strength through the middle has been an anchor point. The Blues' goal was to come into the final round and ruin Essendon's run toward consecutive finals series', but without the pair, the task simply became too great.

Up next
It's the end of the road for Carlton, which finishes the season with four wins from 11 starts, while Essendon will await Sunday's results to find out who it will face in next week's elimination final, with Walyalup the frontrunner.

Best: M. Guerin, K. Sherar, Fitzgerald, J. Good, K. Peterson.

Team

Late Change: Mimi Hill (groin) replaced in selected side by Amelia Velardo, Abbie McKay (adductor) replaced in selected side by Lila Keck.

In: Darcy Vescio, Lila Keck, Jess Dal Pos, Amelia Velardo
Out: Keeley Skepper, Mimi Hill, Abbie McKay (adductor), Mimi Hill (groin)

Milestones

First Goal: Jade Halfpenny
Last Game: Jess Dal Pos, Genevieve Lawson-Tavan, Taylor Ortlepp, Jade Halfpenny, Celine Moody

AFLW Coaches Votes

10 - Maddison Gay (ESS)
7 - Georgia Nanscawen (ESS)
4 - Keeley Sherar (CARL)
3 - Georgia Gee (ESS)
2 - Bess Keaney (ESS)
2 - Maddy Guerin (CARL)
1 - Amelia Radford (ESS)
1 - Amy Gaylor (ESS)

AFLW Best and Fairest Votes

3 - Georgia Nanscawen (ESS)
2 - Madison Prespakis (ESS)
1 - -Daria Bannister (ESS)

Club Best and Fairest Votes

Match Highlights