The Blues trailed for most of the night and were 17 points down after Matthew Lloyd booted the first goal of the final term, but fought back in the most amazing fashion, kicking the last six goals of the match to win 14.9.93 to 11.10.76.
Carlton played like men possessed in the final term, led by acting captain Brett Ratten, whose goal at the 15-minute mark gave the Blues an unlikely lead.
Despite playing below their best, there was always the expectation the Dons would be roused from their slumber and still win, but Carlton wouldn't be denied.
Simon Fletcher took an unlikely high mark and goaled, and when an out-of-form Lance Whitnall took a pack mark and goaled, it sealed a famous Carlton win.
Ratten said the win was one of the finest he had been a part of.
“To the boys credit they worked their butt off all night. It’s absolutely fantastic,” he said.
To have the three great blokes out and to win is just fantastic. We stuck with them all day and to get over them was great.”
The first half was a familiar tale. The Bombers looked flat early in the opening term, allowing two Carlton goals before nailing their first through Paul Barnard.
But a three-goal burst in four minutes was enough to set up one-point quarter-time lead, which was extended to six points at the main break.
The Essendon faithful, now so used to continuous success, and most experts for that matter, would have backed the Bombers to blow Carlton away in the second half, but the Blues and new coach Wayne Brittain, proved they are made of the right stuff.
Essendon’s incredible run of 31 weeks on top of the ladder is now in real danger of ending with undefeated teams, Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn all having the chance to claim top spot.
The loss was just the Bombers’ second since their heartbreaking one-point defeat at the hands of the Blues in the 1999 preliminary final.
Scott Camporeale, Brendan Fevola and Ryan Houlihan booted three goals each for the Blues, while Ratten was best on ground, picking up 26 possessions including eight in the last quarter. Mark Porter stepped up in the absence of first-choice ruckman Allan, taking care of the Bombers’ ruck duo of John Barnes and Steven Alessio, in the process amassing 13 possessions and winning 29 hit-outs.
For the Bombers, Damien Hardwick slotted back into his sweeping role in defence with ease, after missing the first two matches through injury. Hardwick finished the match with 23 touches to be the Bombers best player, ahead of star full-forward Matthew Lloyd who booted five goals and took several towering marks.
There were further problems for Essendon with Joe Misiti hobbling from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and Lloyd likely to be the subject of trial by video after collecting Michael Mansfield in the third term - despite the fact that the umpires incorrectly reported Mark Mercuri after the incident.
MATCH DETAILS:
CARLTON: 3.2, 5.6, 8.9, 14.9 (93)
ESSENDON: 3.3, 6.6, 10.8, 11.10 (76)
Goals:
Carlton: S Camporeale 3, B Fevola 3, R Houlihan 3, B Ratten 2, L Whitnall, M Lappin, S Fletcher.
Essendon: M Lloyd 5, J Misiti 3, P Barnard 2, D Solomon.
Best:
Carlton: B Ratten, S Camporeale, M Porter, D Hulme, R Houlihan, B Fevola.
Essendon: D Hardwick, M Lloyd, J Misiti, M Johnson, S Wellman.
Injuries:
Carlton: S Silvagni (hip) replaced in selected side by M Vance, C Bradley (soreness) replaced in selected side by B Backwell, A Koutoufides (stomach upset) replaced in selected side by B Nelson.
Essendon: J Misiti (knee).
Reports: M Mercuri (Essendon) reported by field umpires C Rowe and B Sheehan for rough play on M Mansfield (Carlton) in the third quarter. M McVeigh (Essendon) and S Camporeale (Carlton) reported for wrestling each other by emergency umpire K Nicholls in the second quarter.
Umpires: B Sheehan, C Rowe, S McBurney.
Official crowd: 63,088 at MCG.
