Carlton–Essendon AFL rivalry
| First meeting | 24 May 1897 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting |
Essendon 11.18.84 d. Carlton 11.10.76 (5 August 2017) |
| Next meeting | 2018 season |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 246 |
| All-time series (Australian Football League only) | Carlton 123 wins, Essendon 117 wins, 6 draws |
| Largest victory | Essendon - 109 points (4 May 1985) |
The rivalry between the Carlton and Essendon football clubs is one of the most celebrated rivalries in the Australian Football League.
There are conflicting views on how far the rivalry between Essendon and Carlton stretches. However, the intensity of the rivalry today can be traced directly back to 1981. Carlton and one of its strongest traditional rivals, Richmond, had enjoyed considerable success through the 1970s, while Essendon had endured mediocrity. In 1981, former Richmond player Kevin Sheedy, took the role as coach at Essendon (a role he would ultimately fill for 27 years), and he brought his dislike of Carlton with him to his new club.
The significance of 1981 is highlighted by the memorable and controversial finish to the teams' second meeting that season, which was held at Princes Park. With twenty minutes elapsed in the final quarter, Carlton held a 26-point lead; but, Essendon kicked four goals in the remaining twelve minutes to win the match by one point. The controversy came when, with the margin still at 14 points, Carlton's Mike Fitzpatrick conceded a free kick in defence for the rarely applied infringement of wasting time; that free kick resulted in a behind, and therefore did not have a direct influence the result, but it is the incident from which this game is mostly remembered. That match was the second in a string of ten consecutive wins by Essendon against Carlton.
Since then, two matches (resulting in one upset victory to each team) most strongly define the rivalry between the clubs. The first was the 1993 Grand Final, when Carlton was a strong favourite to win, but was comprehensively beaten by 44 points by a notably young, inexperienced Essendon team known as the "Baby Bombers". The second was the 1999 Preliminary Final, when Essendon was an even stronger favourite to win, but was beaten by a single point by a Carlton team whose form throughout the season had been inconsistent.
Including the two key games, the three decades of the modern incarnation of the rivalry from 1981 until 2015 has seen several memorable, close games, including four drawn matches, five matches decided by a single point, and a total of 18 matches decided by one goal or less.
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