The 2023 AFL finals series is here.
As we swing well and truly out of home and away mode and into the cut-throat environment of finals footy, the matches start to become more magnified.
We have taken a close look at each of the Week 2 finals to deliver a Rivalry Rating and all the history involved with the two clubs in the spotlight.
See the Melbourne v Carlton rivalry rating below:
Rivalry Rating: 6/10
Why
It’s the clash of old money versus, err…slightly less older money.
Both clubs have always had strong ties to the business community, although perhaps not the same institutions. Not sure many of the Jewish and Italian business leaders who support the Blues were not necessarily welcome at the various gentlemen’s clubs as those frequented by Demons fans.
And spare a thought for thousands of Jewish Carlton supporters. The Jewish New year starts on Friday night, about an hour before the opening bounce, which will keep most of them from attending the game. Those that do get there will likely have had to sweet talk their better halves into letting them skip the traditional family dinner. For their sakes, the Blues had better win!
Between them, the Demons and Blues have won 29 flags. They are proud foundation clubs of the VFL/AFL yet have met in just eight finals, with the Dees holding a 6-2 record. Both have enjoyed several golden eras, but they just haven’t been at around the same time.
The common thread between them? There really is just one, but he is significant: Ronald Dale Barassi.
Key Figures
Ron Barassi: The greatest figure in the history of the Melbourne Football Club, a six-time premiership player between 1955 and 1964, including two as captain. He was the biggest name in the game when the Blues made their audacious bid to bring him to Princes Park in 1965 as captain-coach and after agreeing to the move he then landed two flags, in 1968 and 1970. The 1970 is one of the great Grand Finals of all time when the Blues roared back from 44 points down at half-time to beat Collingwood by 10 points in front of a League record 121,696 fans.
Brent Crosswell: One of Barassi’s favourites, he played in two flags at the Blues before following him to North, where he played in two more. He was already at Melbourne when Barassi arrived for his ultimately unsuccessful “Messiah” stint as coach. He played 48 games for the Dees after 98 for Carlton and 76 for North.
Ian Thorogood: A three-time Melbourne premiership player who was coaching the Carlton reserves at the start of 1976 when John Nicholls abruptly quit as coach. Thorogood took over and took the Blues to within a kick of the Grand Final that year. But he was sacked 12 months later.
Vin Cattogio: OK, this might be a stretch, but the Carlton cult hero from the 1970s did play a few games for the Demons in 1981. Great name for rarity score when you're playing the Gridley game.
Earl Spalding: Key defender who played in the 1988 Grand Final for Melbourne before crossing to Carlton where he was a member of the 1995 premiership team as a key forward. Also played first-class cricket for Western Australia.
Sean Charles: Melbourne forward who took Carlton apart in the 1994 finals series with five goals in a Qualifying Final, before later crossing to the Blues where he played one game.
Key moments
1962 First Semi-Final: The Blues held the Demons to just one point in the final term as they came back from 14 points down at the final change to win by two points. Reports described it as one of the best finals matches for several years. John Nicholls was fantastic for the Blues, while Barassi reportedly carried a groin injury into the game and was below his best.
1988 Preliminary Final: Twelve months after losing the unlosable Preliminary Final against Hawthorn, the Dees returned to Waverley to take down the highly-fancied Blues by 22 points to make their first Grand Final in 24 years. They kicked 19.6 in the greasy conditions, with the only sour note being ruckman Steven O’Dwyer’s report that kept him out of the Grand Final.
1994 Qualifying Final: Thanks to the short-lived finals series of the time, the second-placed Blues faced the seventh-placed Demons. And in a major upset, it was Melbourne that prevailed by 27 points thanks to five goals from unheralded Sean Charles. It was the first step of a straight sets finals exit by the Blues.
2000 Qualifying Final: The game that turned the finals series on its head. Essendon and Carlton dominated the season, but the Blues might have taken their eyes off the ball when they faced the Melbourne in the Qualifying Final. They led by 21 points at three-quarter time before letting Melbourne kick seven goals to two in the last quarter to win by nine points. The loss sent the Blues into the same side of the finals draw as the Bombers, who beat them handily in the Preliminary Final.
The last suburban game, 2005: Carlton selected Melbourne as its opponent for the 1227th and last game of football at Princes Park. And it was sweet afternoon for the visitors who comfortably handled the home team and a hostile crowd to win by 18 points.
Round 22, 2022: The Blues thought they were September-bound when Charlie Curnow goaled with three minutes remaining at the MCG, but a Kysaiah Pickett snap with 11 seconds remaining sailed through and gave the Demons a five-point win and a top-four berth. The Blues only needed to win one of their last four games to play in the finals but lost them all.
Round 22, 2023: The Blues were on the right side of a goal review on the final siren when a long bomb from Christian Petracca was ruled as touched on the goal line by Caleb Marchbank, preserving a four-point win to the Blues.
Melbourne hosts Carlton in the Semi Final at the MCG this Friday night from 7:50pm AEST.