Bombers To Battle Blues B Team

It's Wednesday afternoon and I've finally drawn inspiration to begin writing. A quick check of AFL.com and my heart sinks. "Ratten to miss for 3".  A list of expletives is followed by a sense of calm. I mean the site is pretty out of date......perhaps it is a reference to when he did his knee back in 1994! No such luck.  The man that even Bombers supporters respect will be missing.

But we must move forward although some might say it's the only direction we can head when we're sitting on the bottom of the ladder. We are at least thankful that for one week only we play a side in a similar crisis, especially with the latest news that Mercuri will definitely miss Friday nights game. I could easily fill the rest of this preview by naming the other absentees but by now we should know them off by heart. Round 7 is an opportunity for a battler to make a hero of themselves.

One advantage the Blues will gain is that they had more time to adapt to life without the stars. On the flip side though the Bomber kids may still be enthusiastic enough to show the football world that they are by no means a two man side. Sheedy will mastermind a way to turn the negative around. As we speak he will probably be planning the unpredictable.

The last time Ratten was missing from the engine room it was Jim Plunkett that stood up with 34 possessions in last years final against Adelaide. Of course he had a few friends assisting that day but it's that kind of performance that we need from at least two or three of the lesser-likes. Someone needs to go above and beyond the call of duty.  Wallsy referred to these guys as the "pluggers" in a scathing piece regarding Carlton's crack filling recruiting. Each one of these players has a point to prove on Friday night and there is no better stage than against our current most-hated enemy. Time to turn a 15-20 possession game into a 30, keeping your opponent to 7 touches instead of 20 or kicking 6 straight instead of being content with 2 or 3. Like Round 3 of last year each player must be given a specific task and stick to it like their life depends on it.

If this year is to be a write off then there must a win at least somewhere along the line that turns the club's fortunes. Sure a win against an
undermanned Bombers outfit wont be the end of the pain but it's a damn good place to start.
We can't ask for any more out of Beaumont, McKay & Whitnall but the spotlight is now placed solely on the other nineteen no matter who they might be. It's time to forget about drafts, trading and even injuries and focus on what we have to work with. With arguably our first five choices in the mid-field missing, Bradley and Murphy and perhaps a hard nut in Freeborn
or Franchina must be our preferred mid-field. I would love to see Davies & Campbell in there soon but surely they need to have the guidance of Ratten and Camporeale to ease them into the cauldron. Smith in the ruck, Corey to full-forward and the rest of us to face Mecca and pray.

I read during the week a comment about how the Blues will enjoy going back to the wide open spaces of the MCG. I'm not sure if I agree considering we are a side that lacks leg-speed and Colonial is similar to the ground formally known as Princes Park. Considering though we are 1-0 at the 'G and 0-3 at Colonial I guess I could hardly argue. We are also unbeaten this year on Friday night's so things are looking even better by the minute. Based on that and nothing else I'll tip the Blues. Call it stupid if you must but hey what have I got to lose........??
I'm sure if I'm wrong the last thing anyone will be worried about is my credibility!

Carlton's history against Essendon
Played 214, Won 112, Lost 99, Drawn 3
Longest wining sequence - 13 wins (1968-1974)
Highest Score for - 27.13 - 175 (1975)
Lowest Score for - 1.2 - 8 (1898)
Greatest winning margin - 102 points
Greatest losing margin - 109 points
Last time they met
Round 18 - MCG - 2001, Attendance 75,873
Carlton 16.6 - 102 d Essendon - 14.11 - 95
Key ball winners (All numbers possessions unless indicated)
Koutoufides 27
Ratten - 27
Lappin - 24 (5 goals)
Hird - 23
Johnson - 21
Barnard - 18