Round 13, 2026

Carlton 1.2 8 3.7 25 6.10 46 10.12 72 Essendon 2.3 15 6.3 39 7.4 46 10.7 67
Venue:	MCG
Date:	Sunday June 7, 2026 (7.20 pm).
Result:	Won by 5 points.
Crowd:	76,745
Goalkickers:	H. McKay 3.2, T. Byrne 2.2, B. Kemp 2.1, B. Ainsworth 1.1, W. Hayward 1.0, G. Hewett 1.0, J. Ison 0.1, P. Cripps 0.1, B. Acres 0.1, Rushed 0.3.
Reports:	Nil.
Umpires:	Craig Fleer, Jack Howard, Cameron Dore, Eleni Tee.
Injuries:	Nil.
Ladder:	13th.

Game Review

Blues show fight in scrappy win over arch rival
Carlton has recorded a fourth straight win over Essendon. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media

And breathe. Carlton has kept its winning run going in gripping fashion, prevailing by five points over Essendon at the MCG. Needing to come from behind after trailing by as much as 23 points in the second term, the Blues surged home in the second half to prevail 10.12 (72) to 10.7 (67). Emotions were sure to run high in the now-traditional King’s Birthday Eve clash, with the capacity crowd of 76,745 at the MCG belying the ladder positions of the two sides at the midway point of the season. It was clear from the outset that the Bombers were well and truly up for the contest, with the Blues needing to absorb their pressure and numerous inside 50s for the home side. Talor Byrne kicked Carlton’s opening goal of the contest in response to Essendon’s opener, but it was Ben McKay who got the first laugh between the two brothers, kicking his first goal to give the Bombers an early lead. Carlton was undeniably scrappy in the early going of the contest, playing into Essendon’s pressure as the Blues were unable to capitalise when they had ball in hand. That trend continued to start the second term, with Essendon’s midfield getting on top and its forwards reaping the rewards, opening up a three-goal lead. The Blues’ McKay loomed large at the other end and played a lone hand in the second term from a goalkicking perspective, kicking both of his side’s goals from set shots to keep the Blues within striking distance.

Regrettably for the Blues, their other opportunities weren’t seized, only mustering two goals from seven scoring shots for the quarter while the Bombers went at 100 per cent in front of goal to open up a half-time lead. When the teams come out for the second half, the Bombers had the top six ball-winners on the ground for the quarter, but the Blues were much more clinical going forward than they had been in the first half. Tempers threatened to boil over as spotfires bobbed up everywhere between the two arch rivals. After McKay kicked his third with the most Stephen Kernahan of finishes, George Hewett and Brodie Kemp repeated the dosage to have the Blues level at the last change, with the Blues’ defensive setup holding up much stronger in the third term - they conceded only two scoring shots from 12 forward entries. At the other end, the Blues converted 11 inside 50s into six scoring shots - although inefficiency in front of goal prevented the Blues from taking the lead into three-quarter time. After trailing for much of the night, Carlton hit the front early in the last term, with an outstanding defensive effort from Mitch McGovern setting up Ben Ainsworth for his first. Harry Dean continued to defend brilliantly, keeping danger man Nate Caddy to just six disposals and holding up on the last line once again. When Kemp, Byrne and then Will Hayward converted to open up a three-goal gap, the Blues looked home - but two late goals to the Bombers made for a nervy final centre clearance. Carlton held on for the second straight week, making it four consecutive wins against the arch rival - and four straight victories in the last month of football. The Blues will have the bye next weekend before heading to Sydney to take on GWS in Round 15.

Blues deny brave Bombers to notch fourth win in a row
Carlton has defeated Essendon by five points - AFL.com

Carlton has won the Interim Coach Cup in a thriller against arch-rival Essendon by five points on Sunday night. It was a low-scoring, and at times scrappy spectacle, the Blues came back from a 23 point deficit in the second term to win 10.12.72 to Essendon’s 10.7.67 on King’s Birthday Eve at the MCG in front of a crowd of 76,745. The Bombers led for the first three quarters of the match, but after the half-time break, the Blues slowly chipped away at Essendon’s lead, taking the front for the first time at the one-minute mark in the final term. From there, the Blues extended their lead to 18 points, kicking the next four goals in a row. But the young Bombers never gave in, fighting it out until the final siren with majors to Nate Caddy and Zach Reid putting them within a goal with less than 20 seconds remaining. The Bombers were unable to get the final clearance, much to the relief of the Blues, making it four wins in a row under caretaker coach Josh Fraser. Carlton kicked seven goals after half-time, led by spearhead full forward Ben McKay who kicked a game-high three goals. Scuffles between the two sides broke out across the ground as tempers flared in the third term as the Blues began to bring back the lead, the Bombers going into their shells under the pressure.

The momentum of the game shifted after the main break coinciding with a masterful coaching decision to put Blues midfielder George Hewett onto Essendon’s Sam Durham. Durham had been outstanding in the first half with 21 disposals next to his name, but with Hewett following his every move, the young Bomber’s impact was limited to nine disposals after half-time. The Blues’ three goals in the third quarter put them back in the game and when they kicked the first four of the final term, it looked like game over. In the dying moments of the game Harry McKay controversially took a mark 60 metres out and told the umpire he was having a shot on goal deliberately winding down the clock, with his kick eventually dropping 30 metres short. But the final two goals to Caddy - who had had an 'almost' night - and Reid put the game in the balance with seconds remaining. But it was too late, the Blues holding on to register their fifth win for the season.

Two rising stars go head to head
In a look to the future of these two clubs, the game produced the mouthwatering match-up of Blues young defender and round 12 Rising Star Harry Dean lining up on talented young Bombers forward Nate Caddy. In a battle that fans of these two clubs can look forward to for a long time, the two wrestled out the match in what was an even contest. Though Dean kept Caddy to just the one major, Caddy had a number of electric moments, whilst Dean was able to get his hands on the footy more with 15 disposals.

McKays kicking goals at both ends
Under interim coach Dean Solomon, Ben McKay has switched from defender to forward. In his second consecutive game up the scoring end, Ben McKay kicked two goals, whilst at the other end his identical twin Harry, kicked three of his own. It’s just the second time the two have played against each other at AFL level in their 11-year careers.

Best: H. McKay, G. Hewett, N. Newman, J. Smith, S. Walsh.

Team

B:	14 Oliver Florent	47 Wade Derksen	26 Nick Haynes
HB:	15 Billy Wilson	35 Harry Dean	24 Nic Newman
C:	5 Adam Cerra	18 Sam Walsh	13 Blake Acres
HF:	12 Ben Ainsworth	11 Mitch McGovern	11 Will Hayward
F:	17 Brodie Kemp	10 Harry McKay	44 Francis Evans
Ruck:	27 Marc Pittonet	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	7 Jagga Smith
Interchange:	2 Lachlan Cowan	29 George Hewett	30 Jack Ison
	39 Talor Byrne	45 Flynn Young
Coach:	Josh Fraser
Emergencies:	36 Cooper Lord	6 Zac Williams	33 Lewis Young

In: Wade Derksen
Out: Jacob Weitering (calf)

Milestones

50 Games: Lachlan Cowan
150 Goals (AFL): Ben Ainsworth
Career High Two Goals in a Game Talor Byrne

Interesting Facts

1. Harry McKay amd his twin Ben McKay were the leading goal scorers for their respective teams.
2. Will Setterfield's most recent win in the Essendon vs Carlton game was the Blues' one-pointer in Round 4, 2020. He missed the 2021-22 wins before switching to the Bombers and missing the 2023 win. He played in the 2024-25 losses.

Free Kicks

Carlton 19
Essendon 24

Front Runners

1 - Archer Day-Wicks (Essendon) 14.6km.
2 - Kyle Langford (Essendon) 14.2km
3 - Xavier Duursma (Essendon) 14.1km.
4 - Zach Merrett (Essendon) 13.9km.
5 - Nick Haynes (Carlton) 13.6km.

Video

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Round 12 | Round 14