ESSENDON 3.4 8.9 14.11 15.13 (103)
CARLTON 2.6 5.8 6.12 10.19 (79)
GOALS: Essendon – Daniher 5, McDonald-Tipungwuti 4, Langford 3, Dempsey, Laverde, McKernan. Carlton – Wright 3, Armfield 2, Buckley, Casboult, Kreuzer, Docherty, Kerridge.
BEST: Essendon – Daniher, Merrett, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Langford, Goddard. Carlton – Cripps, Simpson, Gibbs, Docherty.
UMPIRES Mitchell, Hosking, Foot.
CROWD 46,566 at MCG.
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What would an Essendon fan have wanted to see in the team's last game of what had been a very trying 2016 season?
Perhaps they were hoping Anthony McDonald-Tipunwuti would show the creativity and flair that made the Bombers worth watching even in their worst losses this year.
Against Carlton at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, he did - at one stage kicking a goal, then pointing to the Essendon cheer squad and grabbing his jumper, showing his appreciation and loyalty to the club that had given him a chance.
Maybe they longed to see Zach Merrett in All-Australian form, giving his team every possible opportunity to score with dominance through the centre.
The 20-year-old was outstanding, notching up 20 kicks among his 34 disposals.
It goes without saying that Bombers supporters wanted to see tall forward Joe Daniher overcome his nerves in front of goal and, frankly, kick the ball straight.
Daniher was a superstar at full-forward against the Blues, confidently booting 5.2.
In Essendon's 24-point win against Carlton, Bombers fans got more than they could have hoped for, Blues fans significantly less.
The home team did not look like a group that had won just two games all year - there was clearly no question of playing poorly to ensure they secured the coveted No.1 draft pick.
Kyle Langford and Jayden Laverde complemented Daniher and McDonald-Tipunwuti in the forward-half, and Langford in particular was impressive with three goals.
The two young forwards, both in their second season of AFL football, will create headaches for selectors as the banned Bombers players return to the team.
But most impressive was the way Essendon moved the ball around the ground, cleanly stringing together uncontested possessions and embarrassing the Carlton defenders.
It meant even when some of the youngsters fumbled - although overall quite good, Darcy Parish dropped a couple of easy marks - Carlton never seriously looked like getting into the game.
Patrick Cripps was good through the centre for the Blues, so was Kade Simpson.
Adelaide recruit Matthew Wright also helped prove his worth with 3.2 and 20 disposals.
But Sam Rowe was thoroughly outclassed by Daniher in the backline and Levi Casboult just did not play well enough to match the Essendon forwards at the other end of the ground.
With eight disposals and 1.2, it will be interesting to see how the Carlton coaching staff chose to deal with the 26-year-old next year.
They fought back in the final quarter, outscoring Essendon 4.7 to 1.2, but in all it was a disappointing end to the season for the Blues.
After the final siren sounded and the Bombers' song started, it was all about a thank you to the fans after an extraordinary, unprecedented season for those in red and black.
Thousands of Essendon fans stayed after the match, standing and clapping for their rag-tag team, many of whom were debutants or hastily recruited "top-ups" who became Bombers only after 12 senior players were suspended for their involvement in the club's 2012 doping scandal.
They wanted to show their appreciation for a group that for the most part, had shown plenty of fight and courage even when things were grim.
Then it was coach John Worsfold and acting captain Brendon Goddard's turn to thank the crowd.
With the talent shown by some of their very young players, supporters can be fairly confident 2017 will be a better year at Bomber Land.
Despite how it finished, Carlton can mostly count 2016 as a success.
They hit rock bottom in 2015, sacked controversial coach Mick Malthouse, won four games and finished dead last on the ladder.
They finish 2016 with a more constructive outlook thanks to the seemingly unshakable positivity of new coach Brendon Boulton.
They won seven games, had a few close losses and as they start to think about summer holidays and the cricket, they can at least do so with some hope they might be on the right track.
VOTES
(Larissa Nicholson)
Zach Merrett (Ess) 9
Joe Daniher (Ess) 8
Anthony McDonald-Tipunwuti (Ess) 8
Patrick Cripps (Carl) 7
Kade Simpson (Carl) 7
