CARLTON has broken its 10-year finals drought by scoring an impressive 62-point win over Essendon in the first elimination final at the MCG on Sunday.

On a blustery and cold afternoon, with 90,161 people watching on, the Blues won 21.23 (149) to 13.9 (87) and advanced to a semi-final showdown against West Coast at Patersons Stadium next Saturday night.

It was Carlton's first victory in a final since it defeated Adelaide in an elimination final at the MCG in 2001. Back then Wayne Brittain was the coach and Craig Bradley was the captain.

Having lost in week one of the finals in each of the past two seasons (they were beaten by the Brisbane Lions in 2009 and the Sydney Swans last year), Brett Ratten's men went into the match under immense pressure.

And they started nervously, booting five behinds in the early minutes of the opening quarter before the Bombers responded by kicking three goals and taking a 15-point lead.

But Carlton used its lightning pace to overcome Essendon's resistance, piling on 10 consecutive goals between the 20-minute mark of the first term and the 29-minute mark of the second.

Ahead by 41 points at half-time, the Blues then cantered to victory (they led by as much as 79 points during the final quarter).

The triumph is all but certain to secure a contract extension for Ratten, who is in the last year of his contract.

Speedy small forward Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett booted seven goals between them, while midfielder Bryce Gibbs and Andrew Walker kicked three each.

However, Gibbs left the field during the last quarter having suffered a suspected shoulder injury.

In its first final since it lost to Adelaide by 96 points in 2009, Essendon was unlucky to lose key defender Tayte Pears to a leg injury in the first quarter.

But the Bombers, who finish their 2011 campaign in eighth place, were outplayed for most of the afternoon.

Angus Monfries was their leading scorer with three goals, while Kyle Reimers, David Hille and Brent Stanton kicked two.

Essendon has not won a final since it beat Melbourne by five points in an elimination final in 2004.

Influential players
Bomber Heath Hocking did a good job tagging Chris Judd, limiting the champion to only eight possessions in the first half. And while Judd finished with 19 touches and a goal, it was Marc Murphy who was the driving force in Carlton's midfield. Murphy ended with a career-high tally of 37 possessions.

Creative half-back Chris Yarran (22 touches) was another dominant player for the Blues, while Andrew Carrazzo revelled in his fiery match-up against Bombers captain Jobe Watson. Carrazzo held Watson to 21 disposals and picked up 26 himself.

Magic moment
Jeff Garlett was the hero of Carlton's resurgence in the first quarter. His first goal, which gave his team the lead, was a regulation set shot from close range, but his second was an absolute classic. With almost 29 minutes gone in the opening term, Garlett took his kick from right on the boundary line, about 45m out, and the Blues fans were roaring after it split the big sticks.

Record crowd
There's no doubt that Carlton and Essendon are two giants of the AFL, and their supporters turned out in force for this match. The previous record crowd for an elimination final was 84,284, which was set when Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs met at the MCG in 2006. But the Bombers and Blues fans beat that mark by almost 6,000.

QUARTER BY QUARTER SUMMARY
First quarter
The pace was hot early and it was the Blues who had the run of the play for the first five minutes. They had five scoring shots but Eddie Betts, Setanta O'hAilpin, Chris Judd, Chris Yarran and Mitch Robinson all sprayed their kicks, and it was left to Essendon's Jake Carlisle to boot the game's first goal. The Bombers took the momentum from their sudden one-point lead and capitalised with goals to Kyle Reimers and Angus Monfries . But the Blues hit back by kicking the final five goals of the quarter.
Carlton by seven points.

Second quarter
The loss of Pears saw Carlisle moved into defence and Colyer took on the challenge of Gibbs. But, after winning the clearances in the first quarter, the Bombers fell away after the first change and were smashed in close with the Blues amassing 52 contested possessions to their 31. Judd started to get going after Heath Hocking kept him to two touches in the first, but it was Marc Murphy who was the real instigator with 10 possessions and a late goal.
Carlton by 41 points.

Third quarter
Thornton took his fourth contested mark for the afternoon in the opening minutes and kicked the Blues' 11th goal, but this time the Bombers were able to quickly answer with Brent Stanton responding within a minute with his first of two for the quarter. However, it was more of the same after the teams settled, with the Blues nailing four of the next five goals. Colyer found the big sticks at the 19-minute mark, and when David Hille followed up seven minutes later, but it was just the second time for the game that the Bombers had kicked consecutive goals.
Carlton by 62 points.

Fourth quarter
Jamison - who has played just one senior game since hurting his knee in round 14 and didn't train on Saturday - was subbed out early in the quarter as Andrew Walker kicked his second and pushed the Blues 70 points clear. A groggy Fletcher was also helped from the field four minutes in after copping a heavy knock and Gibbs - after an impressive three-goal performance - was treated for a sore shoulder when he fell over in the goal square. With all the sting out of the game and the seagulls circling - and Gibbs still in the rooms with his arm in a sling - the Bombers broke even across the quarter with Reimers kicking the final goal of the afternoon.
Carlton by 62 points

Carlton       4.5    10.12  17.17  21.23  (149)       
Essendon    3.4      4.7     8.9     13.9     (87)       

GOALS
Carlton: Betts 4, Garlett 3, Gibbs 3, Walker 3, Thornton 2, O'hAilpin, Robinson, Murphy, Simpson, Judd, Carrazzo
Essendon: Monfries 3, Stanton 2, Hille 2, Reimers 2, Carlisle, Colyer, Hocking, Jetta

BEST
Carlton: Murphy, Warnock, Carrazzo, Yarran, Betts, Scotland, Garlett, Henderson
Essendon: Hocking, Stanton, Myers, Lovett-Murray, Monfries

INJURIES
Carlton: Gibbs (shoulder)
Essendon: Pears (hamstring), Fletcher (concussion)

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Michael Jamison substituted out in the fourth quarter for Marcus Davies
Essendon: Tayte Pears (hamstring) substituted out at quarter time for Travis Colyer

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Meredith

Official crowd: 90,161 at the MCG

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club