| Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday July 11, 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Win by 16 points | Umpire: Batt | Crowd: 18,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: H.Vallence 5, A.Clarke 3, R.Cooper 3, K.Dunn 2, M.Crisp 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: R. Cooper, J. Francis, K. Shea, R. Green, A. Clarke, W. Kuhlken | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: J. Hale (concussion), 4th quarter replaced by T. Pollock | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Carlton was back on the winning list after defeating Geelong by 16 points at Princes Park. After a lacklustre start, good second and fourth quarters gave the Blues strong enough leads to hold out the desperate Cats. This match was supposed to be played on Saturday 4 July, but the round was postponed due to rain. Much happened at Carlton in the two weeks between games, so read on.
Was there trouble at Carlton? That was the question being discussed among football commentators and supporters during the past few days. Stories had been circulating that players were unhappy about an incident which occurred on the Saturday night following the Melbourne game. Further to this, on Wednesday 1 July 1936, the Age reported that on the Tuesday night, most senior players did not train on the ground, but remained within the rooms receiving massages. A Carlton official met with the media during the training and emphatically rejected the stories about player dissatisfaction. He stated that the seniors were simply being given an easy night after some hard games recently.
The trade period had closed and Carlton welcomed several new faces to the club. Will Kuhlken, J. Walker and Warren had arrived as part of the deal regarding George Dougherty’s move to Geelong. Norm Cashin was another new face, transferring from Glenhuntly Amateurs. Future premiership player Jack Wrout had arrived from North Melbourne and Horrie Bullen had returned to the club from suburban Doncaster. Carlton had said goodbye to Dougherty and Mocha Johnson, who had moved to South Melbourne.
The VFL-VFA game and its curtain raiser had been played at the ground on the Monday of this week and that, coupled with two days of constant rain, had left the ground in poor condition, with the centre area a quagmire. Training on Thursday 2nd was made awkward and was restricted to the wing areas. It was a strenuous session, with the emphasis on kicking, marking and match practice. Fred Gilby was on the park and likely to play and Wally Mutimer and Gordon Mackie passed fit. Jack Carney would not play due to his strained leg muscle. After the session, four changes were announced to the side. George Collard, Clen Denning, Gordon Crisp and Carney (leg) were left out and Ted Pollock, Warren, Mutimer and Gilby brought into the side. Clem Neeson was made 19th man. The announced side was:
Backs: McIntyre, Gill, Gilby
Half backs: Huxtable, Pollock, Francis
Centres: Warren, Hale, Green
Half forwards: Shea, Mutimer, M.Crisp
Forwards: Cooper, Vallence, Dunn
Followers: Davey, McLean, Clarke
19th man: Neeson
However, the rain gods had decided that the rain should continue and it did. It rained all day Friday and into Saturday morning, making all grounds sodden and not fit for play. VFL delegates met at 7.30am on the Saturday morning and deliberated until 11 am, when they made the announcement that the football for this weekend was cancelled and scheduled games would be played next Saturday. It was the first cancellation since the grand final in 1923. The late announcement apparently caused considerable problems for the Geelong side which was waiting in Geelong to see if they needed to make the long trip to Carlton. At least Carlton was not out of pocket, receiving £100 for being one of six clubs insured against such an event.
Training on Thursday 9th July was a departure from the usual for the forwards. Kicking, marking and running exercises took prominence and plays and tactics to combat Geelong were discussed and practiced. Three changes were made to the side which defeated Melbourne. George Collard, Clen Denning and Gordon Crisp were omitted, and Fred Gilby, Will Kuhlken and Ted Pollock (as 19th man) were brought in. Jack Wrout, Horrie Bullen and Warren were included in the reserves team.
Princes Park oval was in good condition, but heavy in the middle, and Geelong had first use of a slight breeze. They made good use of it, with two quick attacks but Francis was in the way of both. Another attack got through, but an easy chance was spoilt with a behind. Carney, Shea and Crisp combined for Carlton’s first real foray and nippy play from Clarke finished it off with the first goal. Kuhlken was doing well for his new club and forwarded to Dunn, whose shot hit the post. Green was working hard and the Blues were directing play through him but the forwards were not making the best use of the ball. The game seemed to lack sparkle, with neither side showing any spectacular play to date. Hale was being kept quiet and Geelong worked the ball through his opponent for their first goal. McLean received a free and passed to Davey, but he managed only a behind. The kick in by Geelong was a shocker, grubbing along the turf to where Cooper picked it up and slammed through the second goal. The Cats responded well, sweeping the ball forward with ex-Blue Dougherty bringing up full points for their second goal. Crisp was involved in two behinds for Carlton; the first after a great handball from Cooper and the second hitting the post. The game had improved, with both sides fairly evenly matched. A late shot by Geelong seemed to go through fine but the goal umpire strangely signalled a behind, leaving the Cats two points in arrears at quarter time.
Geelong made a promising start to the second term, scoring two behinds before a good pass resulted in their third goal. Carlton answered immediately, with Kuhlken finding Dunn, who kicked Carlton’s third. Keeping the thrusts going, Carlton worked forward for Vallence to just miss, before Cooper and Shea, in a bright passage around the flank, gave him another chance and he goaled after marking close in. Geelong replied with two quick goals and the lead. Cooper, Carlton’s best to date, restored the lead, evading three opponents and kicking truly to level the scores. Carlton attacked again and Geelong repelled, but another foray resulted in Cooper, on his own, marking and kicking Carlton’s seventh goal with a lovely drop kick. He missed another chance moments later. Vallence was playing in the forward pocket with Davey at centre half forward, and Geelong’s defence looked ragged when a lovely snap from an alert Vallence extended the lead. They were able to respond, with ex-blue Dougherty again goaling. But late in the quarter, Crisp passed to Vallence, who kicked his third goal for the quarter to give the Blues a 14 point lead at half time. Cooper, Francis, Shea, Green and Kuhlken were standouts for the half.
Changes to Geelong’s structure on resumption saw their rucks get on top and several promising forward attacks came. In a strong burst, Geelong scored a behind, then Gilby stopped another attack, but two goals followed, reducing the Cats deficit to just one point. Carlton was not dismayed and good work from the forwards and a clever pass from Kuhlken resulted in Clarke kicking the Blues’ ninth goal. Another attack brought a behind from a poor kick from Shea. The standard of play had lifted and it was now a good game of football. A great mark deserved more than a behind to Geelong, but it had become difficult to score with both defences playing well. Francis and McIntyre were excellent for the Blues. The rest of the quarter was a grim struggle with both sides missing chances, and the bell rang with Carlton attacking strongly and eight points up. Geelong had most of the play but lacked cohesion in the forward line. Kuhlken was noticeably limping at three quarter time.
Strong ruck work sent Carlton forward but Clarke’s miskick allowed Geelong to clear. Gilby was in the way and sent the Blues back into attack. Play was fast and furious and seesawed back and forth for a period. Geelong kicked a behind and, gathering from the kick in, Shea brought the ball around the stand wing to where Dunn was infringed. From an acute angle, his free kick sailed through to extend Carlton’s lead. Within a minute, Dunn assisted Crisp to goal with an accurate drop kick, giving Carlton a 19 point lead. Geelong’s defence seemed to wilt slightly and Carlton piled on the pressure, with McLean sending to Vallence, who goaled with a towering punt for the 12th goal. Geelong rallied and two goals kept them well in the game. But Vallence made it difficult with a goal after Carney and Cooper worked the ball forward and gave him an easy chance. Hale went down in a heavy clash and was replaced by Pollock. Play was tough, with both sides determined to win the ball. A free to Geelong gave them their 11th goal, but Carlton thrust forward from the bounce, with Davey’s shot hitting the post for a 14 point lead. The Cats weren’t done and goaled after a chain of passes. A behind to Geelong made the difference only seven points late in the term, but Cooper, best on the ground, kicked Carlton forward and found Clarke who snapped the sealer. Behinds to Vallence and Clarke put the margin at 16 points as the bell rang, with the Blues deep in attack.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 5th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 129.1.
Team
| B: | 2 Don McIntyre | 21 Frank Gill | 30 Clem Neeson |
| HB: | 9 Eric Huxtable | 10 Jim Francis (c) | 11 Jack Hale |
| C: | 6 Fred Gilby | 7 Jack Carney | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 4 Will Kuhlken | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp (vc) |
| F: | 5 Keith Dunn | 22 Harry Vallence | 19 Ron Cooper |
| Ruck: | 17 Charlie Davey | 14 Rod McLean | 31 Ansell Clarke |
| 19th Man: | 16 Ted Pollock | ||
| Coach: | Frank Maher | ||
Milestones
Debut (Carlton): Will KuhlkenRound 9 | Round 11