| Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday June 26, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Won by 17 points | Umpires: H.Lyons & K.Smith | Crowd: 24,826 Receipts: $23,845 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: R.Walls 3, G.Whitnall 2, M.Fitzpatrick 2, R.Ashman 1, P.Jones 1, D.McKay 1, B.Armstrong 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: R.Ashman, P.Pinnell, T.Keogh, R.Walls, G.Whitnall, P.Jones. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Carlton took their chances when they selected many top players after injury, in an effort to avert their sixth consecutive loss and pulled off the coup when most stood up to the strong Essendon challenge late in the game. The Blues victory by 17 points saw them score best since their last win which had been in Round 7. The inclusion of Rhodes Scholar Mike Fitzpatrick almost straight off the plane from England proved successful and he will almost certainly be an aquisition to the Blues. Essendon played well enough to make a match of it but not well enough to win. They had not won at Princes Park against the Blues since 1968 and will now have to wait until 1977 before they can break that barrier. As it was, they could only manage 9.14, which is their lowest at Princes Park since 1969. - Football Record.
Carlton took a chance in selecting a number of players straight back from injury in an attempt to avoid its sixth consecutive loss for a match against Essendon at Princes Park. The Blues gamble in playing these players and Rhodes Scholar Mike Fitzpatrick straight off the plane from England paid dividends as they won the match by 17 points. - Football Record.
Team
| B: | 19 John O'Connell | 20 Geoff Southby | 18 Kevin Heath |
| HB: | 15 Phil Pinnell | 11 Bruce Doull | 25 Alex Jesaulenko (c) |
| C: | 30 Tony Pickett | 8 Trevor Keogh | 26 Ray Byrne |
| HF: | 9 Greg Towns | 43 David McKay | 7 Graeme Whitnall |
| F: | 3 Mike Fitzpatrick | 42 Robert Walls (vc) | 12 Barry Armstrong |
| Ruck: | 28 Peter Jones (dvc) | 21 Rod Austin | 14 Rod Ashman |
| Res: | 36 Mark Maclure | 5 Syd Jackson | |
| Coach: | Ian Thorogood | ||
Milestones
100 Games: John O'ConnellRound 12 | Round 14