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Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday August 13, 1910 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Won by 28 points | Umpire: Elder. | Crowd: 20,000 plus | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: V.Gardiner 5, J.Baquie 2, M.Gotz 1, E.Jamieson 1, J.Marchbank 1, A.McDonald 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: R.McGregor, V.Gardiner, N.Clark, F.Elliott, J.Bacquie, G.Bruce, D.Harris, B.Payne | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
This was a crucial match for University. To have any real chance of playing in the finals, the Students needed a win over League-leaders Carlton at Princes Park, and gave it their best shot. But they never really looked like causing an upset, and the eventual margin of 28 points was a fair indication of the difference between the two teams.Having lost Alex Lang and Bill Goddard through injury, as well as Arthur Ford to a draconian suspension, the Blues brought back Alex Barningham, Ernie Jamieson and Claude Cornish. The Students omitted their wingman Hinman, and included another follower in Keith Doig. Princes Park provided a gloriously sunny winter afternoon for the game, and the football was fast and skilful to watch.
However, perhaps the game should be notable for something else - as uncovered by historian Craig Mackie in his article 'Doug Fraser and the Bribery Scandal of 1910' for the Blueseum. Mackie found what must be one of the first recorded instances of an Australian Rules footballer utilising what is known today as "The Big Don't Argue," in this report from The Age newspaper of 15th August, 1910:
"It was on the whole a good clean game, though strenuous beyond question. There was very little to complain of in the individual play on either side, the most marked exception being when Fraser, of Carlton, jammed his hand in the face of Elliott, of University. It was certainly not fair and manly play, and Carlton supporters were relieved when, after the game was over, the delegates reported that the field umpire (Elder) had announced that he had no charge against any of the players. There was evidently a fear that Fraser's momentary violence might have got him in trouble, and perhaps it would be well for him to remember that the fear was certainly not foundationless..."
After an even first quarter, Carlton exerted their authority in the second term, and broke away to lead by 30 points. The Students battled out the game, but poor shooting for goal cost them dearly. Although the Blues had only three more scoring shots, the deficit at full time had remained at almost five goals.
For Carlton, full-forward Vin Gardiner continued his productive season, and his five majors took his tally for the year to 34 - placing him third on the VFL goal-kicking table behind Percy Martini of Geelong (44) and Dick Lee of Collingwood (38). Meanwhile, a couple of surprise results shook up the top four, and suddenly only Carlton could be absolutely confident about playing in September.
The biggest shock occurred at East Melbourne, where ninth-placed Melbourne jumped away with a five-goal first term, and hung on to beat Essendon, while South Melbourne found their best form to displace Geelong from the top four with a big win at the Lake Oval. So, with the finals just around the corner, Carlton held number one position on the ladder with 56 points, ahead of Essendon (44), Collingwood (40), South Melbourne (36), University (36) and Geelong (34).
Team
| B: | Dick Harris | Doug Gillespie | Percy Sheehan |
| HB: | Norman Clark | Billy Payne (vc) | Martin Gotz |
| C: | Tom Clancy | Claude Cornish | George Bruce |
| HF: | Ernie Jamieson | Jim Marchbank | Jack Baquie |
| F: | Doug Fraser | Vin Gardiner | Andy McDonald |
| Ruck: | Fred Elliott (cc) | Alex Barningham | Rod McGregor |
| Coach: | Fred Elliott | ||
Changes
In: K.Barningham, E.Jamieson, C.CornishOut: A.Ford, A.Lang, B.Goddard
Round 14 | Round 16