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Venue: Corio Oval | Date: Saturday May 4, 1907 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Won by 35 points | Umpire: | Crowd: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Best: R.McGregor, G.Bruce, J.Flynn, F.Jinks, F.Elliott, D.Gillespie, G.Johnson. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: G.Topping 4, F.Caine 1, M.Grace 1, F.Jinks 1, A.Lang 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
After suffering a first round loss to St Kilda, Carlton struggled in the opening term of this game, a trend which would continue for the first quarter of the 1907 season."After their awakening against St. Kilda, Carlton took a strong side to Geelong, and in the opening stages of the match were still left in doubt as to their form of the moment, and rather apprehensive of weaknesses of which they suspected, but could not define. In pleasant weather, with the Corio Oval in just the right condition for football, and a good crowd looking on, Geelong for some time appeared to have the best of the encounter, a result the more disconcerting to Carlton, because the breeze, though not a very great influence, was blowing in their favour" - The Argus, May 6th, 1907.
Early on, a brilliant effort by Doug Gillespie prevented a certain goal to Geelong, after some smart play in their forward line. The Blues then wasted a couple of chances before the home side kicked their first goal through their clever rover McNellage. Fred Jinks responded with the Blues first, and this seemed to lift the Carlton team. They pressed hard and held the ball in their forward line, but for little gain as Geelong defended stoically. Another goal to Geelong gave them a 4-point lead at the first break, although Carlton had shown some positive signs by having the best of the play.
Both sides battled hard in the second term, before Topping kicked the only two majors of the quarter. The Blues were inaccurate, kicking 2.5 for the quarter, but luckily Geelong added only 4 behinds themselves. While far from decisive, Carlton's 9-point half-time lead was deserved according to those watching the game. The Argus reported that Geelong's efforts had been " ...more due to Carlton's temporary weakness than Geelong's strength".
In the second half, Carlton finally took control, and while never quite displaying the form that had won them the premiership in 1906, the side kicked 5.5 to Geelong's 1.3 to comfortably win the match. Mick Grace was off his best form, missing chances he would have usually swallowed, but Topping was the star for the Blues, kicking four of the Blues’ seven goals. While Carlton would still have probably squeezed out a victory without him, there was a lot more comfort in their performance with Topping in the team.
Apart from Topping, best players for Carlton in this welcome victory were McGregor and Bruce playing in the centre, followers Flynn, Jinks and Elliott, and Gillespie in defence. ‘Mallee’ Johnson's high-marking at centre half-back was also a highlight.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 4th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 110.8.
Team
| B: | Norman Clark (vc) | Doug Gillespie | Les Beck |
| HB: | Billy Payne | George S Johnson | Charlie Hammond |
| C: | Ted Kennedy | Rod McGregor | George Bruce |
| HF: | Martin Gotz | Frank Caine | Alex Lang |
| F: | Mick Grace | George Topping | Archie Snell |
| Ruck: | Jim Flynn (c) | Fred Jinks | Fred Elliott |
| Coach: | Jack Worrall | ||
Changes
In: G.Johnson, N.ClarkOut: B.Hickey, F.Williams
Round 1 | Round 3