| Venue: Corio Oval | Date: Saturday May 1, 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Lose by 11 points | Umpire: G.L.Murphy | Crowd: 13,600 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: M.Crisp 3-2, K.Shea 1-1, H.Vallence 1-4, J.Wrout 1-1, K.Dunn 0-2, A. Clarke 0-1, Rushed 0-2, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: F. Anderson, J. Carney, F. Gill, B. Butler, E. Huxtable, J. Francis | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: Anderson (bruied ribs) replaced by McIntyre last quarter. | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Geelong handed Carlton its first defeat of the season, winning by 11 points in a hard fought game at Kardinia Park. Adapting better to the conditions, Geelong’s clever tactics and slight supremacy in the aerial duels were the key to the win.Light rain fell throughout the Tuesday training session, with 40 players on the park; only Eric Huxtable being absent. Ted Pollock had an ankle injury which would keep him out for another week but the news wasn’t as bright for Gordon Mackie, who received a broken hand from an accidental kick in last week’s reserves game. There was some conjecture that this might prompt his retirement.
Huxtable had recovered by Thursday’s match practice session and he trained well. All players looked very fit and only one change made. Don McIntyre came into the side as 19th man and Fred Gilby was omitted. It was announced during training that the Blues had signed Norman Mason, a full forward with a good sprint, from Albury Rovers for the season.
A strong wind blowing across the ground favoured the Bay goals and Geelong had first use of it. Interestingly Francis, after a pre-game check by the doctor, lined up with an eye guard as a result of a collision with Huxtable at training. Carlton was first to attack through Davey, Francis and Clarke but strong defence rebounded the ball well and the Cats went forward. Geelong’s first score was a behind from a free kick against Hale. They followed up with the first goal soon after from another free, again awarded against Hale. The wind was making good play impossible for both sides and any science or teamwork was lacking. Players missed the ball, kicks were blown off course and play was very congested; at one stage 22 players were counted in one of the pockets. The congestion brought about some rugged play with weight being used freely. Geelong adapted better than Carlton by using the sheltered grandstand wing as an avenue in attack and playing a short passing game. Two more behinds came before a fine chain of passes resulted in Geelong’s second goal. Another behind was scored before Carlton, keeping the ball low on the outer wing, forwarded to Dunn, whose kick scraped through for a behind. At this stage, Vallence was being well held and Geelong’s strong defence and the wind were equally responsible for Carlton having ten shots at goal for the solitary point. Carlton’s defenders had done well too, keeping the Cats to a 15 point lead at the first change.
Geelong stopped two Carlton thrusts early in the term and went forward for their fifth behind. Hesitation and a poor kick robbed Carlton of a goal, with only a behind brought up and then Geelong swept out of defence for yet another behind. Carlton looked better when Clarke was roving but three promising attacks resulted in only the third behind. Carlton was the quicker side but Geelong was countering this well by with their vigorous play. Finally, the Blues broke through with Green getting the ball to Vallence who, well shepherded by Crisp and Dunn, snapped the first goal. Carlton had rallied and after Anderson turned a Geelong attack, he found Vallence again but only a single came, leaving the Blues eight points down. Butler then had a shot which swerved out of bounds. Each side scored another behind (Carlton’s kicked by Wrout), meaning that 12 behinds had been scored from 15 scoring shots. Geelong wasted a promising attack and Carlton did likewise, kicking two behinds (one to Shea) which should have been goals. Then Crisp levelled the scores with a good mark and goal, after Green’s good play on the wings. Carlton’s best passage of play came when Butler passed to Shea, and Davey shepherded strongly, to enable a goal and the lead at half time of a gruelling game. Anderson, Gill, Carney, Butler and Francis had been the best for the Blues for the half.
Both sides made positional changes after the break. Carlton swapped the roles of Vallence and Wrout and moved Francis into the centre. The Cats swept forward immediately on resumption with a shot which hit the post. More attacks followed but Carlton defended grandly; Anderson practically impassable at centre half back. Francis and Butler combined well to move the ball to Vallence, but again only a behind was registered. Despite the wind the game had improved but was still being vigorously played. Geelong had switched to a long kicking game with some definite improvement in their attacks. They had gained the ascendancy on each wing and were shading Carlton’s ruckmen. In a good passage, Vallence kicked at goal with a long shot and Crisp, wisely staying at the back of the leaping pack, crumbed nicely for Carlton’s fourth goal and a handy lead. Geelong kept attacking relentlessly but Anderson and Park turned several thrusts. Three moves that did get past them brought only behinds. Then the Cats stunned Carlton with three goals in an eight minute burst. First some clever handball and teamwork brought a goal, followed by another from a similar combination, which gave a two point lead. The third goal came from a great mark despite desperate work from Anderson and Park, giving Geelong an eight point lead going into the last quarter.
Geelong lost a player to injury at the break and Carlton made further positional changes. Shea was moved to the centre and Francis went to the flank. Carlton attacked with the wind but were driven off by strong defensive play. Geelong swept forward, gaining their twelfth behind before some lovely play resulted in their sixth goal. Another followed quickly, giving the Cats a handy 20 point grip on the game. Carlton was being soundly beaten but were dying gamely; Carney and Butler striving desperately to keep the Blues in it. A shot from Shea went wide and a good chance from Butler was well turned. Then in a dashing blow, Anderson, by far Carlton’s best, limped off with sore ribs, being replaced by McIntyre. Carlton kept trying, with a behind to Vallence before Wrout goaled with five minutes left. Clarke registered a behind to bring the deficit to two goals but Geelong sealed the game with a good goal, their eighth. Crisp responded almost immediately with his third goal and had another chance late after gaining a free kick. He managed only a behind and when the bell rang shortly after, Geelong had won by 11 points.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 4th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 149.6.
Team
| B: | 26 Jim Park | 21 Frank Gill | 14 Rod McLean |
| HB: | 9 Eric Huxtable | 1 Frank Anderson | 11 Jack Hale |
| C: | 7 Jack Carney | 10 Jim Francis (vc) | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 28 Jack Wrout | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp |
| F: | 5 Keith Dunn | 22 Harry Vallence | 29 Bert Butler |
| Ruck: | 17 Charlie Davey | 20 Will Kuhlken | 31 Ansell Clarke (c) |
| 19th Man: | 2 Don McIntyre | ||
| Coach: | Percy Rowe | ||
Round 1 | Round 3