| Venue: Junction Oval | Date: Saturday May 22, 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Win by 3 points | Umpire: McDermott | Crowd: 18,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: H.Vallence 4.3, M.Price 3.0, J.Hale 2.1, F.Ayers 1.2, M.Crisp 1.1, J. Wrout 1.1, F.Gill 1.0, K. Shea 0.3, B. Butler 0.2, N. Cashin 0.2, A. Shields 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: M. Crisp, F. Gill, R. McLean, M. Price, J. Park, F. Anderson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: N. Cashin (concussion) replaced by J.Hale in 3rd quarter | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Carlton returned to the winners’ list with a hard fought three point win over St Kilda. Carlton’s pace and more decisive play, particularly in the first half, were the keys to the victory over the inaccurate Saints.
On Monday, the Age reported that Ron Cooper had written to the committee seeking his suspension to be removed. The committee was to meet on Thursday night. Such was the support for Cooper from the players that, prior to Tuesday night’s training, the players took an impromptu secret ballot on whether he should be reinstated to the side. The decision was 31 for and 2 against. The result was later communicated to the committee for consideration ahead of Thursday night’s decision. The players were also unhappy that there was a suggestion that the suspension was due to their request but the players were adamant that it had been a decision made by the committee.
The Age reported on Wednesday that Jack McElroy had requested a transfer back to Carlton from Brunswick and the club had informed Brunswick that they wanted him back. Carlton stated that the original clearance of McElroy to Brunswick had been made on the basis that Carlton could have him back when required. Brunswick were keen to keep McElroy and their committee would consider the matter on Thursday.
Other transfers from Carlton which had been approved were reserves players R. Job to Preston and W. Arrell to Essendon.
At training on Tuesday, Jack Carney (torn calf and sprained ankle), Ansell Clarke (torn calf) and Charlie Davey were notable absentees. Eric Huxtable’s bruised thigh was a concern but Ted Pollock had resumed training. Horrie Bullen made his first appearance at the club for the season and trained well.
The Carlton committee deliberated on the Cooper matter on Thursday after players’ representative Jim Francis moved the motion to lift the suspension. It was voted in favour and Cooper would resume training immediately with a likely return through the seconds. The Brunswick committee also met and refused McElroy’s transfer.
The selection committee swung the axe in the wake of three successive defeats and made six changes. Carney and Clarke were out injured and Huxtable, Frank Williams, George Collard and Clen Denning were omitted. Into the side came Clem Neeson, Jack Wrout, Keith Dunn, Bob Green, Norm Cashin and Mick Price. Jack Hale was made 19th man. Cooper and Bullen were named in the reserves side.
In a strong opening, Carlton surged into attack scoring behinds to Ayers and Shea. Carlton’s pace and dashing play had St Kilda’s defence under pressure from the outset. The Saints suffered a major blow in the first five minutes, with their full back tearing ankle ligaments and taking no further part in the game. In the reshuffle, a great dash from Crisp resulted in a lovely first goal. St Kilda steadied and good play brought first a behind and then a goal. Carlton struck back well with some forceful play getting the ball to Price, who marked well close to goal and brought up the second goal. Carlton’s strong defence meant that St Kilda was indecisive in the forward line, relying on short wasteful kicks. Carlton kept the pressure up and scored another two behinds before St Kilda did likewise with two behinds of their own. Carlton was playing a long kicking game straight down the ground and keeping close to their opponents when St Kilda had the ball. This stymied the Saints normally pacy play and forced them into hurried shots. Crisp was dominating in the centre and sent the ball to Wrout who passed nicely to Vallence. He marked three yards out from goal, but kicked terribly for a behind. He atoned a minute later with a goal, after Shea, Dunn and Price combined well in a great passage of play around the wing. St Kilda answered well, some neat passing resulting in their second goal. Carlton attacked again and Vallence had a shot which looked good until it bounced right on the goal line and went back into play. Carlton led by four points when the quarter time bell rang.
Again Carlton attacked from the bounce, but two thrusts forward were repulsed by St Kilda. A lighting fast move brought the Saints their third goal. They were steadier now, attacking continuously and putting Carlton’s defence under siege, but Gill, Park and Anderson were doing well. Crisp, playing excellently, dashed into attack from the centre for a behind to level the scores at three goals seven each. Keeping up the long kicking game, Carlton broke through and rattled on four goals in quick time. First, Price goaled from an acute angle and followed up a minute later with another from a magnificent kick from the opposite flank. Then, strong play from Carlton got the ball forward to Ayers who marked right in front and kicked truly. St Kilda had a chance to break the run with fine play into the forward line but the St Kilda forward kicked into McLean on the mark. The fourth goal of the spell came after Crisp drove forward from the centre to where Vallence outmarked two opponents and kicked well. McLean in the ruck and Crisp in the centre were dominant players, starting several thrusts but several chances went astray. St Kilda, despite poor kicking and insecure play, snapped a much needed goal. St Kilda were trying gamely but Carlton’s defence was too strong and repelled several attacks. More purposeful with the ball, Dunn, Crisp, Park and McLean were noticeable for their determined, bust through straight ahead play, breaking up several packs. Crisp started another attack around the wing and found Wrout. He goaled with an amazing drop kick to give Carlton a handy 24 point lead at half time. Crisp, McLean, Gill, Price and Park had been great first half players.
St Kilda came out full of determination upon resumption. A thrust from the centre gained them a behind and two more moves around the wings brought another two behinds. They were fine passages of play, but goals would have been better results. Gill and Hale were playing well in defence, forcing hurried kicks from the Saints. Cashin fell heavily and was badly concussed. He had trouble handballing from the free and then fell again and was carried off on a stretcher. Hale came on and was immediately in the fray, clashing heavily with a St Kilda player. Good play from St Kilda got the ball forward but another behind was scored from a tight angle. A running shot produced their fifth behind for the quarter, before their persistence was rewarded with a snap from a pack after a tight struggle. Carlton responded straight away, with Crisp and Shea working together to forward the ball to Vallence for his third goal. The game was now fairly even but St Kilda had definitely lifted. Hard work against strong defence earnt their sixth goal from a mark right in front. St Kilda were noticeably faster than Carlton now and were marking superbly. Stern defence thwarted several Carlton thrusts before good forward line pressure brought their seventh goal from a free kick. Another shot went for only a behind, before the Saints goaled again to reduce Carlton’s lead to just one goal. Butler scored a behind for Carlton, but from the kick in St Kilda brilliantly flashed the ball into the forward line where a shot from a good mark hit the post just before the last change, with the game poised for a thrilling finish.
Hale stopped two attacks from the Saints but their next thrust brought a goal which levelled the scores. St Kilda was finishing strongly, and a great mark resulted in their tenth goal and the lead. Determined, Carlton went into attack through Hale, Crisp and Shea and got the ball to Vallence, who made the scores even again. Shea had been moved onto the ball and was in all the play and Gill, limping from an accidental kick in the leg, was now in the forward line. It was an exciting even struggle with both teams desperate for the ball. Ayers sent Carlton forward but Vallence’s shot went out of bounds. Dashing play resulted in several promising chances for St Kilda but short passing in the forward line brought four behinds only, when goals were needed badly. A Carlton attack was repulsed before McIntyre and Price found Gill who, limping badly, kicked a rare goal with a long kick for a two point lead. Carlton now tore forward and Hale goaled to give the Blues a handy eight point lead. St Kilda supporters were sent into raptures when the Saints brilliantly recovered, with two quick goals from great marks to restore the four point lead. With seven minutes remaining, Carlton surged forward to where Hale was infringed. From the free kick, he gained a behind. It was a thrilling finish to a great game with the crowd dizzy with excitement. St Kilda missed a chance after some brilliant play and after a fierce struggle, Shea, Crisp and McLean worked the ball to Hale, who was held without the ball. He gained a free kick and goaled to give Carlton a three point lead. As the bell rang, St Kilda was in attack in their forward line. It had been hard but the Blues had broken the run of losses.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 6th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 106.1.
Team
| B: | 2 Don McIntyre | 21 Frank Gill | 26 Jim Park |
| HB: | 10 Jim Francis (acting capt.) | 1 Frank Anderson | 34 Clem Neeson |
| C: | 4 Norm Cashin | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 28 Jack Wrout | 25 Arch Shields |
| F: | 5 Keith Dunn | 22 Harry Vallence | 30 Mick Price |
| Ruck: | 14 Rod McLean | 3 Fred Ayers | 29 Bert Butler |
| 19th Man: | 11 Jack Hale | ||
| Coach: | Percy Rowe | ||
Round 4 | Round 6