| Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday June 30, 1934 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Win by 49 points | Umpire: Blackburn | Crowd: 20,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: M.Crisp 4, H.Vallence 4, J.Cooper 3, J.Cashman 2, M.Johnson 2, A.Clarke 1, R.Cooper 1, J.Kelly 1, K.Shea 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: E. Huxtable, R. Cooper, K. Shea, H. Vallence, M. Crisp, M. Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
A powerful first quarter set Carlton up for a big win over Melbourne, who were simply outclassed on the day.
The Sunday following the Round 7 win over St Kilda had been the last day of the mid-season transfer period and Carlton had been busy. Fred Hughson and Bobby Mills were cleared to St Kilda and Preston respectively and the following Thursday night training session marked the first appearance at Carlton for five new players, two of whom would become greats of the club. Frank Anderson, Wally Mutimer and Dave Arrell all arrived from Brunswick, Jim Francis was cleared from Hawthorn and Keith Dunn, a tall defender, came from South Australia. The Argus reported that the Francis clearance had caused much discontent at Hawthorn, so much that the entire match committee, except for the coach and captain, had resigned.
Three changes were made to the team. Charlie Davey was out for the season with his injured knee, Jack Hale had a broken wrist and Frank Finn was omitted. Their places were taken by Keith Shea, Fred Gilby and newcomer Keith Dunn.
The game commenced amid scrambling play with Carlton doing all of the attacking but fumbling and poor kicking saw only behinds scored, both by Ron Cooper. Vallence opened the goal scoring soon after with a running goal. Another followed when Shea tapped on cleverly to allow Johnson to goal. Kelly and Huxtable were very prominent players early, and Shea and Crisp were giving plenty of forward moves. The third goal came from Cashman after a good mark close to goal. At this stage, Carlton were completely outclassing Melbourne; the Blues were faster and their game plan of playing to position was working. Melbourne was doing okay in the centre but broke down entirely when going into attack, with Huxtable, Mackie and De Luca almost impassable. Melbourne’s first score came from a hurried snap for a behind. Umpire Blackburn was showing much latitude in the play and weight was being freely used. Two quick goals, to Vallence and Clark, put the Blues further ahead, before a free kick to Melbourne resulted in their first goal. Kelly, who had been brilliant to date, responded straight away with a goal after a long dash from the middle and a lovely kick. When Johnson kicked goal number seven from a long drop kick, Carlton had a stranglehold on the game and a lead of 41 points at quarter time.
Melbourne held several Carlton attacks at bay for the first few minutes of the second term, before Ron Cooper handballed to Shea, whose long punt went through the middle. Playing better, Melbourne scored two goals, but Carlton responded with a running goal from Jack Cooper. Another Melbourne goal was answered by a snap goal from Crisp. Melbourne’s forwards were showing poor judgement with Carlton’s defence well on top and they were made to battle hard for their goals. Melbourne scored their fifth goal to edge closer, but two goals in the last two minutes, to Jack Cooper and Vallence extended the Carlton lead to 43 points at the main break.
When play resumed, both teams displayed some vigorous and exhilarating football but neither could break through for a full five minutes before a series of behinds opened the scoring. Then Crisp, with a lovely drop kick, scored Carlton’s thirteenth goal. Melbourne had a chance to goal, but poor play resulted in them kicking into the player on the mark. Both defences were on top, with Gill, Huxtable and Gilby repelling several attacks. A long dash from Huxtable was stopped by resolute Melbourne defence, before Ron Cooper with clever play goaled to increase the lead. Melbourne, playing better, had much of the play but could not break through to score, with Gill and Dunn stopping several forays. There were some questionable decisions being made by the umpire which angered supporters of both sides. Cashman marked nicely in front and kicked the fifteenth Carlton goal. Melbourne finally broke through for their first goal of the quarter but Jack Cooper replied quickly to keep the deficit the same. A late Melbourne goal made the difference a clear nine goals at the last change.
Carlton seemed content to play out the game in the last term, allowing Melbourne to score an easy goal. Vallence scored his fourth goal with a snap, but lazy play from Carlton saw Melbourne kick two quick goals. Carlton lifted and Ron Cooper assisted Crisp to score goal eighteen. Melbourne goaled in response but a late goal to Crisp made the margin 49 points when the bell sounded. Melbourne had tried hard but were simply beaten by a team superior in speed, tactics and teamwork. Carlton’s big scoring so far for the season had provided a massive 953 points by the end of the round.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 3rd spot on the ladder with a percentage of 123.0.
Team
| B: | 20 Alby De Luca | 21 Frank Gill | 5 Keith Dunn |
| HB: | 9 Eric Huxtable | 24 Gordon Mackie | 6 Fred Gilby |
| C: | 7 Joe Kelly | 32 Bob Green | 27 Terry Ogden |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 22 Harry Vallence | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp |
| F: | 29 Horrie Bullen | 33 Jack Cooper | 31 Ansell Clarke |
| Ruck: | 15 Maurie Johnson (c) | 4 Jack Cashman (acting vc) | 19 Ron Cooper |
| 19th Man: | 16 Ted Pollock | ||
| Coach: | Dan Minogue | ||
Back Row (L-R); Joe Kelly, Ron 'Soxs' Cooper, Gordon Mackie, Ted Pollock (19th man), Horrie Bullen, Keith Dunn, Robert Green, Eric Huxtable, Cresswell 'Mickey' Crisp.
Middle Row; Alby De Luca, Frank Gill, Harry 'Soapy' Valence, Jack Cashman (acting VC), Maurice 'Mocca' Johnson (C), Ansell Clarke, Jack Cooper.
Front Row; Keith Shea, Terry Odgen, Fred Gilby
Milestones
Debut: Keith DunnRound 7 | Round 9