Umpire: Crowd: 26,000

Goalkickers : F.Caine 2, E.Kelly 1, A.Lang 1.

Game Review

A week of heavy rain right across the Melbourne metropolitan area prior to this round of VFL football ensured that crowds would be down and that upsets were likely. Sure enough, all six matches were bog-fests and scores were generally low – but there was just the one real surprise result, when second-placed Essendon comfortably defeated previously unbeaten Carlton at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Playing committed wet-weather football, the Same Old used rugby-style rushes to force the ball forward and were harder at the contest than the Blues throughout the game. Carlton was held scoreless in the last quarter to be beaten by 13 points – thus ending a sequence of 15 straight wins that stretched back to August, 1907.

Despite this loss – which incidentally, would be the only one all season for the Blues – Carlton remained firmly on top of the ladder with percentage of 173.71. Essendon was one win away in second (percentage 135.70), followed by St Kilda and South Melbourne, still two wins further back

JACK WORRALL REMEMBERS

"In 1908 Carlton unsuccessfully endeavoured to go through the season undefeated. But in its twelfth engagement against Essendon, on the old East Melbourne Cricket-ground it was defeated in a flood. That defeat was Carlton's salvation, as it won the premiership without a further loss, the defeat exposed certain little weaknesses that were being overlooked in its onward march to victory."
(Trove: Australasian September 21 1929 p32)

Team

Changes

In: G.Topping, B.Marchbank, F.Jinks
Out: V.Gardiner, F.Williams, D.Gillespie

Milestones

Debut: Bill Marchbank

Trove; Leader July 18 p27