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Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday May 6, 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Lost by 4 points | Umpire: Elder | Crowd: 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: V.Gardiner 5, C.Fisher 1, A.Huggett 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: A.Lang (sprained ankle), C.Hammond (broken toe), A.Huggett (knee) | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Whether anyone at the ground could possibly have suspected it or not, Carlton was about to have our longest games run without a Flag in our history (still true as we approach season 2012), with another 400 or so games to go before the 1938 Flag.As to the game itself, wayward kicking cost the game for the blues in this match, who made a great charge in the final quarter but to no avail.
Big Crowds And Good Gates For Patriotic Funds - By "Onlooker"
"The Melbourne football season opened on Saturday. A dull, grey, frosty morning changed like magic to a charming early Winter afternoon, and the games were played in ideal conditions."Fitzroy and Carlton Hard Finish
"I can well remember old-time Carlton games when the Dark Blues played on Madeline-street Reserve, and later in the old oval. Those were the days of Jack Gardiner, George Robertson, Coulthard, George McGill, the Brackens, Dedman, Geo./Jack Donovan and other stalwarts - some of whom were doubtless interested spectators on Saturday.In those far back days players used to walk to and from their homes to the ground stripped for the fray, with but an overcoat across the shoulders. For lingering on the way home, in wet togs, fighting the game over again with circles of admirers, many a tough young fellow had later to pay full penalty for his careless disregard of consequences.
But what a change today! Carlton players are housed sumptuously with club rooms, hot and cold baths, and an array of trainers, expert in massage. The playing space is a beautiful stretch of green, a monument to the industry of "Tommy" Warne, curator: the banks of the outer ground are unsurpassed in Australia in capacity to accommodate vast crowds, and there is a handsome stand for members and those who are prepared to pay eighteen pence for the privilege of witnessing the match in complete comfort. A crowd of between 10,000 and 12,000 massed on the embankments.
Over £200 At The Gates
After the pennant, won so brilliantly last year by Carlton, had been unfurled, the teams took the field amidst cheers.The wind blew straight across the ground, favoring neither goal. Carlton opened with great dash, indicating sound preparation, and this impression was heightened by the accuracy of their early exchanges. Particularly noticeable was the regularity with which they sent the ball out to the left forward wings, where Gardiner was very busy. Carlton then looked likely winners, but McDonald, in goal, cool and strong, and Johnston, half-back, with soaring high marks, turned many violent attacks, giving Fitzroy a chance to steady up.
The maroons, with characteristic grimness and tenacity, gradually evened matters, and the turning point was a brilliant series of passes from Johnston on the half-back line right down the field to Parrat, Fergie, and Freake in the forward division, ending with a beautiful goal by Toohey, five passes swift and clean, without a Carlton hand touching the ball. The game was being played at a great clip, and a marked feature was the long, low drop kicking and high marking - free and open - rough in the rucks, but exhilarating as a spectacle.
The evenness of the struggle was reflected in the scores, which at half-time were dead level - 29 point each. Fitzroy the fresher after the interval, gained a lead of 19 points in the third quarter, but on changing over for the final bout, Carlton, still playing the left wing, fought a desperate finish, overhauling Fitzroy point by point until with three minutes to go they were but 4 points behind, and taxing Fitzroy's defence to the last gasp. With a goal meaning victory to either side, the struggle was waged fiercely from the centre to the Fitzroy back lines, quarter being neither asked nor given in the charges. But the time bell came to the Maroons succour, and they left the field winners by the slender margin of 4 points, the final scores being: Fitzroy 9.10 - 64 points; Carlton 7.18 - 60 points."
The Best Players
(Fitzroy's best omitted - Blueseum)"One of the most noticeable on the ground was Jamieson, of Carlton, by reason of his spectacular dashes time after time from the goal-mouth, but many glorious efforts were spoiled by foolish over-running. A player of Jamieson's experience and exceptional ability ought by this time to have realised that to the back man the first principle should be safety. Haughton looked the best trained man on the field, the beau ideal of an athlete. His speed and dash in the ruck indicated perfect form. Another man, hard as nails, was A. Sharp, whose sprightly play, combined with the forceful work of Fisher and Gardiner, made a formidable attack. O'Brien, strong, burly, and willing, yet good-natured, was a power in the press, but no player on the side excelled Hammond, who followed with vim, and determination.
Dick's high-marking on the half-back line equalled that of Johnston at the other end, and in addition he was as cool and deliberate in his ground work as though as though at practice. A. Lang (the famous "Bongo") has rejoined Carlton. If he can "come back" to the form which made him such a champion a few years ago, Carlton will be fortunate. There have been few better players than Lang, as he is still young he may, with strict training, reproduce his wonderful dash - unequalled by any save, perhaps, the dazzling one time Fitzroy rover, Percy Trotter."
(Trove-Referee May 10, 1916 p13)
At the end of this round Carlton were in 3rd spot on the ladder with a percentage of 93.8.
Team
| B: | 8 Mort Keily | 15 Ernie Jamieson | 10 Paddy O'Brien |
| HB: | 24 Billy Robinson | 19 Alf Huggett | 6 Steve Leehane |
| C: | 22 George White | 11 Rod McGregor (vc) | 21 William 'Mickey' Dunn |
| HF: | 7 Charlie Fisher | 1 Billy Dick (c) | 2 Percy Daykin |
| F: | 18 Alex Lang | 13 Vin Gardiner | 14 Athol Sharp |
| Ruck: | 16 Charlie Hammond | 5 Harry Haughton | 4 Viv Valentine |
| Coach: | Norman Clark | ||
Milestones
Debuts: William 'Mickey' Dunn, and George WhiteDebut and Only Game: Alf Huggett
Interesting Fact: It would be 414 games until our next Flag
1915 | Round 2