| Venue: Arden St | Date: Saturday July 31, 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Win by 21 points | Umpire: F.McDermott. | Crowd: 11,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: J.Hale 5.0, H.Vallence 3.1, A.Clarke 3.1, K. Shea 1.2, R.McLean 1.0, J.Wrout 1.0, G. Collard 0.1, F. Gilby 0.1, A. Shields 0.1, Rushed 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: D. McIntyre, H. Vallence, E. Huxtable, J. Carney, J. Francis, J. Hale | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: J. Hale (Violently Pulling Jack Smith) - Not Guilty. | Injuries: K. Shea (bruised leg) replaced by F. Gilby in final quarter. | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
In an absorbing and tense game, Carlton defeated a tenacious Nth Melbourne by 21 points at Arden St. It was a very even affair with both defences well on top, but Carlton’s pace and steadiness and accuracy in the forward line was the difference. The game was fiery and spiteful at times, which detracted somewhat from an otherwise good match.
Rod McLean, Frank Gill, Norm Cashin, Jim Francis and Horrie Bullen did not train on the Tuesday night and Fred Gilby (recovering from flu) did light work only. All were expected to be right for Saturday. Jack Carney trained well and would be included, but Ansell Clarke was still considered a 50-50 chance. Fred Ayers (hand), Gordon Mackie (hand) and Kevin Fox (knee) had light runs and were still a couple of weeks away. Only one change was made on Thursday night. Norm Cashin was omitted and Jack Carney was a welcome inclusion to the side. The Blues were keen to avenge their loss to North earlier in the season and the game was highly anticipated by all at the club.
Carlton was forced to make several late changes to the announced side. Mick Crisp (thigh), Ron Cooper (poisoned heel and thigh strain) and Horrie Bullen (knee) could not play and captain Ansell Clarke, Arch Shields and George Collard were brought into the eighteen. Fred Gilby was 19th man.
North Melbourne kicked with the aid of a strong, gusty breeze, which at times made good play difficult for both sides. From the outset North attacked, following some fine ruck work which brought about their first goal. Carlton was using the wings well early and clever shepherding from Shea enabled Hale to kick Carlton’s opening goal. Both defences were on top early in an even game. Nice team work forward produced the Blues’ second goal, kicked by Clarke from a difficult angle. North went into attack and a good opportunity was lost when Francis’ opponent over-ran the ball. Francis swooped on it and passed to Carney. His fine pass went to Shea who kicked the third goal. North continued to press home their attacks but Carlton’s defence stood up well, until the Shinboners broke through for their second goal. They gained the lead with a clever goal from a fierce scrimmage in front and their fourth came late in the term, after a long pass was well marked. More attacks followed but strong defence from McIntyre and Francis prevented any further scores. The quarter time bell rang with North up by nine points.
Continuing their fine play, North thrust forward several times but poor forward play and strong defence, particularly from Park, stopped any addition to the score. The game was very even with North matching the Blues in most positions; Carlton’s pace the main difference. After several attempts, the Blues broke through with long kicks into the forward, enabling Vallence to goal twice in quick succession. The sixth goal followed from a huge 60 yard punt by Clarke which bounced through. Carlton’s systematic play in attack was straining North’s defence, although Wrout was being well outplayed. Shea and Hale combined well twice for the latter to score two goals to give the Blues a handy lead. North attacked but dashing play from Francis relieved well. Play was rough and crowded and several spiteful clashes occurred. Umpiring inconsistencies did not help to ease tensions and a nasty situation arose when an irate supporter ran on and confronted Hale, after that player had felled an opponent. He was escorted from the field by police and the umpire. North scored their only goal for the quarter from some nice forward play, but the Blues now had the ascendancy and answered quickly after Carney marked on his wing and drove forward, to where Wrout kicked the Blues’ ninth goal. This gave Carlton a 22 point lead at the main break. McIntyre, Francis, Hale, Vallence and Huxtable had been prominent players in the first half.
North resumed strongly but a series of attacks broke down due to strong defence, with McIntyre notable. Persisting, a strong mark within range should have been a North goal but a poor kick brought only a behind. Carlton went into attack but some great work from North relieved well and started a chain of marks which resulted in their sixth goal. It was sparkling football, despite some fiery incidents. Carlton was repeatedly being penalised for holding the ball, but luckily North’s forwards were off target. North was forced to change a player due to injury. Chitty evaded two opponents and drove Carlton forward but a spectacular mark from a North defender turned the play. North attacked and a fine mark produced a deserved goal to edge the Shinboners closer. Shortly after, Carlton looked rattled when a slick pass brought another goal, putting North within a goal of the Blues. Rallying, Carlton worked the ball forward and Vallence scored a relieving goal. McLean and Huxtable fought hard to get Carlton’s eleventh goal, getting the ball forward to where Hale kicked his fourth from a free kick. North kept attacking but McIntrye and Gill cleared. However, Gill’s kick was marked by a North player who kicked a well-judged goal to make the deficit just six points at the last change. North had been errant in front of goal, kicking four goals six for the term. A thrilling last quarter beckoned.
Attacking early, Francis kicked long into the forward line but strong defence relieved. North drove forward but the reliable Gill was in the way. He kicked forward and Carney sharked a hit-out, sending the ball to McLean who marked well out and kicked truly to relieve the pressure. When Hale gained the thirteenth goal from a free kick, the Blues looked more comfortable. But a chain of marks and some brilliant play resulted in North’s tenth goal, reducing the deficit to just 15 points. Steadying the ship, cool play from Shea got the ball to Carney who found Clarke. The captain made no mistake and put the Blues up by 22 points late in the term. Shea was hobbling from a bruised leg and was replaced by Gilby. Desperately, North surged forward but a good kick at goal just went wide for a minor score. North were finishing strongly but Carlton’s strong defence had their measure, with the Blues running out victors by 21 points and keeping their slim finals hopes alive.
On Sunday, the social committee gave a send-off at the clubrooms to Carlton’s two AFC Carnival representatives, Jack Hale and Keith Shea. Despite his report, Hale was permitted to play in the carnival, with the tribunal to hear the case upon his return.
Carlton was one of four teams not playing next Saturday, with Round 15 to be completed the following Saturday. Next week, the AFC Carnival was on in Perth and also a Victorian representative side was playing South Australia. Harry Vallence, Don McIntyre and Mick Crisp were Carlton’s representatives.
St Kilda’s loss to Melbourne dropped the Saints from the four, with Richmond stepping up. The Blues were sixth, six points below Richmond on the ladder and four points below St Kilda but with a better percentage of 109.6%. All games had to be won from here.
Team
| B: | 2 Don McIntyre | 21 Frank Gill | 26 Jim Park |
| HB: | 33 Bob Chitty | 10 Jim Francis (vc) | 9 Eric Huxtable |
| C: | 7 Jack Carney | 1 Frank Anderson | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 25 Arch Shields | 22 Harry Vallence |
| F: | 20 Pat Farrelly | 28 Jack Wrout | 11 Jack Hale |
| Ruck: | 14 Rod McLean | 13 George Collard | 31 Ansell Clarke (c) |
| 19th Man: | 6 Fred Gilby | ||
| Coach: | Percy Rowe | ||
Milestones
50 Games: Frank AndersonRound 14 | Round 16