| Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday June 27, 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Lose by 15 points | Umpire: McMurray | Crowd: 18,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: R.Cooper 3, H.Vallence 2, M.Crisp 2, C.Denning 1, C.Neeson 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: M. Crisp, R. Cooper, R. Green, R. McLean, J. Francis, J. Hale | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Carlton suffered its second loss in a row at the hands of Melbourne in a tough and thrilling encounter in heavy conditions at Princes Park. The Redlegs were dominant in the centre, held a slight ascendancy in the ruck and were more precise in attack and won by 15 points. Adding salt to the wound, Melbourne displaced Carlton from the top four.All players except Jim Park (broken hand), Wally Mutimer (knee) and Gordon Mackie (bruised thigh) were on the field for Thursday night training. Don McIntyre’s ankle had recovered and he trained well. Mocha Johnson trained but with his knee heavily strapped. Four changes were made to last week’s losing side. Harry Hollingshead, George Dougherty, Bert Butler and Mick Price made way for Keith Shea, George Collard, Don McIntyre and Gordon Crisp, Mick’s brother, as 19th man.
Tuesday 30 June was the last day for clearances and so many deals were afoot. The Argus reported that Mutimer and Mackie had applied for clearances, to Fitzroy and St Kilda respectively, but the club had refused these. The Sporting Globe recorded that negotiations were underway for Dougherty to be cleared to Geelong in exchange for Will Kuhlken and a player named Warren. The paper also stated that Johnson was likely to be cleared to St Kilda, as his transfer to Collingwood looked as if it had fallen through.
Before the game started, Fred Gilby was ruled out with influenza. Clen Denning took his place. The recent rains had made the ground very heavy and Melbourne had first use of a fitful breeze. They made good use of it; good ruck work bringing up a snapped goal within the first minute. Carlton’s first attack was thwarted despite a Melbourne defender’s fumble, and Melbourne’s strong defence cleared well, resulting in their second goal. It was already a hard slog, with vigorous but fair play resulting in many trips and fumbles. Green, Neeson, Vallence and Mick Crisp brought about Carlton’s first score, a behind to Crisp. Responding well, the Redlegs barged down the middle and burst through a pack for their third goal. Melbourne was playing confident and hard football and had Shea well under control, depriving Carlton of one of its main avenues of attack. Carlton’s first goal came after Green, Mick Crisp and Clarke worked the ball around the southern wing for Crisp to kick truly. Green, playing well, featured again, passing to Cooper who made no mistake for goal two. However, Melbourne was the better side at this stage and continuous attacking resulted in their fourth goal. They could have been further in front had they kicked straighter, with seven behinds so far for the term. Carlton rallied well, but a promising attack brought only a behind to Neeson. The Blues kept the ball in the forward line where Neeson was tripped and goaled from the free kick. Another attack went to Vallence, but he was out-marked. A behind to Melbourne just before the bell ended a good quarter of football from both sides, with the Redlegs nine points up.
For the first five minutes of the term, play alternated between the backlines, with Francis, Huxtable, Gill and McIntyre prominent for Carlton. Three behinds were scored by Melbourne before a Carlton forward thrust resulted in Davey being fouled. From the free, he passed to Vallence but he kicked terribly and missed. He had another chance soon after, receiving from Clarke and kicking Carlton’s fourth goal. It was a fast, vigorous and thrilling game with teams evenly matched. Melbourne was getting a lot of drive from the centre, where Shea was still being well held but Green was doing well on his wing. Huxtable and Shea worked the ball forward to Mick Crisp, who dodged his opponent and kicked a goal, the ball just eluding the outstretched fingers of a Redleg defender. This gave Carlton the lead at 5-7 to 4-11. The game seemed to be over-umpired, with free kicks being paid for seemingly fair bumps. Late in the term, Huxtable, Green and Vallence gave Clarke a chance at goal but only a behind eventuated. An even first half ended with the Blues up by three points. Mick Crisp, Cooper, Francis, McIntyre and Huxtable were Carlton’s best to half time.
Melbourne made several positional changes during the break, which had immediate success upon resumption; a snap goal restoring their lead. Carlton replied well, with Hale and Green assisting Vallence for a mark and goal. Another chance to Vallence brought a behind only, followed by Shea having a long shot at goal. But his attack was stopped with the mark of the day by a Melbourne defender. Carlton was playing impressively and attacking continuously. Francis was the instigator of many of these, stopping Melbourne forays and driving the ball forward, where Green and Carney were doing great work on the wings and Mick Crisp in good form in attack. It was still a tough game with neither side flinching but the pace had slowed. The bulk of the umpiring decisions seemed to be going against Carlton. A great dash from Melbourne resulted in their sixth goal and another came soon after from a strong counter-attack after a Carlton forward movement. The Redlegs were out to an eight point lead when Mick Crisp took a beautiful mark, but he could manage only a behind. Another attack from Green found Crisp again. He passed well to Denning for a goal and when Crisp scored another behind, the scores were level again. But two late goals to Melbourne gave them five straight for the quarter and a twelve point lead at the last change. Carlton had been good, but Melbourne the more precise in attack.
Both teams looked tired as they battled through a hectic last quarter. Carlton opened well, with Cooper weaving through the defence for a goal. Gill and McLean each stopped a Melbourne attack with great marks but after taking his, McLean misjudged a handball which went straight to a Redleg for their tenth goal. Both teams’ backlines were doing great work. Vallence had a chance from one Carlton thrust but he was out-marked. With ten minutes to go, Carlton trailed by 15 points and threw everything they had into the fray. But Melbourne’s defence stood firm and their next goal gave them a 20 point lead late in the game. Still trying, Carlton thrust forward through Collard but Denning’s shot hit the post. Another attack from Collard and McLean gave Cooper his third goal. It was too late, a behind right on the bell giving Melbourne a deserved 15 point victory in a great game.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 5th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 130.4.
Matches Postponed
Next week's round of VFL matches were postponed, the first time since the 1923 Grand Final.Heavy driving rain began to fall on Friday 03 July and at 10am on Saturday VFL officials called off the round.
St.Kilda's delegate wanted the matches to continue claiming that the weather would clear. However, the weather deteriorated and the temperature dropped dramatically on Saturday afternoon.
The Age called for shelter to be provided at each ground for the 60,000 people who each week stand in the outer in all kinds of weather conditions. Many spectators can't afford the extra charge for the grandstands.
Saturday's Herald (p11) said;
Carlton: Pools over the ground; considerably worse than Monday, when League-Association match was played.
Melbourne: Very bad; many pools.
St.Kilda: Half ground under water; definitely unfit for play.
Collingwood: unfit for play.
Footscray: Centre particulary bad; under 1/2 inch of water all over; unfit for play.
North Melbourne: Tunnel to visitors' room three feet under water; unfit for play.
Bob St.Marr with his cockatoo photographed at today's match.
Bob and "Cocky" have been a familiar sight at Carlton games for more than 30 years.
For more on "Cocky" see the Princes Park section of Blueseum.
Image:Herald June 27 p20
Team
| B: | 2 Don McIntyre | 21 Frank Gill | 14 Rod McLean |
| HB: | 9 Eric Huxtable | 10 Jim Francis (c) | 11 Jack Hale |
| C: | 7 Jack Carney | 8 Keith Shea | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 19 Ron Cooper | 5 Keith Dunn | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp (vc) |
| F: | 30 Clem Neeson | 22 Harry Vallence | 34 Clen Denning |
| Ruck: | 17 Charlie Davey | 13 George Collard | 31 Ansell Clarke |
| 19th Man: | 4 Gordon Crisp | ||
| Coach: | Frank Maher | ||
Milestones
Debut: Gordon CrispRound 8 | Round 10