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Venue: Princes Park | Date: Saturday, July 30, 1910 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Won by 3 points | Umpire: Jim James | Crowd: 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: A.Ford 2, F.Elliott 1, D.Fraser 1, A.Lang 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: A.Ford, B.Payne, N.Clark, R.McGregor, G.Bruce, J.Bacquie, F.Elliot | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: A. Ford (Carlton) Abusive and threatening language. (Guilty - 23 weeks) | Injuries: A. Lang (knee) | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
This intense game at Princes Park between traditional rivals was played hard and fair, according to The Argus newspaper, which reported that after losing by three points, the Fitzroy team was “very warmly congratulated both by their opponents and outsiders on the excellence of their play.”However, the match is better remembered for it's aftermath, when Carlton defender Arthur Ford was outed for 23 weeks after he was found guilty of abusing field umpire Jim James. The incident happened in the third quarter, when Ford was clearly the best player on the ground, and the match was in the balance. Although umpire James (who was to officiate in only 17 senior games over his six-season career) didn’t have any witnesses to strengthen his case, the VFL had promised to crack down on dissent against umpires, so it had to act. Ford was pronounced guilty, and outed until August 1912. This was Carlton's second big suspension of 1910, following George Topping’s huge penalty of 35 weeks in round 4.
The Blues started the match as overwhelming favourites, but the Maroons set themselves for an all-out effort and their followers in particular caused headaches. Carlton’s cause wasn’t helped by a first-quarter knee injury to star rover Alex Lang, or the team’s erratic kicking for goal. At half-time, the Maroons were ten points up in an intriguing battle of defences, and it wasn’t until captain-coach Fred Elliott switched ‘Shooter’ Ford from defence to attack that the home side regained confidence.
Ford kicked Carlton’s first two goals of the match in the third term - the first from a free-kick, and the second after a big chest mark in the middle of a pack at full-forward. It was also the quarter where he and umpire James exchanged words, with disastrous results for the Blues star. Still, the report didn’t stop Ford from continuing his influence.
Carlton kicked three more goals during the last quarter to nose in front, then withstood a determined onslaught from the Royboys in the last minutes. Fitzroy full-forward Bob Briggs could have snatched victory for his side had he kicked a goal from either of his two set-shots in the last couple of minutes, but he missed the first, and kicked into the man on his mark with the second.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 1st spot on the ladder with a percentage of 176.8.
Team
| B: | Dick Harris | Doug Gillespie | Percy Sheehan |
| HB: | Arthur Ford | Billy Payne (vc) | Norman Clark |
| C: | Tom Clancy | Rod McGregor | George Bruce |
| HF: | Bill Goddard | Jim Marchbank | Jack Baquie |
| F: | Doug Fraser | Vin Gardiner | Andy McDonald |
| Ruck: | Fred Elliott (cc) | Martin Gotz | Alex Lang |
| Coach: | Fred Elliott | ||
From the "Follower" (australianfootball.com)
Quite amazing for the times. Filmed, developed, and screened all on the same day!
The cinema was located at Sturt Street West, South Melbourne.
Changes
In: A.LangOut: J.Wells
Round 13 | Round 15