| Venue: M.C.G. | Date: Saturday May 8, 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Lose by 36 points | Umpire: Blackman | Crowd: 31,831 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: H.Vallence 3.3, K.Dunn 2.0, M.Crisp 1.3, K.Shea 1.2, B.Butler 1.1, C.Davey 1.0, A.Shields 1.0, Ayers 0.1, Huxtable 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: F. Gill, D. McIntyre, J. Francis, R. McLean, F. Ayers, B. Butler | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
A dominant Melbourne team overpowered a Carlton side which lacked its usual flair or polish in the match of the day at the MCG. Melbourne was too quick and that, coupled with their superiority in the ruck and aerial duels, earnt them a comfortable 36 point victory.
Training through the week mainly consisted of spirited match practices with the emphasis on forward line work. Frank Anderson did not train due to his torn rib muscles, which had kept him off work during the week. On Tuesday night Ted Pollock, who had just resumed from his thigh injury, and Don McIntyre collided, with the unfortunate result of Pollock limping down to the trainers’ rooms and McIntyre losing a tooth! Fred Ayers and Arch Shields, both who had been starring in the reserves, trained well. Newcomers Ron Savage and Norm Mason were also at the sessions. The selectors swung the axe at selection time, with Anderson injured and Jack Wrout and Will Kuhlken omitted. Into the side came three debutantes – Ayers, Shields and Paul Schmidt. Jim Park was made 19th man. The committee also announced that Wally Mutimer had been cleared to Fitzroy.
Showers before the opening bounce made conditions greasy and there was a period of scrambly play and missed marks after the commencement. Melbourne had first use of a strong breeze and directed their attacks towards the right hand flank. Carlton looked quick in the early stages but strong defence from the Demons prevented any scoring. Melbourne attacked but Gill defended well and kicked long to the centre where Clarke assisted Crisp to open the scoring with a behind. Carlton was doing all the attacking early but the forward line was often caught out of position. Players from both sides were persisting with attempting drop kicks in the conditions without much success. Melbourne got into the play with a behind, followed quickly by a goal and then another behind. Great marking from the tight Melbourne defence stopped several Carlton chances. Melbourne was very quick and another attack brought their second goal from a snap after a dropped mark. Suddenly they had established their ascendancy – dominant in the ruck and air and strong in defence and across the centre. Melbourne were winning everywhere and Carlton looked rattled and disorganised, except in defence, which was holding up well. Ayres stopped one thrust with a brilliant mark and Gill saved twice. Finally Carlton got going after a fine mark to Dunn. He passed to Shea who helped Butler to evade two defenders and kick a nice goal on the run. Two more behinds (one from Shea) followed but Melbourne responded well; a strong thrust bringing a goal. Another attack, despite good defence from Carlton close to the bell, resulted in their fourth goal and a 20 point lead at quarter time. Drizzling rain fell throughout the term making conditions unpleasant for players and spectators.
Melbourne made an early thrust but great work from McIntyre saved well. He kicked to the wing where Carney and Butler worked together and sent Carlton forward through Crisp, but his good kick was stopped right on the line by a Melbourne defender. Carlton was now playing better and another attack, from a fine mark by Shea, allowed Vallence to kick the Blues’ second goal. Two more promising thrusts were wasted through undisciplined play, giving two frees away. Carlton were using the wind well, playing a long kicking game, and Vallence had another shot but only a behind came. A poor kickout went to Dunn, who marked and goaled. Melbourne responded and a series of attacks had the Carlton defence working hard to hold them out; McIntyre, Gill and Hale doing some great work. A free to Melbourne brought about their fifth goal and a great chain of passes around the wing only failed when a kick sailed out of bounds. Melbourne kept the pressure up and scored a behind, followed quickly by a snapped goal. Another thrust was stopped when Carlton earned a free. McLean quickly passed to Shea, who found Vallence with a nice pass. His shot fell short but turned at the last moment and scored full points. McLean had moved into the ruck and was doing well, punching forward in one passage to Crisp who goaled on the run. The game was now fairly even, with Carlton playing their usual strong game. A series of Carlton attacks was kept at bay by the Demon defence and a good rebound found a player unattended in the forward line which resulted in Melbourne’s seventh goal. Carlton rallied with a behind but another strong Demon rebound brought up another goal, which gave a three goal lead at the main break. Best for the half – Gill, McIntyre, McLean, Butler and Francis.
To counter Melbourne’s dominance in the centre, Carlton made several changes. Huxtable went to a wing, Green moved to the backline and Schmidt, who had struggled, and Crisp exchanged places at centre and the half forward flank. Straight away Crisp cleared from the centre but Melbourne rebounded well for a behind. Another thrust came unstuck when a Demon forward was penalised for holding the ball, but the attacks continued. A fine mark resulted in their ninth goal and another followed, with a nice drive from the centre and a goal from a kick off the ground. The Demons were now more than five goals up and playing like a winning team. Continuous attacks came but Huxtable and McIntyre kept Melbourne at bay. Carlton simply could not get into attack, playing nervously and badly fumbling. Despite this, Melbourne wasted several chances. Two Melbourne mistakes gave Carlton the opportunity they needed, with Crisp assisting Shea to kick a running goal. Melbourne was unlucky to hit the post in one thrust but Carlton came back strongly; Butler finding Davey who was infringed. His goal brought the Blues closer, but the brief revival was quickly over, when Melbourne slammed on three goals in quick succession. Still the Blues persisted, and a chain of passes from Shea, Clarke and Butler helped Vallence to Carlton’s eighth goal before the bell. But to overcome the 35 point deficit at the last change was going to be hard task.
The last quarter was played as if players from both sides had had enough of the wet ground and fading light and just wanted the game to be over. Carlton made further changes, moving Huxtable onto the ball in the last term. Carlton scored an early behind but another chance was lost through a silly free kick. Play was lifeless, very ragged and players were overcrowding, leading to some unnecessary weight being thrown about; both Carney and Hale being floored at one stage. A goal to Melbourne put the result beyond doubt but Carlton kept the deficit down, through Huxtable and a long Shea kick finding Dunn for a goal. Further attacks were stopped by strong Demon defence. Hale checked a Melbourne thrust and sent the ball forward to where Shields was infringed and kicked his first goal from the resulting free kick. The light was now fading fast but a strong finish from Melbourne netted two behinds before their fifteenth goal and a comfortable 36 point victory.
At the end of this round Carlton were in 6th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 110.2.
Footnote
"With storm clouds blocking the light, the Melbourne-Carlton game at the M.C.G. on Saturday finished in semi-darkness. Time on during the afternoon was exceptionally high, due to the wind and out-of-bounds infringements, a total of 27 minutes, finishing the game just before 5.30 o'clock. Melbourne took the field at the start several minutes behind the usual time because of the late arrival of one of the defenders.Next month, the League is to start its matches 15 minutes earlier." (Age May 10 p20)
Team
| B: | 2 Don McIntyre | 21 Frank Gill | 14 Rod McLean |
| HB: | 9 Eric Huxtable | 10 Jim Francis (vc) | 11 Jack Hale |
| C: | 7 Jack Carney | 23 Paul Schmidt | 32 Bob Green |
| HF: | 8 Keith Shea | 25 Arch Shields | 12 Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp |
| F: | 5 Keith Dunn | 22 Harry Vallence | 29 Bert Butler |
| Ruck: | 17 Charlie Davey | 3 Fred Ayers | 31 Ansell Clarke (c) |
| 19th Man: | 26 Jim Park | ||
| Coach: | Percy Rowe | ||
Milestones
50 Carlton Games: Jim FrancisDebuts: Arch Shields, Paul Schmidt, Fred Ayers
Round 2 | Round 4