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Collingwood vs Fitzroy

Scoreboard | Match report | Match statistics

Round: 9   Venue: Victoria Park   Date: Sat, 28-06-1919 2:10 pm    
Collingwood 2.5.173.9.279.12.669.14.68 C:  Jock McHale
Fitzroy 0.4.44.6.305.6.3610.11.71 C:  Ted Melling
  COLL by 13FITZ by 3COLL by 30FITZ by 3  

Match Report

FOOTBALL

BY PIVOT.

Fitzroy, 10.11— Collingwood, 9.14. ANOTHER GREAT FINISH. 32,000 SPECTATORS.

Football at Victoria Park on Saturday where Collingwood and Fitzroy played, was of various types and grades, but the game had a stirring climax. Fine footballers who failed early re-deemed themselves later, and the winning team carried the day after one of the most vigorous offensives witnessed for a considerable time. There was a similar finish In respect to scoring at the South-Carlton match recently; but Saturday's game had more sensational aspects. It was a battle of strength, a trying, herculean demonstration, bonded with skill, compared with a contest in which the science of finessing along the wings played the biggest part.

Collingwood kicked six goals in the third quarter, and scored them well. The pace was on, and the hustle and bustle were great. Men threw themselves into the game, and the falls were fairly common. Fitzroy fumbled, and floundered in their efforts to stem the rushes. But in the last quarter, the Maroon came to themselves. In ten minutes they had kicked four goals! Collingwood, in the closing} moments, saw the game which was fairly established in their favor in the third quarter slip-ping away from them. They rushed forward, two attempts at goal failed, and then Fitzroy came again. In a struggle just in front of their posts the ball went through. A goal meant victory or defeat. The goal and field umpire consulted, and Fitzroy got the verdict. Heaney, it seems, had slipped the ball through off the side of his boot—a win for Fitzroy by three points.

Exciting scenes followed all round the ground, but the sound of the bell shortly after cut them short. The play in the first half was neither spectacular nor convincing, but if anything Collingwood was the better side. Curtis, whose marking through-out the afternoon was very fine, scored their first goal three minutes after the game started. Seddon scored for the home team again, but in that movement forward a free kick should have been given to a Fitzroy man. Probably Elder did not see the breach.

The field umpire allowed the players more latitude in holding the ball, and the result was satisfactory. Collingwood, who had had the wind, had a 2.1 advantage at the first change. The football was slow in working up to an interesting point. The ball was playing tricks. and an occasional shower of rain made it and the turf slippery. There was much more detail of merit in the second term. Wigraft, who kicked first goal for Fitzroy; Hughes, in the ruck for Collingwood; and Wilson, about the centre, were very prominent players.

Merrick, forward, was closely guarded by Mutch, and the Collingwood half back did not allow him an inch out of his ground, but, nevertheless, the forward marked over two opponents, and got his first, and the team's second, goal. Rattray obtained the third and then M'Carthy, who was doing splendidly for Collingwood, marked well off good play by Drummond, and kicked the only goal scored by the Woodsmen for the term. Merrick again came into prominence. He secured the ball, and believed it to be a mark. Seeing an opening he did not wait, but popped it through, thus giving his team a three points' lead at half time.

Several fine individual pieces of play opened the third quarter. R. Lee scored a goal with his best drop kick for many a match. Hughes and Curtis marked high, and against odds, and more beautiful marking followed from King and Jenkins for Fitzroy. These feats incidentally opened the way to good play, in which all of Collingwood's smaller men, Drummond, Wilson, Dobrigh and Walton had a hand. In another rush down Curtis secured the goal, and when Fitz-roy were within scoring distance at the other end, Drummond cleared the line with a good run from half back towards the wing. No player on the ground In defence was doing better than Atkinson for Fitzroy.

Still, Collingwood pressed on. Curtis kicked high and Lee marked again and scored a goal. A few minutes later he missed and easy chance. Curtis, and later on Laxton, increased Collingwood's goal tally to nine. Fitzroy's play in the previous quarters, together with the fact that the team was five goals behind, did not make then look prospective winners. The situation, however, improved every few minutes. Lethbridge punted high and straight, and the sixth goal was registered.

After Lee had failed at the other end, the Maroons by sheer doggedness got forward. Wigraft beat three men in the air, and scored. He obtained the ball a minute later, and got the goal again. The cheering had hardly died away when Rattray, tricking his guard, twisted round with the ball and sent it through. The scores were then 9.12 to 9.10 in Collingwood's favor. With a desperate effort Collingwood moved forward and kept play about the posts for some time. It looked then as though Collingwood would win the day.

Hughes missed in a try, and Seddon, who was doing very well in general play, marked and kicked a behind. A goal, not the single points, however, was required. Fitzroy's full back ran over the kick in line, and it was ball up in front. Fitzroy forced play off, and at their end in the closing two minutes' play the incident referred to earlier occurred. It was a most ex-citing finish, and one fought out desperately by both teams.

The game will remain a memorable one in the annals of local football. Fitzroy owe their success mainly to the fine strong ruck play of Lethbridge in the telling last quarter, and to some smart work by Sherry on the wing. Neither of these players, however, did much earlier. Heaney score the goal that "counted." The best men on the side for the afternoon were Wigraft, Rattray, Atkinson, King and Shaw. Merrick got two goals.

The veteran, Hughes, was fine throughout for Collingwood. M'Carthy played one of his best games, and the centre line, Pannam, Wilson and Drummond, was strong, although Pannam was not much in the game the game as the other two. Curtis (four goals) was the best forward, and Lee, too, was good. He kicked two goals. Walton and Seddon were other fine players. The attendance was over 32,000. and the gate takings were £330. Patrons were pleased to see Minogue, Collingwood's former captain and follower, back from the war.

Footnotes

Title: Fitzroy, 10.11— Collingwood, 9.14. ANOTHER GREAT FINISH. 32,000 SPECTATORS.
Author: Pivot
Publisher: The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)
Date: Monday 30 June 1919, page 11
Link: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155212852

Match stats

Collingwood Match Stats Career
# Player K M H D G B HO T FF FA Age Games G
1 Brown, Charlie 0 23y 59d 48 1
4 Colechin, Bert 0 32y 9d 34 1
2 Curtis, Harry 4 26y 268d 62 93
4 Dobrigh, Gus 0 26y 137d 72 32
5 Drummond, Tom 0 21y 326d 41 0
7 Haysom, Wally 0 21y 193d 5 0
6 Hughes, Les 0 35y 71d 182 147
11 Laxton, Charlie 1 29y 80d 113 63
13 Lee, Dick 2 30y 101d 178 540
10 Lumsden, Ernie 0 29y 1d 83 75
14 McCarthy, Con 1 26y 138d 56 5
12 Mutch, Alec 0 30y 89d 118 5
15 Pannam, Charlie 0 22y 68d 37 5
16 Reynolds, Pen 0 27y 55d 83 16
26 Seddon, Mal 'Doc' 1 31y 28d 64 42
21 Walton, Bill 0 24y 298d 20 15
19 Wilson, Ernie 0 18y 256d 4 0
19 Wilson, Percy 0 30y 89d 157 59
  Rushed   14  
  Totals         9 14         27y 3d 1357 1099
Fitzroy Match Stats Career
# Player K M H D G B HO T FF FA Age Games G
17 Atkinson, Jim 0 23y 85d 29 0
9 Freake, Jim 1 30y 152d 122 320
4 Heaney, Tom 1 31y 87d 130 117
5 Jenkin, Horrie 0 26y 134d 31 21
10 Johnson, Wally 0 31y 300d 182 83
1 Keller, Carl 0 25y 354d 35 2
16 King, Bob 0 24y 320d 43 0
12 Lethbridge, Chris 1 29y 35d 98 17
24 Merrick, Bob 2 25y 340d 6 26
26 Millen, Roy 0 25y 259d 84 5
28 Molan, Stan 0 25y 275d 22 37
15 Moore, Fred 0 29y 3d 43 23
27 Rattray, Gordon 2 20y 252d 14 10
19 Shaw, George 0 33y 88d 103 43
14 Sherry, Clarrie 0 24y 24d 20 2
25 Strawbridge, Frank 0 23y 155d 32 10
2 Taylor, Bert 0 18y 354d 4 0
29 Wigraft, Len 3 22y 151d 32 15
  Rushed   11  
  Totals         10 11         26y 84d 1030 731

Match highlights

Fitzroy won from 30 points down at 3QT vs. Collingwood (V/AFL, Premiership Season, R9)

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.