Round 12, 1958
Carlton vs Melbourne
Saturday 28 June
Venue: Princes Park
Attendance: 23,833
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Carlton | 0.3 | 2.6 | 3.10 | 9.14.68 |
| Melbourne | 0.3 | 1.7 | 8.11 | 12.12.84 |
Melbourne win by 16 points
Goalkickers: Ron Barassi 3, Athol Webb 3, Geoff Case 2, Robert B Johnson 1, John Lord 1, Alan Rowarth 1, Bob Turner 1
Milestones:
First Goal
Bob Turner
In the previous two weeks Melbourne had won in front of the greatest home and away crowd of all time and suffered a shock beating at the hands of Fitzroy at Brunswick Street. With their position at the top of the ladder suddenly looking shaky going into a two week break for the interstate carnival to played at the MCG, the Demons went to Princes Park needing to win in order to sure up their season.
In response to the debacle at Fitzroy, Norm Smith shook the side up - adding to the loss of captain John Beckwith by dropping Clyde Laidlaw, Denis Jones and Alan Rowarth. Defender Bob Turner was swung forward to try and add marking power.
In a first half where it took five minutes to get a dog off the field, Carlton were the better side in most positions but wasted chances up front. After a forceful half-time address by Norm Smith the Demons showed improvement early in the third quarter before Carlton took over for the next 15 minutes. They kicked 1.4 including three misses from within 10 yards before Melbourne exploded, booting seven goals - including 6.4 to 0.0 in a 15 minute burst - to take a lead of over five goals. Ron Barassi - acting as captain in Beckwith's absence - was the best player during their run.
Carlton steadied in the last and made some inroads but their poor third term had sunk them. The Blues had attempted to use several of the methods employed by Fitzroy in the upset a week earlier. Bob Johnson was nullified by ex-Demon Kevin Clarke - who had been sacked and reinstated by the Blues during the week - and Ron Barassi was tagged heavily by Serge Silvagni.
Best were Williams, Barassi and Fenton-Smith. Lord (pinched knee cartilage) was replaced by Rowarth in the last quarter, Barassi sprained his ankle, and both Mithen and Fenton-Smith had bruised thighs.
Seconds
Melbourne 14.15 d. Carlton 11.11
Goals - Crompton 3, Gleeson 3, Atkinson 3, Unknown 6
Best - Wilkinson, Atkinson, Gleeson
Thirds
Carlton 6.17 d. Melbourne 4.2
Media
Age - 27/06/1958
Age - 30/06/1958
Age - 30/06/1958
Links
Blueseum match report