Round 14, 1971
Carlton vs Melbourne
Saturday 3 July
Venue: Waverley
Attendance: 27,506
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Carlton | 1.6 | 5.9 | 8.15 | 12.16.88 |
| Melbourne | 3.2 | 7.3 | 9.4 | 11.6.72 |
Carlton win by 16 points
Goalkickers: John Townsend 3, Barry Bourke 2, Paul Callery 2, Denis Clark 1, Ross Dillon 1, Greg Parke 1, Peter Sinclair 1
Milestones:
50 Games
Denis Clark
Mid-week coach Ian Ridley blasted his team. Having lost three of their last four he declared it time for soul searching and lectured his players for 25 minutes before sending them home to think about what he'd said. It hadn't helped that his side had begun to be wracked with injuries.
The Demons were still inside the four but the wheels were starting to wobble, and a loss at Waverley would hurt. The Blues, on the other hand, were hanging around outside the four and needed a win to get back into the finals mix.
The Demons managed to keep their noses in front until late in the third quarter. When the Blues hit the front they started to play better and weren't headed again.
Melbourne lacked a match winner and the more experienced Blues held on for a 16 point win. Ross Dillon was recalled a week after booting 11 goals in the reserves, but failed to fire and kicked just one goal for the day.
Emotions spilt over after the match as well when Ron Barassi locked himself in a room after the game for some time by himself. The Demons stayed inside the four that night, but the Blues moved level on points.
Best were Sullivan, Townsend and Parke.
Reserves
Melbourne 15.7 d. Carlton 7.20
Goals - Carr 4, Gallus 4, McSpeerin 3, Brown 1, Cumming 1, Burgmann 1, Ritterman 1
Best - Weekes, Rhoden, Lakes
Under 19s
Melbourne 26.28 d. Carlton 9.5
Goals - Anderson 5, Smith 5, Tesoriero 5, Brewer 4, Macdonald 3, McGuinness 2, Hamblin 1, Taylor 1
Best - Tassell, Cunningham, Brewer
Links
Blueseum match report
Media
Age - 29/06/1971
Age - 05/07/1971
Football Record R15 1971
Inside Football - July 1971