Round 4, 1991
Melbourne vs Carlton
Saturday 13 April
Venue: Waverley
Attendance: 32,573
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 1.2 | 9.7 | 12.10 | 23.17.155 |
| Carlton | 6.6 | 10.6 | 15.6 | 17.8.110 |
Melbourne win by 45 points
Goalkickers: Rod Owen 5, Darren Bennett 4, Luke Beveridge 3, Ricky Jackson 3, Glenn Lovett 2, Earl Spalding 2, Kevin Dyson 1, Garry Lyon 1, Steven Stretch 1, Sean Wight 1
Brownlow Votes:
2 - Todd Viney
Milestones:
Nil
In a bizarre day at league headquarters, Mil Hanna and Jon Doritich kicked eight and six respectively, and Carlton led by more 34 points at quarter time but lost comfortably to a team that finished with 16 fit men.
With the use of the breeze in the first quarter the Blues raced away to a big lead, but Melbourne was equally potent when they had their chance, reducing the margin to five points at the long break. In the third quarter, Carlton couldn't replicate their rampant start and only set up a 14 point lead at the last change. They were steamrolled by a storming last quarter, led by future Blue Earl Spalding. Melbourne booted 11 goals to two, registering their third straight score of over 140 points. They kicked the last 10 goals of the match.
The win was especially meritorious considering they'd lost Garry Lyon (back) and Steve O'Dwyer (concussion) during the first quarter. With nobody left on the bench Simon Eishold had to try and play full forward with a badly broken thumb, and Steven Stretch played on with a broken nose. Eishold was brave considering his condition, still throwing himself into tackles during the last quarter avalanche despite his serious handicap.
O'Dwyers injury led to Jim Stynes moving into the middle permanently. There he was dominant, negating the influence of Justin Madden and helping his midfielders win two-thirds of the centre clearances. Though he didn't score any Brownlow Medal votes, it further cemented his position as the side's number one big man.
Best were Earl Spalding, Jim Stynes and Todd Viney.
John Northey bemoaned his side's habit of losing from good positions and winning from bad ones by saying "If you're a psychologist you can work it out for me, but I don't know". He was also full of praise for the comeback, saying "I suppose we use character a lot, but today was a day of great character, particularly because we were a walking hospital there for a while."
Carlton had two players reported. The case against Stephen Silvagni for striking Simon Eishold was held in the regular Wednesday Tribunal timeslot, while Carlton successfully applied to defer the case against Jon Dorotich for striking Paul Bryce until Thursday night as Dorotich's player advocate wanted to attend his daughter's graduation ceremony. Melbourne complained that Bryce was being taken away from one of their key training sessions to testify but the league was unmoved.
Video
Reserves
Carlton 18.15.123 d. Melbourne 12.11.83
Goals - Jakovich 5, Sullivan 2, Lovell 1, Egan 1, Flintoff 1, Heaver 1, Schwarz 1
Best - Lovell, Ford, Heaver
Under 19s
Melbourne 11.10.76 d. North Melbourne 9.10.64
Goals - Coote 3, Robins 2, Hopgood 2, O'Sullivan 1, Merritt 1, Siderellis 1, MacKenzie 1
Best - Robins, Hopgood, P. Goldberg
Media
Canberra Times - 14/04/1991
Age - 14/04/1991
Age - 15/04/1991
Age - 18/04/1991
Links
Blueseum match report