1966 and all that: Round 2 – St Kilda v Carlton

 

 

 

Fast-finishing Saints

 

Saturday 30 April 1966

Moorabbin

 

In Round 2, the Saints hosted the Blues at Moorabbin. St. Kilda selectors made only one change to the team that defeated Melbourne five days earlier with the injured veteran Alan Morrow replaced by Brian Sierakowski in the back pocket.

 

Windy conditions affected play early in the game but the Blues were more effective around the packs and held a handy 21 point lead at quarter time. Carlton missed valuable players Gould, Silvagni and Robertson but were able to bottle up the play in the first quarter preventing St. Kilda from getting its fast open style of play into operation. After a slow start the Saints finally came to life late in the second term. Injuries during the first half to rover Board and centre-half-back Gill further hindered the Blues.

 

After half-time the Saints went on with the business, finishing with fifteen goals to Carlton’s seven. In successive weeks the Saints had managed to restrict the opposition to only two goals in the second half. Ian Stewart took complete control in the centre and provided the Saints with opportunities to open up the play. ‘Doc’ Baldock mesmerised the Carlton defenders with his baulking, twisting and turning. Baldock booted four goals while Kevin (‘Cowboy’) Neale scored three and Ian Rowland contributed again with two.

 

At 5 o’clock that evening St. Kilda found themselves on top of the ladder with a healthy percentage of 284. Undefeated teams, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond filled the other top four positions.

 

In all but one of their first seven games the Saints managed to kick 15 goals or more, while restricting their opponents to less than ten majors.

 

Scores:

 

St. Kilda         1.2 (8)            8.4 (52)          11.7 (73)       15.17 (107)

Carlton          4.5 (29)          5.7 (37)          7.11 (53)        7.12 (54)

 

 

Goals – St. Kilda: Baldock 4, Neale 3, Rowland 2, Ditterich, Cooper, Kennedy, Griffiths, Read, Howell

Carlton: Greenwood 3, Gallagher 2, Barassi, Quirk

 

Best – St. Kilda: Stewart (best on ground), Baldock, Griffiths, Cooper, Read, Breen, Ditterich

Carlton: Greenwood, Quirk, Gallagher, Hall, Barassi

 

Ian Stewart and Darrel Baldock led the disposals for the Saints while the evergreen Ron Barassi and rover Adrian Gallagher topped the disposals count for the Blues.

 

Injuries – St. Kilda: Ditterich (knee)

Carlton: Board (ankle), Gill (concussion), Collins (torn stomach muscles)

 

Umpire: Crouch         Crowd: 30 810

Reserves:        St. Kilda15.11 (101) def. Carlton 10.5 (65)

Under 19’s:    St. Kilda 13.15 (93) def. Melbourne 3.10 (28)

 

Around the grounds

At Arden St – Essendon 12.20 (92) d. North Melbourne 5. 13 (43)

At Glenferrie Oval – Hawthorn 7. 13 (55) d. Melbourne 3.11 (29)

At Kardinia Park – Geelong 13.16 (94) d. South Melbourne 11. 8 (74)

At Brunswick St – Collingwood 9.17 (71) d. Fitzroy 5. 12 (42)

At the M.C.G. – Richmond 17.15 (117) d. Footscray 5.17 (47)

 

Highlights of the round:

 

In round 2 Footscray champion Ted Whitten played his 250^th VFL game while his Richmond opponent, Dick Clay, made his debut. And it was a case of the pupil, aged 21, showing up the master for the first half of the game. Another promising recruit, Austin Robertson Jr. from Subiaco, kicked six goals in his second game for South Melbourne. Peter Smith, the son of legendary coach Norm Smith, played his first VFL senior game with Melbourne. He went on to play 23 games for the Demons before joining Carlton in 1968.

 

Next round:

 

Match of the day – Essendon v Collingwood at Windy Hill

St. Kilda faced North Melbourne at Arden St.

 

 

Country Footy

 

South Bendigo, coached by ex-Geelong and Glenelg rover Colin Rice, enjoyed a two-goal win over Sandhurst in the Bendigo League match of the day. South Bendigo joined the league in 1894 while Sandhurst were one of the league’s foundation clubs, dating back to 1880.

 

Meanwhile …

 

Sydney copped torrential rainfall late in the preceding week but inland areas of NSW remained in drought. Nine inches (225 mm) of rain fell in Sydney causing widespread disruption to transport and damage to roads and property.

 

In Sydney, parents of 13 ‘thalidomide babies’ announced plans to sue drug companies on behalf of their children. The children aged between four and six were born with deformities after their mothers had taken the morning sickness drug thalidomide.

 

In Canberra, Leader of the Opposition Arthur Caldwell won an ALP leadership ballot which left aspirant, Gough Whitlam, having to cool his heels for another ten months. The ALP’s disastrous showing in the election later in 1966 forced the party to look to the future with Whitlam at the helm.

 

During the next week St. Kilda president Ian Drake announced that his club would bow out of the “rat race” to recruit country footballers, preferring to wait for a country zoning scheme to commence. He said the Saints would not spend any money on country recruiting or send scouts to the country. The VFL country zoning scheme commenced in 1968.

 

In world sport, Munich was announced as the host city for the ill-fated 1972 Olympic Games. Unsuccessful bids were made by Detroit, Madrid and Montreal.

 

The Beatles’ hit ‘Nowhere Man’, from the band’s Rubber Soul album, rose to the top of the charts that week.

 

 

Read The Age, Monday May 2, for coverage of all matches HERE.

Note: This is now the correct link.

(This will take you to a digital copy of the paper – use the magnifier to make it readable.You can see the whole paper, page by page).

 

 

Read more of Peter Clark’s weekly reviews of  St Kilda’s triumphant 1966 footy season HERE

 

 

 

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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