| 1910 CRUSHING THE BLUES |
| 1910 Grand Final COLLINGWOOD 9.7.61 CARLTON 6.11.47 Goals: Lee 4, Angus 1, Daykin 1, Gibb 1, Gilchrist 1, Vernon 1 Best Players: Lee, Scaddan, Shorten, McHale, Rowell, McIvor At MCG Crowd: 42,577 Collingwood Team: B: J. Sadler, E. Rowell, C. Norris HB: J. Scaddan, J. Shorten, D. McIvor C: P. Gibb, J. McHale, N. Oliver HF: G. Angus, L. Hughes, R. Vernon F: P. Gilschrist, W "Dick" Lee, P. Wilson FOLL.: D. Ryan, R. Daykin, T. Baxter CAPTAIN & ACTING COACH: George Angus |
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| By 1910 Collingwood and Carlton had established their now famous rivalry so when the Blues (15 wins, 3 losses) and the Magpies (13-5) finished first and second on the ladder the scene was set for a memorable finals series. Collingwood easily accounted for Essendon in the first semi final but with South Melbourne upsetting Carlton in the second semi, Collingwood had to beat South in the preliminary final to ensure the much anticipated Grand Final against Carlton. The Carlton-South semi had been marred by allegations that three Carlton players had been bribed to �play dead� and were dropped from the team before the match. After the game one of the three players was exonerated while the other two were banned for 5 years. Grand final day was hot and windy but with star full forward Dick Lee on song early the Magpies raced out to a 19 point quarter time lead. Then for some strange reason the Magpies went ultra defensive in the second quarter even moving Lee to the backline. Only bad kicking by Carlton in this term allowed Collingwood to lead at half time. The second half of the game became a war of attrition. Ruckman Ryan and half back Scaddan were injured for Collingwood while for Carlton centreman McGregor and rover Wilson were also hobbling. At a time well before replacements were allowed both teams had to nurse their injured men in the forward line. With the heat and high casualty rate tempers were becoming frayed in the third term but in the final quarter the atmosphere of the game turned nasty. All of a sudden fists began to fly and a great old stoush developed in front of the old Harrison stand. Players rushed from all of the ground to either join in or separate the combatants and one report from that time suggests that as they ran in some players were being felled by heavy blows "as if they were logs". In the melee two players from each team were reported but it is said that quick thinking by famous field umpire Jack Elder broke up the ugly battle. After failing in his quest to break up the fight, Elder blew his whistle and bounced the ball restarting play allowing players to choose whether they wanted to fight or play football. The game remained spiteful and clashes continued behind play until the final siren but the Collingwood players were able to stay cool enough to win the game by 14 points and seal the third VFL flag in our Club�s proud history. At the tribunal that followed Collingwood�s Shorten (not Les Hughes as some reports would have you believe) and Carlton�s Sheehan were suspended for one and a half seasons while Baxter (Collingwood) and Baquie (Carlton) received one year penalties. Baxter was subsequently found not guilty on appeal to the VFL and had his sentence quashed. |