It began with Sir Robert Menzies’ unfurling of the 1968 Premiership pennant and ended with a goal to Ian Robertson after the final siren. This was the 2nd round of ’69, Carlton versus Hawthorn on Princes Park, the record-breaking 30.30 game.
In a manic afternoon in which Wes Lofts had his number taken (and duly copped four matches) for thumping Peter Hudson, Barassi’s Blues ran rampant with Peter Jones booting a lazy seven and Alex Jesaulenko an extraordinary 6.12 in a tally which to this day remains the Blues’ greatest.
The score stood at 29.30 when, in the dying seconds, “Robbo” completed a towering grab over a Hawthorn back pocket by the name of David Parkin. Promptly slotting the goal from directly in front, Robertson consigned to history a beautiful set of numbers which still hold sway after 45 years.
Not so long ago, precious film footage of the final quarter - when the Blues banged on a lazy 12.6 – was delivered from oblivion to the football club’s archive.
The footage, shot by the cameras of HSV7 and featuring the commentary of Frank Adams and Jack Edwards, was found on one of two 16mm reels apparently retrieved from a dumpmaster years ago after the network apparently saw fit to discard much of its home and away matchday footage.
The extraordinary film, in which the since-demolished Garton Street scoreboard and Robert Heatley Stand are prominent, features moments of sheer brilliance from the likes of Brent Crosswell, Adrian Gallagher, John Nicholls and of course Jesaulenko – on an afternoon in which Carlton, by virtue of its 128-point victory, became the first in League history to post a 200-point score.
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