Carlton 1.3 9 4.7 31 6.9 45 8.11 59 St Kilda 1.2 8 1.4 10 2.5 17 3.8 26
Venue:	Princes Park
Date:	Saturday 31 July 1897
Result:	Win by 33 points
Crowd:
Goalkickers:	J.Aitken 3, W.O'Cock 2, S.Chapman 2, B.Casey 1.
Reports:
Umpire:
Injuries:
Best:

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Game Review

Carlton won their second game of the year over bottom placed St Kilda, to give us a two-game buffer over last spot. The win also boosted our percentage from 45% to 52% - obviously badly needed! The game was evidently rough, The Argus headline was "Assault and Battery":

"Carlton and St. Kilda played a characteristic Carlton-St. Kilda game at Prince's Park to decide which of them should not be last. It was a benefit to football that the issue was so unimportant, for had they played for first place with proportionate passion the strain on the accomodation of the adjacent hospitals would have been enormous. Thanks to the efforts of a few men, there was so much charging, swinging, tripping and generally unfair play, that the greatest kindness one can show to these afflicted twenties is to tear up one's notes and say nothing further about it, save that Carlton won comfortably, and that Aitken, who for the first time played forward, got three goals, while the smart little O'Cock and Chapman each accounted for a pair."

Carlton’s Jimmy Aitken played a captain’s game and kicked three goals, (the only career goals he would score for Carlton), Sam Chapman and Wally Ocock both scored two majors, and Bill Casey one, in Carlton's highest score for the season, and our greatest winning margin of the year.

This was Carlton's first victory at Princes Park, and Jim Goonan became the first Carlton player to win on debut there. Jim was the father of Jimmy Goonan, who would later play 22 games for Carlton between 1922 and 1927. As well as being part of the first Carlton VFL father and son combination, Jimmy later captain-coached Carlton’s second 18 in three Premierships between 1926 and 1928.

At the end of this round Carlton were in 7th spot on the ladder with a percentage of 51.8.

Team

B:	Henry Crane	Jim Lyons	Henry Dunne
HB:	Jack Reekie	Ernie Walton (vc)	Peter Williams
C:	Bob Armstrong	Brook Hannah	Bill Casey
HF:	Jim Goonan	Charlie Sweatman	Jimmy Aitken (c)
F:	Oscar Manchester	Chic Breese	Wally O'Cock
Rucks:	Bill Woodhouse	Sam Chapman	Bobby Walsh
	Harry H Morgan
Rover:	Jack Roberts
Coach:	No coach and the captain directed the side
Note:	4 Rucks, 20 players on the ground and no interchange

Changes

In: B.Armstrong, H.Crane, O.Manchester, J.Goonan
Out: O.Buck, B.Weir, J.Caffery, J.Frost

Milestones

Debut: Jim Goonan

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Round 12 | Round 14