Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Monday 16 May 1904, page 9


MELBOURNE'S PLUCKY EFFORT.

Melbourne had rather the worst of Collingwood in a comparison of absentees, and could ill spare

the men they lost, but all the same, they delighted everyone with the style in which they tackled the premiers and kept them going to the finish with only a bare lead of a goal as a proof of their supe- riority. In the first quarter Collingwood managed to get a slight lead by their superior cleverness in

exchanges and quickness in passing, but otherwise there was nothing to choose between them. In the second quarter Collingwood's superiority was rather more marked, but Melbourne managed to

make the best use of their chances to score, so they

only lost four points on the term. The only period in the game when Collingwood's greater cleverness in picking their own men and playing to them with

certainty became particularly apparent was in the third quarter, and if Melbourne failed by com-

parison it speaks the more for the high excellence of their individual play that they never let their well-organised opponents break away from them altogether. It was in the last quarter that the Reds played their finest, and the incidents of that period were quite in keeping with the high charac-ter of the game throughout. The seventh goal on

each side was a beauty. Condon got it for Colling- wood after a marvellous mark and the piping of the magpies had barely ceased when Coutie quite rivalled the effort in scoring a beautiful goal for

Melbourne. With nearly 15 minutes to go there were only seven points between the teams, and in

a slashing finish Melbourne reduced it by a point, playing it cut to the end with rare dash and per-

sistency.

On the winning side, that constant pair Condon and Pannam were mainly responsible for saving their team from a surprise that would have been quite saddening to the birds. Both of them marked, kicked, and passed with their usual blend of bril-

liancy and accuracy. S. Leach has jumped right into the front rank, and some very fine ruck work was put in by Strahan, while Rush was good wher-

ever they placed him. On the half-back line Fell

was seen to much advantage, Homan, one of their new men, being equally conspicuous on the wing. Of the others who were of marked service to their colours Tulloch, M'Conochie, Addison, Incoll, and Sykes stood out most prominently. Coutie was again a most valuable man for Melbourne, his generally good play being backed up by four goals. One can only speculate as to what he would do with a team of premiers playing to him, but be sure it would be something very fine. Conquest and Langley, who took turn about at roving, were both so good that it was hard to make a choice between them, and the same difficulty was pre-

sented in a comparison of Strong and Mills, two dashing footballers. If the boundary umpires suc-ceed in making the game more open, I expect to see a great improvement in Melbourne's position. With such a dashing lot of players, they only want more system and a little more coolness, to make them a formidable side. Others whose share in the game was much to the advantage of their club were Bremner, Pearce, Henderson, E. Leach, and

Jeanerett.