Round 21, 1971

Carlton 3.7 25 5.9 39 10.13 73 11.16 82 Fitzroy 2.4 16 9.10 64 11.13 79 15.15 105	Venue: Junction Oval
Date: Saturday August 21, 1971	Result: Lost by 23 points
Umpire: B.Deller	Crowd: 22,413
Goalkickers: B.Crosswell 4, A.Gallagher 2, S.Jackson 1, B.Armstrong 1, A.Jesaulenko 1, P.Jones 1, I.Robertson 1.
Best: A.Gallagher, B.Gill, B.Crosswell, B.Armstrong.
Reports: V.Waite (allegedly striking N.Brown during the final quarter).
Injuries: Nil

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Game Review

Surely there has never been a more bizarre game of VFL/AFL football than this match between Fitzroy and Carlton at the Junction Oval, St Kilda in August 1971. Needing a solid win over the Lions to keep our faint finals chances alive, Carlton trailed by 15 points as the second half of the game began – just as the bright sunshine was obliterated by an enormous wall of fog that rolled over the ground from nearby Port Phillip Bay. The fog was so dense that suddenly, players only metres apart couldn't see each other, and were forced to rely on their ears as much as their eyes in an effort to find the ball. Meanwhile, the scorers and time keepers caught just brief glimpses of the play, and had to use the emergency umpire to relay the scores. In the end, Fitzroy’s local knowledge gave them the edge. While the Blues groped around in the murk, the Lions finished all over them. Late in the final quarter, the ball came bouncing past Carlton ruckman Peter Jones, who had dropped back into defence. 'There it is!’ he shouted - and a Fitzroy opponent pounced on the ball and goaled. Fitzroy won by four goals, and Carlton missed the finals by 2 points.

Team

B:	21 Barry Gill	20 Geoff Southby	30 Vin Waite
HB:	4 Bruce Doull	43 David McKay	44 Peter Fyffe
C:	46 John Warden	24 Bill Barrot	17 Brent Crosswell
HF:	3 Kevin Hall	34 Ian Robertson	5 Syd Jackson
F:	28 Peter Jones	25 Alex Jesaulenko	12 Barry Armstrong
Ruck:	2 John Nicholls (c)	1 Serge Silvagni	10 Adrian Gallagher
Res:	19 Ian Collins	22 Neil Chandler
Coach:	Ron Barassi

Images: Age August 24

Fitzroy's Paul Shanahan (38) & Carlton's Geoff Southby (20)

Gallery

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  1971 Rd 21 - Adrian Gallagher kicks long.
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  1971 Rd 21 - Blues just mist!Inside Football.
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  1971 Rd 21 - Geoff Southby and the fog Vs Fitzroy.
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  1971 Rd 21 - Ian Robertson: 'The fog match'.Inside Football.
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  1971 Rd 21 - Jackson & Silvagni battle it out with 'Bulldog' Murrray.
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  1971 Rd 21 - Percy Jones and the fog Vs Fitzroy.
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  1971 Rd 21 - The day of the fog.
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  1971 Rd 21 - The day the fog rolled out the Blues.
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  1971 Rd 21 - The Fog Game.

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Round 20 | Round 22