By half time, it looked like it was all over for Carlton. Another good year for them, but on the day, Collingwood had them outmatched. In the 27th minute of the second quarter, Alexander ‘Jezza’ Jesaulenko marked over Graeme ‘Jerker’ Jenkin, and that mark would become one of the most legendary in the history of the game. Carlton goaled shortly thereafter, but it availed the Blues little. Collingwood goaled again minutes later, and when the second quarter siren sounded, Carlton trailed by 44 points, an all-but insurmountable lead.
The half-time oration by Ron Barassi, with its vehement injunction to handball, has also become legend. Carlton changed their style of play in the game’s second half, to a faster, looser style of play that depended more on handballing than kicking to move the ball forward. Carlton kicked 8 goals to Collingwood’s 3 in the third quarter, and even though they entered the final term trailing by about three goals, the momentum had decisively shifted in their direction. They won the game by only 10 points, but a narrow win is still a win. Ironically, Jezza’s great mark is the iconic image of this victory, despite having virtually no effect on the game at the point where it happened.
